Assuming that you already realize that content is king…the best way to build a hybrid event is to start at the beginning of the planning process and design your hybrid event as 1 event with 2 audiences as opposed to 2 separate events. This ensures that it will be a seamless process and will present a unified event to all audience members no matter where they are located.

With that being said, there are 4 key areas that require attention as you start building your hybrid event from the ground up:

1. Strategy - Rule #1 is “know your audience.” So it only makes sense that rule #2 should be ”give your audience what they want.” A hybrid event takes it 1 step further since you have 2 audiences to think about…1 onsite and 1 online. You must start with figuring out the “who” and the “why.” Then you can start thinking about “what” to give them based on their personality, their needs, their learning styles, their attention spans, their technology aptitude, and so much more. How are you going to build your session topics, your industry experts, your schedule to appeal to both audiences? What methods and tools are you going to use to unite your online and onsite audience into 1 cohesive group? How are you going to ensure that neither audience feels slighted? What are you going to do to ensure that both audiences have an interactive experience? All the money and planning in the world cannot save a hybrid event that didn’t start with a clear strategy and purpose for your 2 audiences…because it is these 2 audiences who are
going to determine if your hybrid event is a success based on how much they paid attention, what they get out of it, and how it made them feel.

2. Logistics - Since you are creating an event that has 2 audiences, there are more things that you need to take into consideration within your physical space than you are traditionally used to. Yes, you need to have an appropriate geographic location and a stimulating venue. You must handle transportation, lodging, F&B, industry speakers, AV, seating arrangements, registration, name badges, and all of the other details necessary for a successful live event. But you also have to think about the space from the virtual audience’s viewpoint. Is the background going to make the camera iris jump? Is there floor space for all of the equipment and personnel necessary for the livestream and how many tables and chairs are required? Is there a dedicated T1 line? Is there free wi-fi so that the onsite audience can interact and communicate with the online audience? Is there space for a studio to provide the virtual audience dedicated content while the onsite audience is on break? Is there enough electricity or do power distros need to be brought in? Where are the electrical outlets? What are the fire codes in the building? Is there empty crate storage nearby? On top of everything else, you need to ensure that all of this additional equipment and personnel look neat and tidy since they will be on display for the onsite audience to see.

3. Equipment - The amount and type of production equipment necessary for your hybrid event ties back into your strategy and is dependent on your virtual audience. Chances are that they are expecting a visually stimulating experience…but do they prefer sports, news, or movies? That will determine the type of production they are expecting from you. How many camera angles will keep them interested? Will a lot of visual movement appeal to them or do they prefer more static shots? Do they like images that are
lighter or darker in color? Are you livestreaming 1 session track or several all at once? Is your event closed to the industry or open to the public? Do you have a virtual emcee? Will your 2 audiences want to step away from the action and be able to network virtually? All of these need to be taken into consideration when selecting your cameras, tripods/dollies/booms, switcher mainframes, lights, light boards, microphones, sound boards, audio speakers, recorders, monitors, risers, headsets, cables, accessories, laptops, streaming equipment, and virtual event platform.

4. Personnel - The personnel required to execute a successful hybrid event is determined by your strategy and the equipment you will be using. But the most important factor is that everyone involved knows their role and works together as a team to achieve the goals set forth prior to your hybrid event. Do you know everything involved in producing a hybrid event or should you hire a hybrid event consultant or producer who can pull everything together for you? Do you know individual crew members who all have similar work ethics or should you choose a production company that shares your vision and trust them to hire the necessary personnel? There is a different personality type and skill set necessary for a fastpaced show with lots of movement than for a more static show with less movement. Can the crew communicate with each other without yelling or blowing their top? Do they know how to do their job and know how to do it well? Can they stay awake in a dark room for hours on end? Do they reflect the image of your 2 audiences and your company? Everyone needs to pay rapt attention to what is going on in the room to ensure that all the action is captured and there is no time lag for the virtual audience. Technical skills and soft skills are paramount to selecting the best hybrid event consultant or producer, director, cameramen, sound pros, lighting pros, switchers, production assistants, virtual emcee, Twitter/chat moderator, virtual event platform provider, streaming provider, and any other personnel necessary to ensure your hybrid event is a huge success.

