As a part of our sit-down with Naif Productions CEO, Annette Naif, we answer the question on many event professionals’ minds – what are hybrid events and how quickly do we need to familiarize ourselves with this concept in 2021?
Annette Naif: What are you seeing currently as we look ahead into the events during the second half of 2021?
Jennifer Best: Hybrid is what everybody is talking about right now. There are so many different ways to do a hybrid event. We’ve seen smaller groups together in regional locations where things are streamed. I’ve also heard of an example of something like 20,000 people viewing a virtual event together but in small groups like in churches and in homes, and that’s technically a hybrid event too because you’re with other people even though the content is delivered virtually.
And so I think what’s most fascinating is how everyone interprets hybrid events differently, and it gives so many new ideas and ways people could get their content out to their audience. Also, people understand that it can expand their reach. You’re getting in front of so many more people when you keep that virtual component.
There are so many different ways to do a hybrid event.
Jennifer Best
Annette: Yeah that’s what they like! So with a hybrid event, you could have just an emcee or host on the stage; you can have just the speakers come to the live event, and then you live stream everybody else in. You could have a small audience of 30 to 50 or even a larger audience in the ballpark of 500 attend in-person and also stream it to many more people tuning in virtually. For a recent event, I was a part of, we had almost 600 people in person, but they streamed in about 3,000 to 4,000 people.
And you make money! For all of you who are hosting or looking to host events, know that you make money both ways — you can sell those tickets for just as much. What I’m finding now is that they are selling the tickets at the same price as they would be if it was in-person. With the technology we have available today, you can give your sponsors the same kind of exposure with a hybrid event. The setup is really, really amazing now, so that’s something to think about.
With the technology we have available today, you can give your sponsors the same kind of exposure with a hybrid event.
Annette Naif
Jennifer: And I would just add that what we’re seeing for speaker fees is that speakers are also aware that they’re talking to a bigger audience. And so they’re not talking to 500; they’re now talking to 4,000. And that’s part of why you’re probably seeing people charging the same amount for attendance. So what we’re seeing is speakers are pricing themselves accordingly based on the number of people they’re talking to. So also keep that in mind as you plan out your budget.
Watch the video interview on our YouTube channel. For additional resources on hybrid events and more, visit: aaespeakers.com/event-planning-resources