We all observed that virtual events had been the savior of the event industry during 2020. Event planners had to adopt virtual event platforms to deliver unique and realistic event experiences. But, today in 2021, the virtual stage has been enhanced with a hybrid twist.
With endless opportunities and benefits, we can define hybrid events as the future of the event industry. The hybrid events enable event organizers to merge in-person and virtual event aspects. It helps them reach a global audience while letting them engage and connect seamlessly.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through some excellent virtual event and hybrid event examples of 2021;
National Geographic Storytellers Summit 2021
The National Geographic Storytellers Summit is an excellent virtual event example held in 2021. It illustrates that content is the king of any event. You can deliver immersive and exceptional experiences with engaging content. This event occurred at the beginning of 2021. It was attended by people residing in different parts of the world to celebrate the art of storytelling.
Several photographers, illustrators, filmmakers, and journalists visited this virtual event. The platform also had a social wall that was packed with memorable photos and videos. People enjoyed being a part of this event, and they took home remarkable and unique event experiences.
Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue 2021
It is an exceptional example of virtual conferences that happened in mid-March 2021. It was attended by a global audience belonging to different countries and time zones. The event had incredible speakers onboard. The experienced and skilled speakers had the art of keeping the attendees engaged with their content. Hence, it was a super engaging and interactive event.
The conference and speaker-specific questions were accepted through social media channels. Attendees could submit their questions for the speaker on social media platforms using the event-specific hashtag #betd21. The virtual event had endless opportunities for attendees to learn and engage. Questions were curated from different social media channels and displayed on the platform’s social wall to boost engagement. The speaker could choose from any question and interact with the audience in real-time.
#FinCon21
It is an exceptional hybrid event example that seamlessly includes virtual and physical elements to deliver life-like experiences. It was a digital marketing event hosted for personal finance content creators this September in Austin, Texas. The event had excellent video chat & messaging options to promote engagement among both audiences. To make the event even more exciting, it involved a FinCon Central hub. The hub had exhibits, video booths, and live podcasting available for both on-site and virtual attendees. What made this event unique was, it had enormous networking opportunities available for both gatherings.
At #FinCon21, there were endless occasions for attendees to have small discussions and make new connections.
Gainsight Pulse Everywhere
Gainsight’s Pulse Everywhere was a notable hybrid event example held in June 2021. It included 148 speakers across 11 different tracks for 3 days in San Francisco. The event provided benefits of both free and paid ticket options.
Free tickets offered access to the booths, networking, and keynotes sessions. Paid experiences opened advantages like a swag store voucher and entrance to VIP fireside chats. The event also included a virtual speed networking function to simulate spontaneous conversations during the event. Gainsight even appointed a production team to help improve their vision and produce a successful hybrid event.
Empower Conference
Empower 21 is an excellent hybrid conference that took place in 2021. The physical and virtual attendees were given equal importance and priority during the event. Attendees could communicate with each other, observe the conference Agenda, speaker details, and more. For physical audiences, safety obligations like masks and social distancing were a must. It is a great example of hybrid conferences that reveal that businesses can conduct successful meetings, town halls, or conferences combining both in-person and virtual components.
Winter Workshop 2021
In 2020, The National Speakers Association (NSA) elevated their on-site flagship summer event, INFLUENCE, to a deeply engaging and successful online event. While planning for Winter Workshop, the event planners were ready to include both physical and virtual aspects to deliver a unique hybrid event.
They decided to get the professional speakers of Socio and Video West onboard. These emcees played a vital role in allowing NSA to host a distinguished and successful event.
This Winter Workshop had weekly virtual warm-ups during the entire month to keep the attendees hooked and involved.
When people bought their tickets, they had complete access to the virtual warm-ups and the chief event. From inviting noteworthy speakers, excellent engagement features to maintaining the necessary safety protocols, NSA worked extremely hard to deliver a seamless hybrid event experience.
iSMG Cybersecurity Summit
The virtual iSMG Cybersecurity Summit was held by cybersecurity, information security, risk, and compliance experts. The event had attendees from across the globe. With their decision to take their event online, they managed to welcome a large group of virtual attendees. They integrated a social wall feature to promote engagement among all the participants.
The virtual event platform included a genuine lobby and a social wall that was accessible by each attendee. The platform also provided real-time updates to keep the attendees notified about forthcoming talks.
Austrian Wine
It is another hybrid event example organized to deliver life-like event experiences to both physical and virtual attendees. Regarding the wine-tasting sessions, the event had to invite people keeping safety protocols in mind. So, a wine company in Russia followed a strategic approach to get the most suitable attendees onboard. They only invited people who they were sure would follow the basic safety rules.
With a thoughtful approach, the organizers welcomed 160 participants at its hybrid event in November 2020. The event included 195 Austrian wines for the audience to taste and enjoy. Following this activity, the event included video conference calls to connect with virtual attendees. This way, both audiences could actively participate, enjoy, and engage throughout the event.
LiveWorx21
LiveWorx is a notable illustration of a fascinating virtual environment. This online conference was held for companies and start-ups looking for ideas to enhance their brand value and productivity. Before the global pandemic, the conference used to take place in Boston. While the event took place annually, the content of this conference had always been recorded by the event organizers. In short, they had been providing on-demand content for a long time. In the upcoming days, LiveWorx is determined to adopt the hybrid model and create life-like event experiences.
IMPACT 2021
It is a novel example of a virtual conference that happened this year. This conference was a great combination of powerful content and networking opportunities. People found it very easy to learn, interact, engage, and participate throughout the event. IMPACT conducted sessions regarding advanced digital tools and technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, IT infrastructures, DevOps, and more. Attendees found this conference extremely useful because of the real-world models and learning that the event covered. For several years, this event has been known for providing high-level knowledge to companies and enterprises regarding IT infrastructure. Their virtual conference was indeed the replica of the physical environment.
MGA Fintech Growth Summit
We all observed the growth of the finance and banking sectors in recent times. After the pandemic hit the world, their growth has been accelerated. Customers had to adopt the digital banking procedures to be an integral part of finance and banking.
So, MGA Fintech Growth Summit was led by different industry experts and experienced managers. These people had their hands in this field and with insightful stories, they were able to make this virtual summit a great success. In this digital era, the main points of discussion were;
- Development from COVID-19
- Growth in the sectors of banking and finance
- Preparing for the future
- How fintech can increase sustainably
- Customer retention
- Customer loyalty
- Mobile-first experiences
- The digital journey of the customer
The Digital Transformation Conference
This hybrid conference held in Feb 2021, included both virtual and on-site attendees. It was driven by 500 distinguished industry leaders who shared useful insights and learning regarding the business. The event included highly interactive features to boost engagement between the speakers and attendees. It also included vital keynote and panel discussions & fireside chats to recreate the experiences of an in-person conference. The unique aspect of this conference covered an Executive event summary providing key event highlights and details for all the attendees. The conference aimed to discuss digital innovations and have a mutual discussion about future challenges, business cases, and strategies for improvement.
Final Word
Adaptation is the key to sustainable growth and development. Understanding this the need of recent times requires hosting an event with a hybrid twist. As a significant takeaway, we observed that live-streaming and social media play a vital role in enhancing the reach of your event and creating a unique brand experience.
Hybrid events hold the power of delivering immersive and memorable experiences to both in-person and virtual audiences. With immense creativity and powerful dynamics, hybrid events can leave an impactful impression and elevate the level of your events. If you wish to take your events online or create a unique hybrid event experience, look for an ideal platform that has advanced its skillet to incorporate both segments successfully.