Once you have all of these in place, you can start concentrating on marketing your hybrid event to build your 2 audiences; creating sponsorship opportunities for revenue generation; figuring out your engagement strategies for your virtual audience and how to unite your 2 audiences into 1 cohesive group; training your speakers on how to engage with 2 audiences at the same time; creating a plan for repurposing the footage for additional education and promotion strategies; and measuring your hybrid event's success. Whichever way you turn just remember 2 things: "do not waste your time, your money, or your personnel" and "less players equals less margin of error."

Long live the hybrid event!

Emilie Barta, hybrid event consultant/virtual emcee discusses hybrid events. She originally posted this blog at virtual eventhostemcee.com and it is reposted here with permission.

 Emilie Barta's 15 years of broadcast/video experience and 13 years of live event experience enable her to help her clients plan successful, visually stimulating, and interactive hybrid events. She is known for her audience engagement expertise, and is forging new territory in creating the role of virtual emcee to ensure that the virtual audience feels like they are in the room even though they are not physically in the room. For more information please visit http://www.VirtualEventHostEmcee.com. Follow Emilie on Twitter @EmilieBarta and on Facebook.

I am very happy to see the perception of hybrid events shifting from “what are they” to “why do I need them?” I feel like we are getting the word out on what they are, but we still need to work on why they are valuable. Let’s face it, hybrid events are a new concept, most associations and conference organizers find them intimidating, and some technology glitches need to be worked out. But I believe that attendees will forgive the hiccups in the learning process AS LONG AS their needs are met and their concerns are addressed.

• Hybrid events increase the size of your audience since you now have both a face-to-face audience and a virtual audience…in this case two is better than one

• Hybrid events extend the reach of your conference to a global community since you are now streaming information over the internet…not only do you pick up attendees from far away who would never consider attending your event, but you also pick up attendees you never even knew existed who just “happened upon” your virtual component

• Hybrid events give those unable to attend the ability to still participate in your conference…we all know that “stuff happens” and sometimes people are not able to attend an event in person, so giving them access through a virtual component (since something is better than nothing) shows them that you appreciate their interest and still want to provide them information and education

• Hybrid events allow for "collective-knowledge," so more people involved in your conference means more idea-sharing and brain-storming…think of how much more can be learned and accomplished by widening your audience since networking and learning from your peers is one of the biggest advantages to having a conference

• Hybrid events provide footage which can be archived and re-purposed for further education and promotion…websites and video do not have an expiration date, so you are able to use what you recorded indefinitely and in many different ways; think of the good-will you will generate if you pass the content to others for their own personal and professional use, and then think of even how much more exposure, and possibly revenue, you will get as a result

• Hybrid events enable year-round, never-ending conversations and interactions…since you are building a new web-based community, this community can continue to interact well after your event physically ends

• Hybrid events create new sponsorship opportunities and more publicity for your sponsors, advertisers, vendors, supporters, etc…especially since there is a much wider audience, a much longer time frame for exposure, and the ability to expand your reach exponentially through social media and word-of-mouth "sharing"

• Hybrid events create new revenue streams for your association/organization...although a virtual component cannot demand the same price as you would charge your face-to-face attendees, fees can be collected for registration and continuing education credits

• Hybrid events show that your association/organization is forward thinking and on the cutting edge of technology…you want to constantly service your members, so prove to them that you are always looking for ways to advance your organization into the future by taking advantage of developing trends and strategies

• Hybrid events convert virtual attendees into face-to-face attendees at your next event…we all know that there is nothing better than meeting someone face-to-face, shaking their hand, reading their body language, and sharing information and stories right next to each other, so use your virtual component to create a feeling of "I have to be there next year"

Long live the hybrid event!

Emilie Barta, hybrid event consultant/virtual emcee discusses hybrid events. She originally posted this blog at virtualeventhostemcee.com and it is reposted here with permission.

