There’s a new type of event on the scene, and it’s taking the world by storm. Hybrid events combine the best of online and offline experiences, giving attendees a unique opportunity to connect with each other and learn in a variety of ways. Here are five benefits of throwing a hybrid event.
Cost savings
In today’s economy, businesses are looking for ways to save money wherever possible. One way to cut costs is by hosting hybrid events.
A hybrid event is a conference or meeting that is partially conducted in person and partially online. By using this format, businesses can save on travel expenses, venue rental fees, and other associated costs.
Increased attendee engagement
By incorporating different types of events, you can keep attendees more engaged and interested. Hybrid events also offer the benefit of flexibility, as they can be adapted to accommodate different sized groups and schedules.
Hybrid events allow you to reach a wider audience, as they can be streamed online or recorded for later viewing. This means that even if attendees are unable to attend the event in person, they can still experience the event through the use of technology.
Easier planning
As any event planner knows, organizing a successful event can be a daunting task. There are countless details to take care of, from finding the perfect venue to create an inviting atmosphere to choosing the right food and beverage options. And that’s not even taking into account the logistics of coordinating all the different elements.
With a hybrid event, many of these decisions are made for you. Instead of having to plan multiple separate events, you can simply focus on choosing the right hybrid event platform and then leave the rest up to the experts. This not only saves you a considerable amount of time and effort, but it also makes it more likely that your event will be a success.
Greater flexibility
Hybrid events offer greater flexibility than traditional events, as they can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your audience. For example, if you want to reach a global audience, you can include both an in-person and an online component to your event.
Or, if you want to provide a more intimate experience for your attendees, you can use a hybrid event to create a smaller, more intimate setting.
More opportunities for networking
Hybrid events also offer the opportunity to connect with a wider range of people, as you can invite people from all over the world to attend your event online.
And, because hybrid events are not limited by geographical boundaries, they can be held at any time of day or night. This increases opportunities for attendees around the world to network without jet lag!
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If you’re looking for a more cost-effective and engaging way to host an event, a hybrid event could be the answer. With Art of the Event’s help, you can plan and execute a hybrid event that is sure to please your attendees. Contact us today to learn more! 781-670-9292
The current reality is that many events, from business conferences to concerts, have been canceled from in-person and moved online. Virtual events are now commonplace and also important because of the intended goal behind them. The success of a virtual event is important to the host. How does one host a successful virtual event? Here are some useful tips that could help you with hosting your next virtual event.
Establish a Game Plan to Guide You
Before your virtual event can take form, you have to come up with a solid strategy. That begins with a clearly established goal and event concept. Start your planning early, whether the event is large or small. Think about the experience that you want your guests to have, how you want to present the event, be it live or on-demand, the time to put on the event, how you’ll promote it, etc. Put careful thought into what you want to achieve with your event and how you’ll go about it. Put your plan on paper first and let that be your guide.
Make Sure Your Timing is Perfect
Timing is everything no matter the event that you are hosting. Choosing the right date and time for your virtual event is crucial no matter the platform you’ll be using. A great turnout can make an event special, so do your homework and ensure that there are no other events that your potential guests may also be interested in attending on the date you have in mind. If your event will not only be for locals, keep time zone in mind and pick a time that works best for most guests. It’s a good idea to send out a poll on Facebook, for example, with the goal of identifying the preferred event date.
Put Effort into Promoting the event
The importance of promoting your virtual event cannot be understated. You need to have a great incentive that can draw attendees and be sure to highlight that incentive. If it’s a networking opportunity or a keynote speaker, the selling point should be efficiently promoted. Make use of the different platforms to share details regarding the event, like social media(Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and email. A fun thing to do is an event countdown that you can create on your IG. Don’t forget to also hashtag the event. Facebook is a great platform to create an event page with all the detail. You want to keep reminding people that the event is happening, keeping them engaged with pre-event promotion. You not only want them to sign up but to also be present for the event as well.
Foster and Encourage Engagement
What’s an event without some degree of engagement? Engagement will be a part of your virtual event if you foster and encourage it. There are a number of ways that you can encourage engagement, including creating mini-quizzes, live-tweeting and commentary, sending shout-outs, and spark conversation between attendees, taking questions, and incorporating surveys. It takes a lot of effort to keep an online audience engaged but it can be done. Keep the content interesting and exciting, and make use of interactive and fun features while live streaming.
