Last month, IBTM hosted its first face-to-face event in two years, IBTM World. The event was held in a hybrid format, but — in what is likely to be a growing event trend this year — it was asynchronous, meaning that the in-person and digital components were not held concurrently.
The in-person event took place in Barcelona at the beginning of December, with the virtual event taking place two weeks later. The onsite event attracted more than 7,000 attendees from 72 countries and closed with over 30,000 pre-scheduled one-to-one business meetings having taken place, while over 2,000 meetings took place during the two-day IBTM World Online event.
XLIVE spoke to David Thompson, IBTM World Event Director, about how and why they went with an asynchronous format as well as his tips for fellow eventprofs planning hybrid experiences.
XLIVE: When and why did you decide that IBTM World 2021 would be a hybrid event, and specifically, an asynchronous hybrid event?
David Thompson: Virtual events are a great way to engage with audiences as an added benefit to face-to-face events, especially with travel restrictions still impacting in-person meetings. Since the pandemic, we knew that adding a digital element to our event would be paramount in allowing us to continue connecting with the wider industry and providing added value for our customers.
A hybrid format meant our buyers and exhibitors were able to conduct business, while the virtual elements enabled companies and organizations to increase their brand awareness and join networking opportunities, despite not being able to physically attend the show.
The main reason for hosting the in-person and online shows at different times was to give exhibitors and buyers the opportunity to recover after the in-person show, give them time to travel back from Barcelona, organize their notes and business cards exchanged during the in-person show so that they could effectively focus on the online event and make the most of joining.
XL: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when planning this year’s event?
DT: Back in March 2020, when we all started hearing about COVID-19 around the world, we could not fathom the effects it would have on our industry. The pandemic meant the industry had shrunk, with contacts having left their roles or being placed on furlough. This data degradation meant that securing high-quality buyers with a potential to do business took more time. However, our team smashed targets and secured over 1,400 high quality Hosted Buyers from 72 countries. Almost half were completely new to the IBTM portfolio, giving exhibitors more opportunities to do business with new contacts.
Another challenge was that just before the in-person show, a new wave of COVID-19 cases swept across Europe making it difficult for some buyers and exhibitors to travel to Barcelona. Our team did an amazing job to constantly stay in touch with these clients and provide solutions on a case-by-case basis, even if it meant transferring them to the online event so they didn’t miss out on business opportunities or the valuable education on offer as part of our Knowledge Programme, a huge draw for attendees.
Despite all obstacles, the IBTM World team remained passionate about bringing together the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions industry and providing a platform for professionals to connect, do business and learn. During the three-day event, IBTM World held over 30,000 pre-scheduled business meetings and more than 7,000 attendees joined for quality one-to-one business meetings, networking and education in Barcelona.
XL: How did you approach the virtual component of the event? Were the goals of the attendees different, and how did you cater to that?
DT: IBTM World Online education included the complete IBTM World Barcelona Knowledge Programme of over 65 sessions from leading industry experts. There were no sessions exclusive to the online event. In addition, Hosted Buyers benefited from dedicated content tailored specifically for them with elements from the Association Programme, The Elite Corporate Programme and IBTM Accelerate available on demand.
As well as pre-event matchmaking, our focus for online remained on providing high-quality one-to-one video meetings between buyers and suppliers, as well as provide an enhanced exhibitor directories and an exhibitor zone.
XL: Which platform did you use for the virtual event, and what ultimately led you to go with them?
DT: The IBTM World Online platform was designed by the expert event technology and management agency who delivered the successful IBTM World Virtual event in 2020: Sector Global. The interactive platform provided everything we were looking for, in terms of allowing exhibitors and Hosted Buyers who can’t attend IBTM World Barcelona the chance to network and do business with some of the world’s leading suppliers, buyers and destinations.
XL: Did you have a 365-engagement strategy around this event?
DT: All the education sessions in Barcelona were made available on-demand for attendees, giving them the opportunity to catch up on sessions they may have missed due to being tied in business meetings on the show floor.
Another ‘360 engagement’ feature we offered during the live event was the opportunity for attendees to engage live with some speakers who couldn’t attend due to last-minute travel restrictions, while watching live expert presentations and participate in Q&As with the help of video meeting facilities. This was a fantastic way for attendees to feel as they were in the same room with the speakers and prevent unconventional circumstances from deterring their event experience.
XL: What are your top tips for planners organizing their own hybrid events based on what you’ve learned from this event?
DT: Stakeholder communication from the outset and throughout implementation is key — IBTM World took a very structured approach to managing communication with stakeholders to ensure they were kept informed of plans throughout the process. Clients and key stakeholders were informed about the online add-on before a public announcement was made. The sales and Hosted Buyer teams then followed up individually with each of their clients to discuss their participation to the online event.
Alongside this, PR and marketing efforts were accelerated to build excitement about the online event. IBTM World communicated good news and information about the event through traditional PR channels such as news, interviews, blogs and press releases, as well as through social media channels and via its database in order to keep all stakeholders engaged.
Consistency is key so focus on your core offering — staging IBTM World Online was a continuous learning curve. One of the key challenges was to translate the IBTM World Barcelona experience directly to customers’ screens, so the team focused on what mattered most to our customers and homed in on the event’s core proposition of facilitating high-quality one-to-one meetings, and education.
IBTM World is renowned for its high-quality business meetings, so it was important that the online event centered on facilitating valuable connections between Hosted Buyers and exhibitors. The online platform included pre-event matchmaking, whereby exhibitors were able to assess the business potential of Hosted Buyers. This enabled exhibitors to build a quality pipeline of meetings with buyers with whom they had the real potential of doing business.
Attendee experience remains at the heart of meetings, whether in person or online — the team is very proud of what was achieved with IBTM World Online, and there’s there is always more to learn. A few of the lessons learned from the show that IBTM World will integrate into future plans include developing a clearer picture of the online customer journey from start to finish, in order to create a more seamless experience for attendees. IBTM will also be investing more in new technology as we may decide to integrate more online elements into our event going forward, and this will help to integrate those quality interactions that attendees love about the live show.
XL: Do you plan to organize more of these types of asynchronous hybrid events/experiences in the future? Is there anything you would change or improve on for the next iteration?
DT: While we are still gathering results and customer feedback for our events, we recognize that our industry has gone through a huge learning curve over the last two years, and that the core in-person element of our business has, in many cases, had to be supported or replaced by a digital element, which is crucial in allowing us to continue connecting with our customers and the wider industry.
We also know there’s huge demand for in-person events — it is one of the most effective ways to do business, however, there is a long-term place for high-quality virtual events that allow professionals from across the globe to connect more frequently — in case they can’t attend in person.
Incorporating online as part of the mix gives our community the opportunity to engage with new markets like never before by offering more flexibility and extra layers of engagement. With hybrid events in their relative infancy, IBTM World is looking to pave the way forward by delivering a world class, best in show event.