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You may not be surprised to hear this, but it still bears repeating: hybrid events are here to stay.

With the value of online events having been firmly established over the past year, but with people excited to be able to meet in-person again now,  organizers are going to find themselves hosting more and more in-person events with a virtual component aka. a hybrid event. To put a number on it - 51% of event marketers are convinced that this kind of conference will stay even after the pandemic subsides - simply because they are "pandemic proof.”

What this means is that event  organizers who half-heartedly trifled with the hybrid event format last year, no longer have the luxury to be complacent anymore in getting a hybrid event right. 

And there’s a lot to get right. 

There’s more to curating a hybrid event than just planning your in-person event and then inviting virtual attendees to tune in. At its essence, a hybrid event is all about bringing attendees together, regardless of their location, to enjoy a shared experience.  Easy to read but not so easy to pull off, especially when you’re not aware of basic errors that could derail your entire event.

To help you out, here are 5 mistakes to eschew when you set out to plan your hybrid event. 

1. Choosing an RTMP-streaming dependent hybrid event platform 

Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) is the de facto method for virtual and hybrid event platforms to stream audio, video, and data over the Internet, meaning that event organizers don’t think twice when the event platform partner of their choice uses RTMP streaming. But this is the biggest mistake organizers and planners can make. 

First, RTMP doesn’t allow for two-way communication which means that your virtual attendees will not be able to speak with your in-person speakers or attendees, which means you’re essentially blocking them from fully participating at the event. 

Second, using RTMP causes a 30 second latency issue which means that virtual attendees will continually feel out of the loop and one step behind in-person attendees. So if you did decide to use RTMP streaming, your speakers and attendees at the venue would have to continually wait for 30 seconds for the virtual audience to react.

Just imagine this scenario at your event:

‍- Scientist X, speaking at the venue: We’re excited to announce this life-saving new medicine!

- Attendees at the venue:  Cheers and applauds wildly

- Meanwhile, virtual attendees: *crickets*

                                                      10 seconds later… Hello? Scientist X? What’s going on?

                                                      20 seconds later…Hello? Hello?

                                                      30 seconds later…Oh

There should never be a latency issue at your hybrid event. Period. 

The need for organizers now, instead of defaulting to RTMP, is to look for a streaming platform that is zero latency-  like Zuddl.

2. Using a hybrid event platform that makes you compromise on branding

A large part of creating a hybrid experience that feels unified and shared is branding, because consistent branding throughout the event, at both the physical venue and your virtual one, ties both experiences together. However, this can be difficult if your hybrid event platform partner doesn’t have the capability to let you brand the hybrid event your way.

Branding, after all, is much more than slapping a logo and your brand colours on the welcome or login page. It’s about being able to create a look and feel that resonates with your brand, and this can be achieved through creative use of image, video and interactivity. 

So when picking your hybrid event platform, look for the branding ability it gives you. Take for example, this schedule page created by the University of Maryland (UMD) for their hybrid Board of Trustees meeting. Not only does it make clever use of UMD branding, but it also showcases the critical role the Foundation plays, and therefore subtly highlights the importance of the event as well.

“Creating a polished and branded meeting venue was very important for us from the beginning,” says Lindsay Meyers, Senior Director, Office of Special Events. “Being able to curate every aspect of the experience was critical. We wanted to design everything in a way that trustees would immediately feel they had come to the right place, and also capture the energy, professionalism, and pride of previous Foundation board meetings.”

Click here to read more about this hybrid event.

3. Having an ‘if they like it, they will pay attention’ mindset towards engagement

We’re betting right now that you have at least another three tabs open, and that you’re reading this piece half distracted by an email you need to read,  a conversation on Slack you need to reply to,  or a Netflix show you have on pause. No judgement - we get it. But like you, your attendees too have a world of distraction at the fingertips, which means that you have to actively work towards keeping their attention at your event. 

Curating great content is, of course, essential but it’s engagement that will differentiate your event sessions from a slick documentary on Youtube. Therefore giving your audience a variety of ways to get involved with your event - from Chat and Q&A to Polls - and using  Gamification to encourage them to keep on  participating is critical to keeping them invested. And this is also a way for all your attendees to feel like they’re at the same event.

4. Downplaying the importance of curating experiences for two audiences

You don’t have to create the same experience for your in-person attendees and your virtual ones.  “It’s really about what you can create even if they are different experiences that’ll make that experience worth it for separate audiences,” says Vedha Sayyaparaju, Co-Founder & CTO at Zuddl. 

For example, you wouldn’t ask virtual attendees to sit and watch live sessions for 4-5 hours like in-person audiences are used to doing. Instead you could consider offering live sessions many times so that virtual attendees can join at a time of their convenience but still build off the energy of a live session with an in-person audience. 

And for instance, if in-person attendees were treated to a live and hands-on demonstration of a product, you might offer virtual attendees exclusive opportunities to meet with experts in an online group for discussion. 