Emilie Barta's 15 years of broadcast/video experience and 13 years of live event experience enable her to help her clients plan successful, visually stimulating, and interactive hybrid events. She is known for her audience engagement expertise, and is forging new territory in creating the role of virtual emcee to ensure that the virtual audience feels like they are in the room even though they are not physically in the room. For more information please visit http://www.VirtualEventHostEmcee.com.  Follow Emilie on Twitter @EmilieBarta and on Facebook.

What is in a name? Unfortunately, when it comes to hybrid events many are not sure yet.

A hybrid event occurs when a face-to-face (F2F) and a virtual event happen simultaneously to enable two audiences to participate as one. A truly successful hybrid event is designed as one event with two unique audiences that are united to form one collective audience…as opposed to being designed as two separate events OR a F2F event with a virtual component thrown in as an afterthought. This ensures that it will present a unified event to all audience members no matter where they are located.

Make sense?

Unfortunately, what I see too often is people planning two completely separate events and calling these two completely separate events a hybrid event because they happen on the same dates. But where is the joining, the blending, the combining? Where is the common purpose, content, objectives? After all…those are the definitions of “hybrid.”

I’ll explain more…

We create hybrid events for those that are unable to attend the F2F event due to budget, time, workload, family, health, or disability reasons. So why would we give them something totally different from what they would have experienced had they been able those that are there onsite? Why would we make them feel like outsiders?

A hybrid event is ONE event. Since 1/2 of the hybrid event is the F2F event and 1/2 of the hybrid event is the virtual event, you have two separate audiences. But these two separate audiences are participating in the same event…just in a different manner, location, time zone, etc. These two audiences need to be united into one cohesive group…as opposed to being treated like the interact with one another. The two audiences are sharing in the same hybrid event experience, while at the same time having a unique experience all their own depending on if they are participating F2F or virtually.

Long live the hybrid event!

Emilie Barta, hybrid event consultant/virtual emcee discusses hybrid events. She originally posted this blog at virtualeventhostemcee.com and it is reposted here with permission.

Emilie Barta's 15 years of broadcast/video experience and 13 years of live event experience enable her to help her clients plan successful visually stimulating and interactive hybrid events. She is known for her audience engagement expertise, and is forging new territory in creating the role of virtual emcee to ensure that the virtual audience feels like they are in the room even though they are not physically in the room. For more information please visit http://www.VirtualEventHostEmcee.com. Follow Emilie on Twitter @emiliebarta and on Facebook.

Recently, I wrote a post about the meaning of branding. Here is the second of two examples of the branding process.

I was hired in 2004 to help evolve the Centennial brand from stealth to the world class recognized industry leader that they really were and are. I started at the brand development side. I questioned everything from the mission statement, the core values, the development of a value statement, etc. There were difficult sessions from the president on down. I even talked with the competition. I wanted to know the perceptions, the beauty, the soft and the hard spots. The process took about six months to bring to a point were we could craft a branding statement and move forward.

Today we have a brand store that gives insight to this brand thinking, but at the high level look at our elevator pitch.

We realized that our brand was about people, solutions, and living up to our promises and that we are a different kind of company. So we made sure that we pulled this brand thinking into our themes, our designs, and our approach to all the marketing and sales. Once the brand platform is crafted and believed and understood, the communications and marketing development efforts flow from here. We realized that our key growth efforts were building brand awareness and building a body of knowledge around JOC and Centennial. We also focused on the media and public relations side based on this brand thinking.

Brand is a challenge, because if left untended and cared for it can grow all weedy and diminish over time. People begin to change it, shape it to their view and next thing you know you are no longer aligned and it is hard to be honest with yourself and the organization all the time.

David Carrithers is vice president of marketing at Centennial Contractors Enterprises where he leads daily operations of its corporate brand management, market development and sales programs. Carrithers has over 25 years of experience in marketing and new business development. Carrithers has managed brand assets valued in the multi-billions of dollars, including the brands of American Express, MasterCard, General Motors, AT&T, Air Products & Chemicals, Motorola, Bell South, M&M Mars, Rich Products, Xerox, Diebold and American Cyanamid. Carrithers has been awarded two US Patents, and is recognized as an industry expert in customer and employee loyalty programs in the US. He is the global creator of the first stored-value cards and gift cards. He presents on business management, project management, relationship management and brand and product development. Carrithers has also served as industry chairman for Center for Job Order Contracting Excellence, a board member for the Alliance for Construction Excellence and IFMA Industry Ambassador to China in 2007. He blogs at www.CentennialNOW.blogspot.comand tweets @CentennialNOW.