Contact My Safe Meeting in Boston
For your next virtual event, let My Safe Meeting help you to make it a smashing success. We have the tools that you need to host an unforgettable online event. Don’t hesitate to contact us and let us help make your dream virtual event a reality. Give us a call at 978-267-1080 or fill out a contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Yes, you can throw a safe Summer (and Fall) Outing for your employees and their families! It just takes some smart planning, good supplier choices, and extra care.
Your most important ally is buy-in so begin by making sure you get it from all your stakeholders—your internal clients, your external partners, and your attendees. Survey those stakeholders to get a bead on how they are feeling about getting together in person. Ask them if they feel safe now. If not now, when do they think they might feel safe, and what specific steps could you as a planner do to help? Be sure to ask them what type of Outing they would prefer in this late Pandemic era.
Once you’ve established buy-in, you should carefully consider and create your Duty of Care philosophy. This philosophy should be put into writing as this is the template by which you will keep all your stakeholders safe. A Duty of Care statement will communicate your company’s obligation to protect employees, travelers, and other participants from risks. These risks are typically related to injury, sickness, safety, security, health, and travel. And in our current Covid 19 era, a clear and workable Duty of Care statement is more important than ever. Write it, hone it, revisit it and, of course, make sure your internal client/s sign off on your most recent version before you distribute it.
Now it’s time to reach out to your venue and other suppliers! Your initial consultation with your suppliers will set the tone of your expectations and their responsibilities throughout the span of your planning through your event. Be sure to properly vet all your suppliers to make sure they too will respect your Duty of Care and will enthusiastically sign onto your company’s Covid safe guidelines. Make sure that each team leader is fully prepared to be responsible for their employees’ behavior and safety, too. 
Reach out to an Event designer who knows how to plan your outdoor space so that it conforms to your social distancing guidelines. As the Planner, you are required to adhere to local city and state requirements, but you are well within your rights to go beyond those measures. For example: If your local Board of Health requires three feet of space between attendees at the time of your event, you are free to widen that distance to make all your attendees feel safe.
If existing space allows, having your outing on company premises allows you the most freedom— you can “rule your own roost” as you see fit. If your team decides to book an outdoor space off-premise, make sure you get buy-in on your Duty of Care and ask your venue to communicate their existing internal safety guidelines and resources. It’s a good idea to bring your entire team together for a socially distanced walk-through prior to your event to re-enforce the rules with your vendors and discuss alternative plans in case guidelines change as you get closer to your event date.
Along with your standard events team, you will also need a team to administer temperature checks, distribute the proper signage, double-check seating arrangements and regulate your group’s movements for proper distancing. A Covid or Pandemic Officer’s assistance helps to ensure everyone is safe and, as importantly, everyone FEELS safe throughout your event. Depending on the size of your outing, you may need to dedicate an entire Covid team to this effort. Yes, you can use staff volunteers to assist your Covid Officer to reduce costs.
Be sure to get all staff and crew names and contact information before your event date and use that list to check people in at your event set up for Contact Tracing purposes. This is another task that can be handled by your Covid Officer if needed. Bring all your event team’s leads together at the start of your event set up to review your Duty of Care and all of their responsibilities one more time. Remember: your Duty of Care cannot be communicated too often!!
Your event Designer can arrange your outdoor space to set the tone for distancing by spacing furniture pieces appropriately and demarking walkways that allow free movement without crowding. They can also help group families in their own “bubbles” by demarking areas for each group. Picnic-style events are a wonderful option for this effort. Put your stage in front and set up your families to the front and the sides with plenty of space in between.
There are many touchless options for your foodservice. A simple boxed lunch works great for daytime casual outings. If you want a more traditional buffet, you can call each group up separately and have them pick and choose the items they want— to be delivered when ready by your catering staff. All buffet stations should be outfitted with sneeze guards so be sure your caterer or vendor offers them or rent them on your own. And don’t forget that technology is your friend! Apps can help guide your group’s touchless food service. Your guests can order directly from an app that then signals them when their food is ready for pick up.
