This year’s Cvent CONNECT event took place in a hybrid format, with about 1200 attendees onsite in Las Vegas and more that 12,000 virtual registrants. The virtual experience took place across three days, while the in-person component included a bonus day before the rest of the program started for attendees participating in the event’s Training Camp program.
Rachel Andrews, Director of Meetings & Events at Cvent spoke to XLIVE about what it took to pull together this year’s event, they key decisions that she and her team had to make, and her top tips for other event planners.
XLIVE: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when planning a hybrid Cvent CONNECT?
Rachel Andrews: The continued uncertainty that surrounds the pandemic definitely posed a challenge to our planning — local and federal guidelines remained in flux just days before the event, which impacted some of the decisions we needed to make around the in-person portion of CONNECT. For example, Las Vegas implemented a mask mandate shortly before the conference, so we worked with our incredible partners and sponsors to order and deliver thousands of branded masks for our in-person attendees. More broadly, though, the honor (and added pressure) of demonstrating what a true hybrid event, or what we’re referring to as “one event, two experiences,” really looks like on a grand scale — to an audience of experienced planners no less — presented us with the added challenge of ensuring a cohesive program that could engage and cater to two different audiences: virtual and in-person.
XL: Was there a team dedicated to the in-person event and another dedicated to virtual?
RA: Yes and no. Certainly, we delegated responsibilities and resources for each individual element of the in-person and virtual components of the conference. For example, we had two separate teams handling the video production of the in-person experience and the virtual one, and we had a remote team moderating and engaging with our virtual audience via chat as well to make sure the virtual experience was impactful. But on a higher level, our focus from the beginning was on integrating all the key stakeholders under one hybrid umbrella ensuring our attendees — whether they opted to attend virtually or in-person — would get a similar experience. This meant bringing together planners, marketers, data specialists, production designers, technology experts, and a whole slew of teams from across our organization to draw on their expertise in order to achieve our event goals.
XL: How did you determine which elements would be specific to the digital audience, and which would be exclusive to the in-person attendees?
RA: We believe it’s always critical to match the right kind of experience to the right attendee. For CONNECT, we wanted to achieve this while keeping the reasons people ultimately attend Cvent CONNECT — learning and networking — top of mind. For those that were able to make the trip in-person, we wanted to maximize their time with a robust session agenda and additional networking options. For the digital audience, you have to think more creatively about what to deliver since those attendees will not be spending three full days in front of their computer screen. With that in mind, we selected several key sessions each day to stream live, while also giving virtual attendees opportunities to network — such as offering informal online roundtable discussions.
We also added a new program called “Cvent CONNECT TV” which was a live 15-minute newscast-type broadcast that was hosted twice a day exclusively for our virtual audience during the times our in-person attendees were having breakfast or lunch. It was fun way for our virtual audience to get an insider’s perspective into the event. Incorporating gamification and more robust technological infrastructure at the in-person portion of CONNECT complemented the exciting new digital engagement offerings for virtual participants, ensuring that both audiences received a high-caliber, elevated experience.
XL: What was your reasoning behind offering a free virtual ticket? How did you determine which features would be part of the Virtual Basic ticket vs. Virtual Premium?
RA: We definitely wanted to ensure that after a hard year where planners and meeting professionals had been put through so much, that everyone would have access to our educational content wherever they were, at no cost to them. But we also wanted to offer an experience for those remote viewers who wanted to go deeper and take advantage of CONNECT’s networking and interactive offerings as well as more varied content, which is why we built in an affordable Premium Virtual option that provided that experience. In addition, many organizations depend on registration as their primary event revenue source, so as part of our event design process we wanted to showcase how a multi-offer registration build can support those types of events and revenue goals.
XL: Were there any learnings you implemented from your virtual event last year? Was there anything in particular that you changed or improved upon?
RA: One key lesson we made sure to apply was allowing more time for pre-production and content development. A hybrid event requires both the time-intensive studio production and digital design labors of virtual and the extensive on-the-ground logistics and planning of in-person — the combination of which requires more time and forethought. In the lead-up to this year’s CONNECT we also made additional improvements to our Cvent Attendee Hub® solution, which is where the full event experience is built — such as new live chat and Q&A functionality, expanded networking options, and fine-tuned attendee engagement metrics and analytics — which elevated our own marketing strategy as well as the experience of all our attendees. Truly, having the right technology to support the hybrid experience was critical, and going through detailed run of show checklists, tech checks, and speaker preparation helped us deliver.
XL: How did you leverage pre-recorded/simulive sessions?
RA: While last year’s all virtual CONNECT conference featured a mix of prerecorded and live sessions, we wanted to showcase the live capabilities at this year’s event. Every single session was hosted live, and we had a team working throughout the conference to upload those live sessions immediately after they ended so that our virtual attendees could watch them on-demand that same day. While hosting sessions live can be intimidating, attendees do benefit from that irreplaceable energy and excitement of a live event while still allowing virtual attendees to curate their own selections of recorded seminars and sessions and revisit content at their convenience.
XL: Did you enable connections between audiences? If so, did you find that in-person attendees were interested in engaging with the online attendees?
RA: Part of creating a dynamic hybrid event is allowing for those shared experiences and connections – regardless of whether people opt to attend in-person or virtually. But in all honesty, there is still work to be done to truly facilitate this. While we found that our virtual attendees were engaging, and our in-person attendees were engaging, engagement between the two is still not where we’d like it to be. However, we did find that both our in-person and virtual attendees appreciated the wider reach and broader connections available to them through the hybrid experience.
XL: What safety considerations did you make for the in-person participants?
RA: Throughout the entire planning process, we organized the event in line with CDC recommendations and mandates from Las Vegas’ Clark County. For example, we required all conference attendees to wear a mask indoors when not actively eating or drinking. We also required Cvent CONNECT attendees to fill out daily health screening surveys administered by a third-party for entry to the conference and ensured that all Cvent employees supporting the onsite experience at Cvent CONNECT were vaccinated. Other measures we put in place included:
- A contactless check-in experience to minimize touch points during the check-in process —attendees could simply scan their provided QR code with their phone and wirelessly print out their badge.
- The ability to display ribbons/lanyards indicating varying comfort levels of social interaction onsite
- Offering responsible food and beverage protocols with safe seating and sanitation practices, including signage to reinforce social distancing and the use of biodegradable single-use items when possible. We also offered a separate distanced dining room for those who were more comfortable in that environment.
- Designing visitor pathways in high-traffic expo spaces to allow for additional space for physical distancing
- Hosting easily accessible event-specific safety materials and information in our Event App including access to an on-call physician
XL: What are your top 2-3 tips for planners organizing their own hybrid events based on what you’ve learned from this event?
RA: First, look outside the planning team for support. Make sure as a planner you’re leveraging your organization’s marketing and technology teams. Putting on a successful hybrid event that makes an impact today means measuring attendee engagement and taking a digital-first approach in nearly every aspect of the event. Doing this successfully requires cross-collaboration on a whole new level.
Second, it’s critical to remember that the high production values and technological innovations that come with designing a hybrid event should never take priority over what all attendees — virtual and in-person — are looking for: quality content that offers fresh perspectives, powerful ideas to expand their skillsets, and the opportunity to network and engage with their peers.
And finally, start small. Not every aspect of your in-person event needs to be offered in a virtual environment — in fact, it shouldn’t be. Maybe for your first hybrid event, you start with offering 2-3 sessions each day to your virtual audience. Everyone is trying to figure this out, and the fact that we’re in this together makes it easier to view it as a new opportunity to learn, grow, and expand your event impact.