Recently, I wrote a post about the meaning of branding. Here is the first of two examples of the branding process.

CJE transitioned from being part of Arizona State University to a stand-alone organization. I was the industry chairman during this transition. I called for a facilitated session on the strategic planning going forward (key in this was the brand development elements).

Here are a few links with information worth looking at:

http://www.jocexcellence.org/strategic_plans.htm

http://www.jocexcellence.org/documents/CJE_Strategic_Plan_Session.pdf  

http://www.jocexcellence.org/documents/Elevator_Pitch_CJE_12-2-08.pdf

Prior to this effort we had no clear understanding of the organization's focus, what the members want from us, etc. After going through the strategic planning process, we defined the brand to mean education and sharing best practices in JOC. One key brand platform is the website www.JOCexcellence.org, where the design, flow and message were driven by the brand vision. A second example where brand drove the elements was the development of a new simplified logo (the old one showed skyscrapers being built, when we do not support skyscrapers being built).

The strategic effort has helped time and time again. When we are challenged to change or take action, we always go back to "What does this mean to the brand/what are the brand impacts-good, bad, risk, alignment?"

David Carrithers is vice president of marketing at Centennial Contractors Enterprises where he leads daily operations of its corporate brand management, market development and sales programs. Carrithers has over 25 years of experience in marketing and new business development. Carrithers has managed brand assets valued in the multi-billions of dollars, including the brands of American Express, MasterCard, General Motors, AT&T, Air Products & Chemicals, Motorola, Bell South, M&M Mars, Rich Products, Xerox, Diebold and American Cyanamid. Carrithers has been awarded two US Patents, and is recognized as an industry expert in customer and employee loyalty programs in the US. He is the global creator of the first stored-value cards and gift cards. He presents on business management, project management, relationship management and brand and product development. Carrithers has also served as industry chairman for Center for Job Order Contracting Excellence, a board member for the Alliance for Construction Excellence and IFMA Industry Ambassador to China in 2007. He blogs at www.CentennialNOW.blogspot.com and tweets @CentennialNOW.

David Carrithers, vice president of marketing at Centennial Contractors Enterprises discusses the essence of branding.

I was recently asked to explain what brand means to an industry association. So I shared some thinking and background on how to look at the importance of branding within the mix of a business or a nonprofit organization. My background includes a large non-profit organization, where I found that branding was even more important in the growth of the organization.

A few high level thoughts.

1. Brand is not the logo (although the logo is a key brand element), the colors, the ads, or the website.
2. Brand is a promise. It is the outward meaning, understanding and value of the company (or product or service) being associated with that entity.
3. Brand must be aligned with the organization and what it represents.
4. Brand is the split second relationship feeling associated with an organization, its employees and the clients.
5. Brand is the spirit, the feel of an organization.
6. A powerful brand is 100% aligned with the value, the meaning, the movement forward of an organization/product/service. It is the most honest thinking and conversations you will ever have - if not, the brand promise is hollow.

So many people end up spending way too much time on colors and business card designs when they say brand, but they miss the underlying key thinking and drivers to a truly great brand. In technical environments this urge to jump into tactical stuff too soon is always prevalent. Branding should be the anchor point for the whole organization and the thinking from which other things flow - like design, message, actions within marketing, sales, etc.

Key: Brand allows for alignment of the whole organization. It brings the history and the future vision into the mix. It challenges us to ask, How is what we say we are demonstrated; how is it coming to life? Brand is the experience. It is the proof that what you say you are, you really are. I use a slide when I get to this point of a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger, all pumped up, with guns blazing and the wording "brand means you can say you are this...." But in realty you are this... and it is a picture of the Teletubbies. You know what I mean, we have all experienced it in our lives. A store that has a tagline, "friendliest store in town" and you never see a smiling face. Or an airline that says "on time and best in class awards for...." and they are hardest people to travel with, or the bank that says in their TV spots "you matter to us" and when you call them you never get a live person and it takes forever to push button your way to one.