Brainstorm and research activities, games, and roving entertainment that doesn’t require close physical contact outside your group bubbles. If you choose to bring in games requiring touch, make sure you have plenty of sanitizer on tap and someone available to wipe down equipment between groups. 
Consult with your MC or DJ to help you entertain safely. He or she can lead group activities families can do in their own “bubbles” and s/he can also remind people to continue to play it safe as your event progresses.
Speaking of playing it safe, it’s time to talk about alcohol. If you are thinking of serving alcohol, be sure to carefully consider limits. Too much alcohol decreases inhibitions and can increase risky behavior so while you want your group to have fun, you also want to make sure they are having fun responsibly!! Set minimums on free drinks to avoid overconsumption.
Your event’s lifetime is not over when the last attendee leaves. Follow up with your event team leads and make sure no one has fallen ill after your event. Notify attendees to contact you if they or anyone they have been close to displays symptoms or has tested positive for Covid 19. If anyone does, immediately contact your Covid officer (if he or she is not the one doing the follow-ups) who will then take the proper steps needed to ensure the rest of your team and your attendees are kept safe!
With special attention paid to local guidelines and your event team’s unwavering commitment to a robust and workable Duty of Care philosophy, you and your team can enjoy summer and fall outings together once more. If you are interested in learning more contact us at Art of the Event! Give us a call today at 781-670-9292. Cheers!!
There has been a nonstop bridging of the virtual and online world. The reality is that every day something new is in development while something has already made its way into our lives. Humans will always look for the “shortest way from point A to point B,” which paves the way for innovation.
However, we are not talking about some “techy” gadget or a new social media platform. In fact, we are talking about something that reflects the necessity of today’s modern tech-hungry world during the global pandemic.
Hybrid Events, what are they?
An event at a physical venue with online viewers leads to what many people may call a “hybrid” event. This simply entails an event organizer utilizing many tools and facilities at their disposal to make the event more accessible. Therefore, they allow the audience to access the event regardless of their location.
Benefits of Hybrid Events
Hybrid events offer a multitude of benefits over regular events, especially during the current days of the pandemic. Here are some of the best advantages that they offer.
Your audience might want to experience your event through the comfort of their house. Maybe because they are ill or due to some other health conditions, they cannot travel. Or perhaps, their corporate travel spending doesn’t allow them.
You can easily guess how this is possible, right? Well, this does not imply that you have to split your audience from in-person to online in a “half” manner. In fact, you can increase the number of your attendees, bringing more attention to the event.
The plethora of features available as an online attendee is of paramount importance. Collecting polls, distributing questionnaires, and receiving feedback with comments becomes very easy for the event hosts.
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Natural and Environmental Concerns
This is an essential point for hybrid events. As the attendees of a hybrid event may increase, the travel costs and pollution from it may not. The increasing online presence also makes hosting an event a limited number of in-person audience members easier.
Misconceptions about Hybrid Events
Do not consider every live streaming from any platform of the internet as a “hybrid event.” Furthermore, it is critical to realize that the priorities of the in-person and online audience should not vary. That is, you should consider all the attendees equally valuable.
Contact Art of the Event in Boston
Do not stop yourself from hosting a hybrid event. Even if you have not heard of it or organized one before, there are ways to go around it. During this global pandemic (COVID-19), it might be the right time to utilize the potential benefits of hybrid events. You not only get to keep your existing customers but gain more as well.
Contact Art of the Event and let us help you organize a wonderful and successful hybrid event for your organization. Give us a call now at 978-670-9292 for further service inquiries.
As we all know, COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the event industry. The industry as we know it is no longer—at least for now. However, this doesn’t mean we can’t reinvent and change it for the better! While the last year has been tough, it has led us to explore different approaches to recreate the results that live gatherings offer.
In order to successfully plan large events during this time, it’s important to utilize both digital and live tools to add real value to our events. Over the next few years, even if planners put together the most amazing events, there will still be some hesitation and fear from attendees. By planning digitally live gatherings we can ease people’s fears and allow them to be able to participate without the need for long-distance travel. The quality of events and how safe they are will be a driving force for success.
