Virtual events is a confusing world, and many are afraid of coming across naïve, complicated by new AV tech terms, and struggling with streaming platforms. Where do you even begin?

A new world of events

As we emerge from two years of uncertainty brought about by the pandemic, the events industry has become a strange new world. Sure live events are bouncing back, as nothing can replace good old face-to-face, and us at Rockitfish are welcoming them back with open arms. 

Welcome to virtual

As the live events suffered during the pandemic a new branch of our industry grew, and grew fast – virtual. So fast that we were producing virtual events just has quickly as we were learning how to produce them. We were no exception, having to adapt quickly and get to grips with this new market. [We were effective and now well known for the virtual events we produce. 

Where next?

The best thing virtual gives businesses is worldwide reach, bigger margins, and lower costs. Things live events always struggled with. For all that is good with virtual they will never replace live events, and there’s no pretending that they might. However, these benefits are hard to ignore. 

The solution? Hybrid.

Hybrid can deliver the best of the both worlds, but what is it? Many companies are still getting used to virtual, so where does hybrid take us? And how can we make the most if it?

Lucky for us there is model already out there, and has been for a long while now. Television. 

Television

I’m not talking about the finale to Game of Thrones… apart from it being terrible TV it’s not a good model to replicate for an hybrid event.

However the shows that you should focus your attention to for inspiration would be the news, panel shows like Have I Got News for You, morning shows, Top Gear, and chat shows like Graham Norton Show.

They have all the elements events do: design, guest speakers, remote speakers, stages, presenters, AV teams, marketing, presentations, live audiences, and sponsorship.

Production teams aren’t that scary, tell them what you want based on what you already know and they’ll deliver exactly what you need.

How this can help your event

Production: How do you want the flow of the event to go. 

Top Gear has a live audience with the presenters on stage, they bring on guests for interviews, and they talk to you at home. They also have pre-recorded content that runs throughout the show. All this can be done during your event. Just remember to do any pre-recorded content in plenty of time!

Technology: How will the event work. 

Streaming, switchers, RTMP, greenscreen; do these jargon terms leave you scratching your head. Can you see the pound signs spinning? Naturally the bigger the production the more it’ll cost, but there are plenty of options from browser based solutions, to pop-up studios, to full AV teams, that any budget can be catered to.

Design: How do you want the event to look on screen. 

The BBC news has graphics and transitions throughout as it moves from one report to the next. It’s also presented from a stage set, and uses green screen. Remote speakers dialing in from home (you’ve seen the serious political interviews with their children wandering in). See those pop-ups from the bottom of the screen with presenters names on, they’re called lower thirds. All possible for an event, just use the news as your template to help with your brief.

Marketing: How do you want to promote the event and get people talking about it. 

This one is simple, nearly all TV shows have suitable hashtags associated with them. Just make sure your presenter is pushing them. What to engage the audience further – run a competition. Your budget may not stretch to winning a family holiday for 4 to the Maldives, but you get the idea. Finally, if you record the event you have re-usable content to promote the next event and wider business across your social channels.

Sponsorship: How will you fund your event. 

Adverts of course. ITV and C4 are wholly funded by adverts; specific shows are sponsored, with adverts topping and tailing the advert breaks, and then of course the several minutes of adverts themselves. Perhaps change this model a little and look to YouTube for the shorter adverts they use. Video marketing is on the up, so your partners will want to utilise the opportunity to reach your audience. Then sell the space! Oh, and product placement. 

Whether you want to run your event fully virtually, going hybrid and using a production studio, or as part of your live event the digital opportunities are endless, and very exciting.