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Thrust upon the public unexpectedly, quickly embraced, then subject to a backlash, the story of the hybrid event has been a rollercoaster ride.
A spate of technological advances, however, are bringing the medium back to the masses, says Distortion Creative Group CEO Rob King.
In this exclusive Conference News blog King discusses the rise and fall of hybrid events and whether hybrid events are now back on the menu.
Hybrid’s fall
An article in The Times last year gave a damning critique of an online annual public meeting by a financial organisation, describing it as a ‘controlled and untransparent’.
Organisers faced criticisms over the use of pre-submitted questions, limiting direct public engagement. Technical issues further marred the event, with the livestream crashing at one point. The article called for a return to ‘traditional face-to-face meetings’ or an event model that ‘ensures genuine accountability’.
In a post-Covid world where businesses were already falling over themselves to physically unite staff, these sort of technical and logistical mishaps typified the wider market’s concerns about hybrid events’ pitfalls.
Hybrid back on the menu
And yet, since joining Distortion Creative Group last year, I’ve found myself talking about the hybrid medium almost more than any other topic. The ‘back-to-physical’ phenomenon was real and a cause for celebration, but as companies cement their working patterns to ‘hybrid-first’, the ‘hybrid event’ is making a 2025 comeback.
Companies I’ve spoken to, from across the FTSE 100 and beyond, have all embraced working remotely. They’re in the office one or two days a week, so getting 4,000 people together is posing a challenge.
Of course, many of the problems cited with the Times article could have occurred with any event format. The streaming issue, however, is a valid concern and one any event agency should ensure is tackled using reliable technology that can guarantee clients the desired level of performance and impact.
As workers familiarise themselves with the prevailing hybrid working practices, the ‘Teams Town Hall’ event has gained popularity. Even businesses with 200 people are able to successfully execute these online and mass adoption of Microsoft’s technology has played no small part in ease of accessibility.
A new paradigm
As technology moves at the speed of culture, however, there’s a real interest in enhancing a format that was unheard of even a few years ago. Some hybrid events had already become too formulaic. I was talking to a large automotive company who wanted to upscale its offering, introducing XR immersive worlds to elevate the experience for staff.
Luckily, the industry is better placed than ever to raise its game. Unreal, AI technologies and Virtual Production have proven to be powerful allies in the hybrid space, and are forming a vital bedrock in its reemergence. Indeed, Virtual Production is expected to grow from a $2bn market, to £8bn by 2029. Then there’s the metaverse, which went out of fashion, but is seeing a cautious reemergence thanks to better graphics, connectivity and a burgeoning web 3.0 boom.
The working habits of the public are at a juncture where a real revolution in conferencing and events is on the horizon. More frequent, honest, visually spectacular events – both in person, and online – are being demanded. A creative suite, equipped for the 21st Century, however, will be necessary to take full advantage of new opportunities.
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