What is the Hub and Spoke Method?
David Adler has put together a paradigm called the hub and spoke method. Before COVID-19, the goal of most events was to create intimacy in large groups. The hub and spoke method allows for this but in a different way! His idea was that for an event for say 5,000, a planner can break up the event into smaller groups within local venues. These venues would all be connected through A/V so they can interact with one another. The main stage area with the Keynote speakers, etc., would be the Hub- the localized gatherings are the spokes. This method creates the emotion and level of intimacy of a large gathering while keeping attendee numbers within local safety guidelines.
The Basic Elements in the Hub & Spoke Method Network
- Venues and individuals are connected through virtual “bridges” or A/V and streaming platforms
- A main “Hub” venue has the primary stage. This can be the venue that presenters and leaders attend
- Satellite “spoke” locations will enable smaller groups in venues
- People attending from home can gather in small groups or individually to attend the event
- Utilize technology to bring individuals, spokes, and hubs together
- Utilize spatial computing to connect with virtual attendees
- Have on-stage presentation synthesizers to interpret key information and relay it to audience members
- Deploy tools such as emotional recognition technology for speakers and organizers to read the room
- Have all hubs and spokes offer food and beverage that can be safely delivered to attendees.
- Turn hallways into exhibit halls using spatial computing technology that will allow passersby to interact
Adjusting to the new way our industry will work is important as this is how large events will likely continue in the future. Connecting people in smart ways will never go out of style! By utilizing technology, we can change the way we plan events for the better! For more information, contact us today!
While larger companies are rearranging office spaces, installing industrial level air filtration systems, directional signage and safety shields, smaller business owners and individual employees are looking for ways to properly operate in this new Covid 19 era— on lean budgets. Most of us already know we should wear masks, stay a safe six feet away from one another and properly wash our hands. Here are a few additional, easy to implement, low-to-no cost safety tips for all:
- Get some Air! The higher the viral load around you, the more likely you can fall ill. Great air circulation literally cleans the air you breathe— fresh air dilutes Covid 19 virus particles (as well as other air borne illness). Fortunately, we are reopening in warmer weather so If you can open your office windows and doors, do it.
- If you feel sick, stay home. We all know by now that asymptomatic people can spread corona virus. This is why we are all asked to wear masks. Even so, more virus is shed by symptomatic people because the virus begins to multiply once it enters a host. Even if you don’t think you have Covid, it’s better to err on the safe side. For this reason, employers are all encouraged to loosen their sick day policies.
- Use doorstops to keep doors partially open and use your shoulder or arm to move through doorways without touching doorknobs and crash bars.
- Leave 65% to 70% alcohol wipes in bathrooms and encourage each other to wipe down sink handles and door locks and handles as they leave. Sanitize bathrooms as often as possible. The same can be said for any commonly touched items: light switches, doorknobs, etc.
- Unless your employer is providing you with boxed lunches (lucky you), eat out or bring in your own food. Don’t forget your snacks because the common candy stash will no longer be available. Expect kitchen appliances like microwaves and refrigerators to be unavailable for the time being and plan your food accordingly. Invest in an individual cooler or insulated thermal bag.
- Do not share your phone, stapler or any other office supplies with your co-workers. Viruses hover in the air but they land on surfaces. Sanitize desks regularly with alcohol or bleach based cleaners. Wipe down USPS and other delivery boxes before moving them around the office or opening them.
- Employers should consider staggering work hours so employees are not funneling in and out of the office at the exact same time. This will ease their ability to keep at least six feet away from one another. This becomes especially important if they must share an elevator on their way to the office.
- About those masks: If you use a disposable mask, it should be replaced daily. If you use a cloth mask, it should be washed daily.
- Strengthen your immunity by investing in your health. Eat plenty of vegetables, fruits and lean proteins. Limit your alcohol intake and get your exercise
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Bonus Tip: Properly socially distance and wear your masks and gloves when you are not at work to reduce your chances of picking up this virus or any other. If you do so, you’ll be less likely to unwittingly bring it into the office yourself. This is a difficult time for employees and employers alike in our industry. Remember to Be kind— from a distance.
