Pulling off a successful hybrid event takes a village. Once you establish your event’s essential details such as the date, name, and target audience, it’s time to enlist amazing hybrid event partners to help bring your event to life!

As an event organizer, working with trusted partners to host, engage, and delight your in-person and virtual attendees is crucial. The right hybrid event partners will enrich your event experience and make your planning process as worry-free as possible!

To help you in your planning efforts, we’ve put together a list of the types of partners you’ll need to secure for your next hybrid event. From AV and production to hybrid emcees, these partnerships will bring your hybrid event over the finish line and leave your attendees wanting more! 

1. Foster a safe and engaging event with your venue partner.

The emergence of hybrid events means the return to in-person venues! In 2021 and beyond, venues are taking on even more responsibility when it comes to event success. 

To start, event organizers need to find a space that will foster an engaging experience for in-person attendees. Finding a venue that can support the health and safety of attendees is now a key consideration. 

The National Speakers Association (NSA) launched one of the industry’s first, most successful, and truly hybrid events: Winter Workshop 2021. The NSA team had booked the hotel for their event far in advance of the event, so their primary focus shifted to working with their hotel partner to safely execute the in-person component of their hybrid event. 

NSA's hybrid event, Winter Workshop 2021

In addition to health and safety signage, spaced out tables, and an attendee cap, NSA says that the venue’s wellness concierge played a major role in helping them launch a successful hybrid event that prioritized the health and safety of all in-person attendees and staff. 

While The NSA team focused on day-of-event coordination, they felt confident that the venue’s wellness concierge was dedicated to assisting attendees with any health and safety-related questions.

As you select a venue partner for your hybrid event, here are a few health and safety measures to consider:

  • A dedicated wellness concierge
  • Room to space out tables for social distancing 
  • Plated or boxed meals instead of a buffet 
  • Hand sanitizer and disposable mask stations 

Are you gearing up to host an in-person event? Check out our blog, Hybrid Event Safety: Tips for Health and Safety at In-Person Events!

2. Create an immersive experience with your AV production partner.

A successful hybrid event is an immersive experience for both virtual and in-person audiences. To create a compelling event experience for your hybrid audiences, it’s key to join forces with a top-notch AV partner.

High-quality cameras, the right audio equipment, experienced camera operators, and so much more are all essential for hybrid event success. Your AV partner’s expertise and equipment will be critical in crafting an event that translates well for both hybrid audiences.

Webex Events partnered with Meeting Tomorrow to pull off our first-ever hybrid webinar. The best part? They took our audiences through an in-depth, behind-the-scenes tour of the event’s AV and production setup. Watch it below! 

NSA partnered with Phoenix-based company, Video West, and Webex Events for Winter Workshop 2021. Throughout the event planning process, both the Video West and Webex Events teams stayed in communication to ensure that the event’s live stream and AV components were working in harmony. 

“The platform Video West used (vMix) worked seamlessly with Webex Events. And that’s because they have a video engineer to do that. Not all production companies have video engineers, and I’ve learned it made a big difference for our event,” says Candice York, Manager of Operations, NSA. 

While your hybrid event’s AV components are an investment, partnering with a reliable company will save you time, energy, and stress in the long run. When your event is backed by AV professionals, the final result will be sure to delight and engage attendees with an immersive event experience. 

3. Bridge the hybrid gap with your virtual event platform.

It’s no surprise that bridging the gap between virtual and in-person audiences is top of mind for hybrid event organizers. Keeping both audiences engaged and interacting when they’re not in the same room is quite a task, but it’s more than doable when you pair your hybrid event with the right virtual event platform. 

Your hybrid event’s virtual event platform allows your virtual attendees to participate in the event and connect with your in-person attendees from anywhere! Finding an event management software partner that seamlessly engages and connects both audiences is key to your hybrid event success. 

NSA partnered with Webex Events to create a robust event platform that maximized attendee engagement with features such as:

  • Gamification to build excitement and generate some friendly competition. 
  • Social Wall that the team transformed into a Help Desk for attendees.
  • Networking through session chat, direct messages, and the Social Wall, so attendees could engage in meaningful conversations.
  • Sponsorship Promotions including sponsor profiles, high profile banners, push notifications, and the event game. 
  • Live Data Dashboard gave the NSA team a 360 degree view of the event’s data and metrics, offering deep insights down to the attendee level.  

“It was so easy for them to communicate with each other [in the Webex Events Platform], and even though there were fewer in-person attendees than normal, it was fun to watch them engage with the virtual attendees. It wasn’t like they were completely separate,” says Nikki Harris, Manager of Member Experience at NSA. 

NSA's sponsor showcase highlighting the event's partners

When you partner with an event technology supplier that seamlessly connects your virtual and in-person attendees, you’re one step closer to achieving hybrid event success. The right event management platform should help you focus on running your event and empower your attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors to get the most out of the event’s content!

4. Boost attendee engagement with professional emcees.

Event planners are familiar with the importance of booking well-known and respected speakers for their in-person and virtual events, but the hybrid emcee is a fairly new practice in the event industry. 

Partnering with professional emcees can help set the tone for your event, build excitement and engagement for both in-person and virtual audiences, and take some pressure off your speakers. 

NSA’s emcees at Winter Workshop 2021 are perfect examples of how you can leverage the role of the hybrid emcee to make your event all the more memorable. NSA opted to partner with two emcees for the duration of their event and the virtual warm-ups during the month leading up to Winter Workshop 2021.

“Two people bring different personalities, energy, and talents to the table. They can each communicate in a way that’s natural to them, and it can appeal to different individuals in the audience. Plus, our emcees were at every session, which was key for tying together every session, from the virtual warm-up to the main event,” says Matt Longdon, Manager of Marketing and Communications, NSA. 

Not only did NSA’s emcees successfully engage both virtual and in-person attendees, but they also monitored the event’s session chat and relayed attendee questions to the presenters. This allowed the speakers to focus on their content and encouraged more engagement between the audiences and speakers. 

Partner with Webex Events for Your Next Hybrid Event 

Between promoting your hybrid event, securing sponsors, and identifying the right partners, you have a lot on your hybrid pre-event checklist. 

When it comes to your event’s virtual event platform, Webex Events checks every box! From event registration to the post-event experience, Webex Events is an end-to-end solution that helps you create immersive event experiences for virtual and in-person attendees. 

Webex Events' end-to-end event management platform

If you’re ready to partner with an end-to-end event management platform that: 

  • Allows for full branding and customization 
  • Seamlessly facilitates hybrid networking and attendee engagement 
  • Comes loaded with chat, polling, Q&A, and gamification 
  • Offers state-of-the-art video streaming capabilities, RTMP functionality, and Video Networking Rooms 
  • Includes options to showcase sponsors 
  • Provides world class support

Webex Events is here to help! Leverage event software that powers in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. Request a personalized demo with a Webex Events Expert today.

Experience an actual hybrid event. Register for the on-demand version of our hybrid webinar, When Virtual Meets In-Person: How to run a successful hybrid event. Discover how Webex Events powers on-demand experiences and access exclusive content!