I can fill up pages of examples like these. The fact is, the more aligned the brand is with the value you bring, and the people in the organization are living to that brand promise, the more successful you will be in growing and reaching more people. The more off you are, the less alignment there is - well the fact is you can actually create negative brand value and drive the business into the ground.

In the early 1980's (yes, I am dating myself now) I had the grand privilege of working for Air Products & Chemicals. Before "brand" was a fledgling thought in the eyes of the business, Air Products already understood how key this was to their future success. Not only did we have very well thought out brand standards (which I helped with), but they said across all 66,000 employees, the brand must be lived. We are about quality, safety, responsiveness and helping our clients improve results. Think about it, Air Products sold air. But how and what did the liquid nitrogen mean to that company, that hospital, that assembly line? Things like making sure the 3,000 tanker trucks and delivery trucks were designed and painted to match - to stand out. That we made sure the trucks were washed once a week (others in the industry never washed their trucks) or hand wiped every cylinder when it was delivered. To systems, we put in the first telephony system for the liquid cryogenics in the world so that the cryo tanks would call the customers and say (based on their desired refill points) "I am half empty do you want me to send a truck or do you want to talk to a live person?" To the training of employees, and to the safety truck rodeos we sponsored. Even the fact that we had research labs targeting the key markets that any client could use at no cost (food freezing, steel, semiconductor etching, etc.) These were all key to the brand meaning what it did/does.

In the coming weeks, I'll post a couple other examples of branding efforts I've been a part of.

David Carrithers is vice president of marketing at Centennial Contractors Enterprises where he leads daily operations of its corporate brand management, market development and sales programs. Carrithers has over 25 years of experience in marketing and new business development. Carrithers has managed brand assets valued in the multi-billions of dollars, including the brands of American Express, MasterCard, General Motors, AT&T, Air Products & Chemicals, Motorola, Bell South, M&M Mars, Rich Products, Xerox, Diebold and American Cyanamid. Carrithers has been awarded two US Patents, and is recognized as an industry expert in customer and employee loyalty programs in the US. He is the global creator of the first stored-value cards and gift cards. He presents on business management, project management, relationship management and brand and product development. Carrithers has also served as industry chairman for Center for Job Order Contracting Excellence, a board member for the Alliance for Construction Excellence and IFMA Industry Ambassador to China in 2007. He blogs at www.CentennialNOW.blogspot.com and tweets @CentennialNOW.

Courtney McCarron Hastings, director of communications at APCO International, discusses the importance of differentiating your brand.

In my last post, we talked about what a brand isn't. We learned that a brand is not a logo or any other piece of collateral we use to identify or market our organizations. We also learned that a brand is a person's gut feeling about our organizations. And our communication vehicles-logos, websites, etc.-all support this brand. Rather, should support this brand.

I guess the most appropriate starting place is identifying why all of this is so important. The simplest answer, of which we are all well aware, is the current communication environment. The average person is exposed to over 4,000 messages a day. Further, experts say that it takes the average person eight to 10 exposures to an organization to remember it.

More importantly, people make decisions based on emotions. Brands appeal to emotions by creating trust between an organization and its constituents and strong brands have the ability to cut through the clutter.

A brand also has some incredibly important secondary benefits as well. A brand strengthens the impact of all communication and, in doing so, paves the way for new customers. A brand also provides employees and customers with a sense of pride and commitment. Finally, a brand can be a helpful litmus test for making decisions within your organization. A brand is consistent, memorable and repeated often.

By Evan Shubin

Sorry, I know that wasn't a very nice thing to say.  It's actually the title of a great book by Mark Stevens that was written back in 2003, but it still resonates with me today.

Courtney McCarron Hastings, director of communications at APCO International breaks down a brand.

When you think of Volvo, what do you think about?  Do you picture a circle with an upward-pointing arrow surrounding the word Volvo?  Or do you think about safety?  My money is on the latter (but if you chose the former there is even more reason for you to continue reading)! 

Convention & Exhibition Industry Expert Sam Lippman offers suggestions for making a show a success:

Successful show managers use research to determine their exhibition's top three attendee cohorts.