Top Tips for moving forward in Virtual, Hybrid and Live Events for 2021

Tuesday 5 January 2021

Whereas our focus is ordinarily on finding the perfect venue for an event, we’ve been sourcing venues for filming as well as shifting our focus on how to help clients deliver their events in a different way. 

With the first lockdown back in March, we quickly implemented a Safe Event Assurance Document to share with our clients and the venues we work with, ensuring that we only propose venues to clients that are Covid secure and compliant with government guidelines. We’ve also taught ourselves the ins and outs of the valuable virtual platforms on offer and used our amazing relationships with venues and suppliers to ensure that our clients’ needs can still be met; whether in the form of a virtual workshop, activity or seminar or facilitating their corporate gifting requirements!

Following on from our webinar series just before Christmas, here are VSL’s top tips for your next virtual, hybrid and things to consider for the eventual return to live event venues;

For virtual events –

· Time! - Remember when organising an event to take into consideration both lead time and event time. If you’re organising or running a full day event, plan enough breaks so guests can step away from the screen and their seats.

· Platform – Pick the right platform for you, your audience and importantly your event needs! Do you want to swap guest information, book private 1-2-1, control who can view specific content, do you want sponsor opportunities, is it compatible with different devices – all of this must be considered.

· Cost – A well organised, considered, and high-quality virtual event is unfortunately not free to create! Take this into consideration when budgeting your events.

For Hybrid Events –

· Audience participation – Think about how the live and virtual audience will view the content, access information, speak to each other, even receive gifts. A hybrid event allows you to give an opportunity for people to be face to face or to stay home if for whatever reason they cannot attend the event. Of course, it also allows guests around the world to attend without the cost of flying so the benefits are not just health and safety related.

· Technology – This is both live and virtual. Like with a full virtual experience, platform is key, but keep in mind the live audience too – do you want these to be intwined and allow your two audiences to participate in the same or different ways?

· Cost – Hybrid is going to mean looking at your budgets in a different way. You’re creating an event of two parts, live and virtual, so ensure that you remember this when looking at your costs!

For Live Events –

· Don’t revert to “what you always did” – things have changed, ensure you look at the pros and cons of your event, what lessons you have learnt from 2020’s adaptions and create something new and exciting!

· Safety – safeguard and proof your event, this is going to be SO key. Ensure you are including biosecurity within your budgets while it’s still necessary.

· Think about your audience needs – we’re going to see a shift in how guests attend events in the future. Think about including elements you may not have before – be flexible, be creative, adapt the food you supply, adjust your sessions, and think about mental health and fitness sessions within your programme

Location – Flexible working hours and working from home now has become the norm. It’s important to ensure you understand where the venues you choose are based. For example, near to the office is potentially not going to be the driving force anymore – looking at public transport links and onsite parking will be priority as well as venue facilities and safety. Contract flexibility – Cancellation or postponement clauses are going to be key, should Government guidance not allow the event to take place in the way you had hoped/planned, you need to ensure your contracts reflect this allowing for a smooth plan B. Venues are expecting this to be a requirement so always ask as it’s important to make sure both sides are happy before contracting and ensure you’ve given yourselves some flexibility.

Get connected – Ensure that the venue offers strong wi-fi and audio-visual facilities, sufficient to be able to include live streaming. Virtual and Hybrid events naturally require a far more robust technological offering so make sure this either comes as standard or can keep with the pace should the event need to be taken online in part or, as a whole. Always enquire about technical support on site and do be prepared to pay an additional charge for this to support the smooth running of your conference or event.

Shop around – With so many event plans put on hold this year, it is likely to be a buyer’s market in 2021. Don’t dive in without asking us to do some extensive research to find the perfect venue and negotiate the best rates.

And how can all of this be made easier? Use a free venue finder! At Venue Search London, we really do provide a personalised service, completely free, with our knowledge and expertise allowing us to negotiate on your behalf, saving you money and time doing the groundwork. We know the questions to ask and we take pride in being able to provide you the best solutions for your event, whether that now be virtual, hybrid or live!

Want to see how else the landscape of events will change for 2021? M&IT have a great read available here.

If you would like any information on the venues mentioned or have an enquiry for virtual, hybrid or live events, please email us at hello@venuesearchlondon.com or call us on 0207 870 9305. Alternatively, please complete our short online enquiry from here.