So you’re building a hybrid event, and it’s essential to your event design that both your virtual audience and your face-to-face audience are engaging at the same time, while getting equal value out of the experience – not necessarily an easy feat.
We refer to this hybrid structure as Simultaneous Events, and we have helped our clients produce tons of ‘em. Keep reading to learn how you can make your Simultaneous Events run smoothly and authentically engage both audiences.
What are ‘Simultaneous Events’?
In a Simultaneous Events design, each in-person session is accompanied by a virtual version of the same content broadcasting at the same time. This hybrid event solution broadens the accessibility of your event, expanding the scope of your audience.
The choice is yours whether your virtual sessions are:
- Livestreamed videos of your in-person session in real time
- Pre-produced videos shot in advance
How Can I Decide Whether to Host Livestreams vs. Pre-Produced Virtual Sessions?
Each format has its own set of advantages, so we don’t offer a one-size-fits-all recommendation of one format over the other. Take a look at the advantages we have observed to decide what could work best for you:
Livestream Session Advantages
- Both audiences are witnessing the exact same speech or presentation, giving the illusion of being in the same space together
- Your virtual audience can get a glimpse of what the in-person experience looks like
- There is fewer work and time commitment expected of your speakers
Livestreaming pro tip: dedicate an in-person staff member to bridge the gap between both audiences throughout your sessions by responding to chat messages and vocalizing online questions to the speakers during Q&A’s!
Pre-Produced Session Advantages
- Online participants feel the virtual experience is catered specifically to them, rather than simply serving as an add-on
- Major speaker slip-ups can be edited out of the final video (including silences, stuttering, coughs, etc.)
- The session can be repurposed as on-demand content in a format most suitable for online viewing
Pre-Produced pro tip: delegate a chat animator to keep the online conversation going by posing intriguing questions, responding to other participants’ questions, and highlighting impactful or fruitful words from the speaker! Our Matchbox Live Event Support staff comes equipped with a team of trained chat animators dedicated to keeping that chat rollin’.
How Do I Know if the Simultaneous Events Structure is Right for my Event?
We recommend Simultaneous Events to any event planners with a large fraction of their community unable to attend the event in person, whether for health, financial, or practical reasons. However, we are in the midst of releasing our hybrid event design series collection of five innovative and diverse event design models, so that you can find your perfect match.
Our Simultaneous Events model is only the second release of our five part series (check out our first model, the Content Hub, here!). To stay tuned on hybrid event models to come, click below!
Looking to Host a Hybrid Event This Year?
We can help you find an event design that’s the right fit for your needs, whether it’s our Simultaneous Events model or another format in our collection of hybrid solutions.
