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11 Effective Ways to Plan an Outstanding Awards Ceremony
Continue reading Content Table Are you thinking of planning an awards ceremony?
December 22, 2023
4:09 pm
Similar to numerous other industries, the event sector experienced significant repercussions due to the global pandemic in 2020.
As a result, organizations lost projected revenue, retrenched staff, and had little or no income to keep their businesses running. However, human resilience eventually came through, leading to innovation in the industry that birthed hybrid events.
Although some of these innovative virtual event solutions aren't new, they were always only considered backup options by event organizers, managers, and organizations.
Businesses had to adopt virtual events like webinars, online training, virtualized AGMs, keynote speeches, and conferences as a more practical option.
However, virtual events didn't cut it for many due to the nature of their events. Most people considered it challenging and very limiting.
These views have led to a new format of events; rather than going virtual only, hybrid events were introduced, and this innovative way of hosting events shows several opportunities for success.
While hybrid events can enable event organizers to attain new heights, reach a new audience, and maximize profits, the big question is: how? But first, let's take a look at what a hybrid event is, the benefits, examples to inspire you, and how you can pull off a successful hybrid event.
A hybrid event is an event that combines the virtual and in-person experience components of event hosting. It blurs the lines between having either an in-person or online-only event.
A hybrid event gives organizers, event managers, and organizations the avenue to reach a wider and more engaged audience.
It involves a physical meeting in which an online audience also participates.
It differs from streaming your sessions from a device or sharing a video after your event. In an extraordinary hybrid event, physical and virtual attendees can participate, provide feedback, and remain highly engaged.
Different types of events can benefit from adopting the hybrid event strategy; some include meetings, annual general meetings (AGMs), town hall meetings, forums, conferences, trade shows, book launches, product launches, demonstrations, and trainings.
Whatever your reasons are for hosting a hybrid event or considering hosting one, there are many benefits to choosing to do so. Here are some of the many benefits of hybrid events; they include
Access to a Larger Audience
Hosting a hybrid event enables you to reach more people while retaining elements of both virtual and in-person events.
With the aid of the internet, more people can participate in and attend trade shows, conferences, boot camps, and training.
More Revenue
When you compare what it costs to host an event and participants to attend formal events that are not hybrid, you will automatically realize that the reduced cost nature of hybrid events benefits both the event host and guests.
Hybrid events enable event organizers to maximize their budgets for better results and investment returns.
Hybrid events are more flexible than traditional or virtual events because they can easily fit into the participant's schedule, especially when their location would have hindered their availability.
It helps event organizers ensure better engagement from event participants, regardless of their personality types.
People who are shy about speaking in public gatherings can ask questions or share insights via different apps, some of which permit their anonymity.
With the aid of technology, hybrid events present better reach and ROI for event partnerships and sponsorships.
The audience reaching for such events is broader and more beneficial than in virtual-only or in-person-only circumstances.
The first step to organizing a successful hybrid event is to set clear goals or objectives.
A clear understanding of what your client wants to achieve will enable you to plan better, create a budget, and execute more effectively.
According to a famous African proverb, "if you want to go fast, you go alone, but if you want to go far, go together."
It underscores the importance of successfully choosing the right team to plan and execute a hybrid event.
Your team should be made up of professionals with the knowledge, experience, and background to plan both traditional and digital events.
A primary concern to address when choosing your venue for a hybrid event is ensuring that the location is easily accessible for the guests participating physically.
Make a checklist of all the event venues where you wish to host your event; ensure they have experience with hosting hybrid events, can provide support, and offer other relevant services that would ensure a successful event.
If you are hosting a hybrid event in Lagos, you must ensure that the venue guarantees a backup power supply and high-speed internet and provides other support you would need for the success of your event.
Having a more detailed approach and implementation leads to hosting a successful event.
At this stage of organizing a successful hybrid event, you must have identified your venue and the event date, developed event content and a master plan, and begun implementing your event marketing strategy.
Hence, it is advisable to have an event project planning process or software to ensure "no stones" are left unturned for the event's success".
Carrying out a test run is crucial to hosting a successful and error-free hybrid event.
Conduct your event test run in ample time to enable you to fix any errors that may occur; it's often advisable to do these 48 hours (about 2 days) or more before the event date.
During the test run, some of the things to take note of include, but are not limited to, sound, visuals, event flow, content, audience engagement, a software application(s), and many more.
Like all things in life, it's better to anticipate challenges so they don't occur than to not plan for them and be met by surprise. Therefore, have a contingency plan to manage challenges ahead of time.
For instance, it is advisable to have an alternative internet service provider in place to safeguard the virtual experience of your guests during the hybrid event, preventing any disruptions caused by potential issues with internet connectivity on the designated date.
In Nigeria, both private and public sector organisations are swiftly embracing hybrid events.
The Lagos State government has recently announced its plans to host a world-class hybrid tourism event.
The 2020 Insurance Professionals Forum Nigeria, as disclosed by the association's body, are just a few examples in Nigeria Let's take a look at some other examples of top hybrid events across the world.
Apple's Inc. "Apple Special Events" is a hybrid event by the successful tech giant.
The Apple Special Event is where all the company's latest devices, software updates, and new products are officially unveiled to its global fanbase and customers.
It offers Apple an avenue to create excitement and conversations before these devices are available for order.
The maiden edition was a forum for networking, discussions, and ideas peroration around the latest happenings in technology, as well as the growth of the open-source community in Africa.
The Open-Source Festival was a highly successful hybrid event that attracted developers, designers, corporate organizations, and student delegates. It featured over 2900 physical and virtual delegates across different continents.
The hybrid event had a series of talks, workshops, and awareness of open-source developer tools.
The Open-Source Festival was held at The Zone; our high-speed internet and equipment for live streaming ensured online delegates stayed engaged for 3 days, and our team of hybrid event specialists provided full event coordination.
Testation is a hackathon for app testers. The Facebook Testaton event, which was held at The Zone, featured 200 Testation guests, with 150 Testation delegates physically attending and 50 joining through virtual means.
Our hybrid event solutions team managed the entire event coordination. Meanwhile, a smooth virtual delegate experience was ensured through the use of our high-speed internet and live-streaming equipment over a two-day period.
The conference is a free coding conference for African developers. Topics discussed range from frameworks to design systems and performance to animation.
We provided the venue, fast internet, live streaming equipment, and complete event coordination for the latest event, with over 2000 virtual conference delegates and an additional 3000+ physical delegates attending.
The Concatenate Conference lasted for three days and was a successful attempt at bridging the gap between Nigerian developer conferences and international ones.
Looking for a facility to host your hybrid events? The Zone is the right place for you.
Our facility is located in Gbagada with easy access to Lagos Island and the Mainland, situated in a convenient, accessible, and serene location. Power, fast-speed internet, and the right team to help you host a successful event are at The Zone.
We are here to help. book a facility tour with us or call us at +2348092560860 or +2349030411878. You can also email us at hello@thezone.ng.
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