Hybrid events: a mixed on-line and on-site format to reach more contacts

In the upcoming face-to-face events we will continue to provide the digital component by integrating it into the onsite format. This will allow us to offer to the sponsoring companies the plus of online participations and related contacts, which otherwise would be lost.

The New Normal: Hybrid events, a turning point

We believe that “Hybrid Events” will be the “new normal” for B2B events and tradeshows, featuring conferences, demo areas, matchmaking initiatives such as those organized by us.

OUR “FULL DIGITAL” EXPERIENCES

Due to the pandemic, we had to cancel our spring in-presence events, nevertheless we did not stop and we immediately produced, with great success, the “FULL DIGITAL” editions. During the lockdown, we offered to the enterprises the tools to keep in touch with their clients. IoTHINGS Week, CX Now Digital and Innovability Insights gathered over 2500 participants in dozens of webinars, meetings and networking events. Because of all this we developed the needed fieldwork for the delivery of even more effective and succesful hybrid events.

WHY “HYBRID EVENTS”?

BENEFIT FROM BOTH FORMATS

It is now clear that digital events have the capability to multiply the number of participants and contacts (“reach”) compared to the on-site event. On the other hand, the on-site event has among its strengths the greater quality of networking and the possibility of exploiting the exhibition and demonstration points.

LOWER COSTS, MORE AVAILABILITY

The organization of online events involves much lower costs than the on-site ones and this is reflected both in the participation rates as sponsor or exhibitor, and in the company costs for participation in the event. The costs for speakers and the attendees (travel, accommodation …) are also significantly reduced, while the availability of particularly committed and “valuable” speakers and participants, who can thus dedicate a limited time to the event, increases.

INCREASE ROI (RETURN of INVESTMENT)

Getting the contacts registered to a specific session in which you delivered the speech, getting twice the contacts compared to the in-presence only format, lower rates, are factors that lead to a much higher ROI. Furthermore, in “hybrid” events companies can decide in time whether to attend physically and / or digitally and therefore the related level of economic investment.

Reach out more prospects, a well organized path

Our Hybrid Events offer a path specifically designed to gather both physical and virtual visitors (reach), transform them into profiled contacts (leads) to be involved in meeting opportunities such as matchmaking and thematic groups (close-up meetings), where companies have the opportunity to meet them directly.

Internazionalization and/or globalization

Having participants connected from everywhere gives the opportunity to deliver additional contents and attract additional attendance from foreign countries. Definitely inviting international (but also domestic) speakers for keynotes or talks is a real “pull-factor” to expand the number of contacts and leads without generating heavy costs for the event.
In addition, to prevent some participants from feeling discouraged from speaking in foreign language, it is possible to have simultaneous online translation services, especially useful in the presence of targets from sectors such as PA, Utility, LPT which are traditionally domestic.

Short-tail vs Long tail

NO space and time limits

The organization of online events opens a new horizon that will surely be maintained even for “hybrid” events: the overcoming of physical and temporal limits, which is the possibility to:

extend the event duration from a few days to a few weeks
host parts of the same event in different locations, arranging a proper schedule

The “short tail” on-site event

All activities take place in one or two days: main conference, parallel sessions, exhibition area, meetings and networking

increase of participation costs for sponsors and exhibitors
attendees can’t join all the parallel conferences and/or meetings
participation reduction in related activities
less effective in the creation of valuable meetings during the event, therefore part of the networking is random, such as the visits at the exhibitors booth and the handshaking at the end of a workshop

The “long tail” on-line event

Companies supporting B2B events, consider increasingly less important to get data about an indistinct “mass” of participants gathering in a conference room or in an exhibition floor. Theu consider increasingly important to get limited and valuable contacts that can be acquired over a longer timeframe.

The online event allows the distribution of the initiatives over an extended timeframe: keynotes, conference sessions, matchmaking and networking activities take place over a period of 6 – 8 weeks.

Various possibilities arise:

The creation of initiatives for a very specific audience and the proper promotion avoiding overlaps and information overload
The delivery of information to the attendees with proper notice. Attendees increasingly register in the last few weeks or even just a few days before the event, thus it is important to highlight those potentially of interest to them and explain the related networking dynamics
The setting up of digital matchmakings (one-2-one meetings, close-up meetings, open house demos) a few weeks after the conference sessions, to increase the initiatives efficiency and effectivness. In fact, there is a greater chance of obtaining the availability of people (it is easier to ask to dedicate an hour and a half two times than three hours all together). Moreover, the fresh audience would be certainly interested
The in-presence sessions geographical relocation, which allow the organization of specific initiatives targetting the audience of various cities and providing local networking opportunities.

Format and operating methods

Events in autumn 2020: “Light Hybrid” format

Speakers and moderators gather in a specific place together with a limited and selected audience, while most of the participants attend remotely.

The event’s various parts take place over an extended timeframe

Our “hybrid” autumn events provide activities spread over a month and a half average period. We schedule at the beginning of the timeframe the contact generating parts (main sessions, keynotes, breakout sessions, roundtables, etc.) and subsequently the matching and networking activities.

New formats: virtual close-up meetings, virtual booths, on-line open house demos

Remote networking is deliverded with the support of professional tools to better virtualize the experiences such as meetings, booth visits and even guided tours at the company’s premises.

Sessions duration
Conference sessions last from a minimum of 45 minutes to a maximum of one and a half hours, to facilitate the participants in the decision to participate and prevent them from losing attention during the session because of other tasks to perform.

Professional audio and video direction
Companies and attendees enjoy professionally made and high quality audiovisual experience.

Team rearrangement

To better organize the whole process and to support sponsor companies at best, Innovability is in charge of contact generation tasks and Innovabilify is in charge of matchmaking and special events organization for individual companies.

How to participate

The first goal of our Hybrid Events is to reduce costs and increase the ROI of the participating companies

VERY LOW ENTRANCE FEE

You get basic online visibility to which you can gradually add the various services (even during the event)

PICK YOUR ADDITIONAL SERVICES

and create your own customized package, with no charges for activities you are no interested in

matchmaking & lead generation

Matchmaking and lead generation services are provided at success fee pricing model

Hosted events

We are available to support you in creating and promoting your own events (hosted events and/or open house demonstrations)

FIND OUT THE PARTICIPATION DETAILS

PRICE LIST

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