Since hybrid events consist of both online and in-person elements. They are the hardest to plan. All Project managers working on planning a hybrid event should have a checklist by their side to ease the process. We want to help you plan out your events more efficiently, so this is the checklist that we at AVIANET would use if planning your next hybrid event. 

The first thing on your checklist should be the area of benefits. Why should you choose a hybrid event over an in-person gathering? So, this part consists of clear benefits for your company and what you wish to achieve with your hybrid event. Start with basics then climb your way to more profound goals. In this way, you won’t forget anything on your checklist. 

Extended Reach: 

The number one priority on your checklist and the sole purpose of hybrid events is audience reach. The biggest benefit of hybrid events is that you can triple your audience reach because you are not limited to space like you would be if you are hosting an in-person event. Attendance is not limited by geographical or logistical barriers. Going hybrid expands the space limited for sponsors and exhibitors. Your checklist should include exhibitors and sponsorship opportunities, depending on the type of event. 

Cost Reduction: 

One of the biggest motives before going hybrid is cost reduction. Explore your financial possibilities and budget. Calculate if hybrid events save money and resources. If the answer is affirmative, then cost reduction should be part of your checklist. From a logistical point of view, it can be demanding to plan out a hybrid event, so if it doesn’t save money, it cannot create financial value. 

Lower Carbon Footprint: 

A lot of companies want to be perceived as eco-friendly. Part of that can be achieved by planning out hybrid events. Saving our planet should be prioritized by every company and AVIANET can be a great partner in achieving that. To find out if you succeeded in reducing your carbon footprint, there is the Carbon Emissions Calculator. It showcases to you and your attendees how much carbon footprint was reduced by choosing to participate in a hybrid format of the event. 

Parallel of Sequential Hybrid Events? 

Choosing in which direction to go depends on your event goals and needs. Opting for parallel hybrid events means that you want your in-person and hybrid part of the event to happen at the same time. On the other hand, sequential events are targeted if you want to broadcast part of the event later to any virtual event provider. Perhaps you want to film a webinar and send it out to attendees that could not attend the webinar live. The possibilities are endless. 

Exhibition halls: 

As mentioned above, exhibition halls are the key to making any event interesting and informative because this is where the information exchange happens. You don’t want to leave out your online part of the attendees. Therefore, it is good to choose a virtual event platform like AVIANET that offers customizable exhibition halls. So, you can equally spread out information to both online and in-person attendee lists. Not to mention that this means more sponsorship opportunities because you will need more exhibition booths. It is a win-win situation in our book! 

Gamification features: 

Make sure to choose a virtual event platform that offers gamification features. This is especially important if you plan to have Q&A sessions or quizzes during an event. It is fair to include your online audience as well. You can successfully do this by having gamification features on your virtual event platform. So, your project manager should define these objectives prior to the event. 

To conclude, your checklist should be precise and objective oriented. In other words, it should contain all of your event goals along with your wanted virtual event platform features.