Everyone is excited to be able to meet in person again, and groups are even more excited about the possibilities for combining the best of virtual events with their in-person events. We expect this hybrid event trend to continue to rise, even now that the in-person meetings we know and love are returning. Learn how to go hybrid with your event.
You've decided that you don't want to host a fully in-person event, but now you must decide which platform you want to utilize for your event. The virtual and hybrid event platform selection is an important one. Like an in-person venue, you need to select one that will support your programming and attendees' needs while keeping your attendees as engaged as they would be at an in-person venue.
With its annual Salute to Excellence In Education Gala on the horizon…the National Education Association Foundation wanted to create a virtual environment where attendees and awardees alike felt an atmosphere of honor, celebration, and elegance. The show consists of several awards, performances, speeches from honored guests, sponsorships, and a dramatic surprise cash prize. Since the event is usually an evening black tie affair, the graphics and experience needed to communicate the same excitement and sophistication.
As we return to in-person events, it’s important to focus on how to best make the transition for your organization and the attendees. Follow these quick tips on best practices when preparing for your next event to go hybrid.
Holding off on planning your next event because you’re hoping to be in-person AND don’t want to invest the time if you’re going to pivot to virtual? Because it’s important to dedicate the proper amount of planning time to both scenarios, we’ve developed a few ways to strategize effectively until a final decision needs to be made. Be sure to consult our virtual event planning roadmap as you don’t want to wait too long to make the final decision.
LAI Live worked hand-in-hand with the Inova Health Foundation to produce a hybrid version of their annual Inova Honors Dinner, a fundraiser gala which recognizes healthcare professionals. The goal of this year’s fundraiser was to not only raise money, but to also keep the program entertaining, endearing, and under an hour in length. And, oh yeah, we had under a month to pull it together!
As your organization becomes more comfortable logging on to virtual meetings, are you worried that you are being complacent in the virtual world?
Are you ready to spice up your next event? Look no further than our Plan V: What’s The Story?
Each year, LAI Live presents the top industry trends we see taking shape in the year to come. This year is a little different in that we’re all in a strange state of limbo between virtual events and the much-anticipated return to in-person events. So with that, this year’s trends are focused around what can be done to continue making virtual programming a little more engaging, a little more effective, and a little less dull.
As we all witnessed, virtual events took the meetings world by storm in 2020.
But what does this mean for 2021? Will we continue to see virtual events grow as people have become increasingly comfortable working and interacting through their screens? Will we see a shift back to in-person events as soon as it is deemed safe, and therefore witness virtual events fade away as quickly as they gained traction in 2020?
From researching to construction to fine-tuning, being thoughtful and strategic when planning out your next event and the amount of time you’ll need is crucial to its success. And producing an impactful experience in a virtual environment, whether partially or fully, requires just as much (if not more!) time as an in-person program.