Then, you can bring both audiences together by using virtual Rooms that can be joined by in-person attendees via a mobile app and virtual attendees via the platform, for group discussions.

5. Not using analytics to make quick improvements

The biggest benefit of a hybrid event is the ability to learn more about attendee actions at your event in real-time. You’ll be able to see which topics are getting the most interest. You can use polls to capture feedback from attendees.  And you’ll be able to tell what collateral is working and what isn’t. This is all very valuable information that you would not be able to source from a traditional in-person event. 

With this information, you can identify small points of difference to amplify and exploit. For example, if you realize that marketing collateral at your virtual expo booths are failing to drive any engagement or generate any leads, you have the ability to change it immediately and monitor the performance. Or you can action immediate offers and follow-up emails to attendees with higher lead scores.

To sum up…

Hybrid events offer event marketers and organizers an unprecedented opportunity to create a formidable engagement and lead generation vehicle by leveraging the best of both in-person and online event mediums. To get started, keep a watch on the 5 hybrid event pitfalls mentioned in this piece, and take immediate actions to thwart them before they become irreversible. 

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

Hybrid events are the perfect bridge between virtual and in-person events. They’re also easier to host than you might think.

Despite what you might believe, they don’t require a ton of high-end technology, like virtual reality, augmented reality, holograms, or anything of the sort.

You can make a quality hybrid event with accessible technology that doesn’t require years of experience and expertise.

Keep reading this article published by Porch.com to learn the fantastic advantages of hybrid events as well as advice from professionals.

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How Are Hybrid Events Different From a Virtual Event?

Chances are, you have heard about hybrid events before today. According to the research done by etc. venues, 73% of event planners expect hybrid events to become more popular in the future.

At Zuddl, we feel that hybrid events will become the de-facto choice for organizations. And why not! Hybrid events are more inclusive, and sustainable and deliver a higher ROI as compared to traditional in-person or completely virtual events.

But what really differentiates a hybrid event from a virtual one?

Let us dig in:

1. Complexity: For one, hybrid events are much more complex and difficult to execute than only virtual events or in-person events. This is largely due to the fact that the experience for in-person attendees as well as virtual attendees has to be of similar high quality. There can be no exceptions

2. It’s not just about the live-streaming: An in-person event cannot be turned into a hybrid event just by adding a live stream. Sure, live streaming is a core component of a hybrid event, but planners cannot overlook the importance of a bi-directional engagement and live conversations with virtual attendees during the event.

3. Balance: Hybrid events balance the experience of an in-person event with the convenience of a virtual event. With a choice in their hands, attendees can choose to participate in whichever form suits them most, and organizers, on the other hand, can maximize ROI and contribute to their sustainability goals by planning better in-person to virtual ratios. As is evident, one major highlight of the hybrid event model is that it empowers attendees with choice, in that they can choose to either attend the event physically or virtually, based on their convenience. With asynchronous or on-demand content becoming more and more popular, hybrid events can help you better engage with the constantly evolving modern attendee.

Ketan Pandit from Zuddl

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What Are Hybrid Events?

"As the events industry evolves, so does the way event organizers and marketers plan and execute events. In recent years, there has been a growing trend of “hybrid” events. So what exactly is a hybrid event? A hybrid event is an event that combines aspects of both online and in-person events. They are becoming increasingly popular, as they offer the convenience of an online event combined with the personal connection of an in-person event.

The physical component is usually a conference or trade show where people can meet in person, and the virtual component is usually a web cast or online meeting where people can participate from anywhere in the world. There are several reasons why hybrid events are becoming increasingly popular. First, they allow event organizers to combine different elements that appeal to different audiences.

This can help increase attendance and create a more well-rounded event experience. Secondly, hybrid events are often less expensive to produce than traditional standalone events. This is because organizers can save money by using shared resources such as venues and staff. Finally, hybrid events offer greater flexibility and creativity for marketers.

While hybrid events can be a lot of fun, there are a few things to keep in mind while planning one. Here are six tips to help make your hybrid event a success:

1. Choose the right mix of activities. It’s important to choose activities that will appeal to your target audience and that will work well together. For example, if you’re planning a hybrid event with a mix of online and in-person activities, make sure the online activities are relevant to the in-person ones.

2. Consider sponsors. Sponsorship not only gets you valuable exposure for your brand but also provides the resources needed to pull off the event. If you can align a corporate sponsor with your event’s theme, it will make it easier for your audience to engage with the sponsorship.

3. Plan ahead. Like any other type of event, planning a hybrid event takes time and careful coordination. Start by putting together a project plan and timeline, and make sure you have the resources you need to pull it off.

4. Create an engaging agenda. A good hybrid event starts with a strong agenda that is designed to engage your audience and build interest in the event. Consider how you can incorporate key messaging and interactive elements into the event, such as live quizzes and q&a sessions.

5. Audience engagement Make the event fun, engaging and memorable. Great hybrid events are interactive, engaging, and fun for your audience. Create an atmosphere that will help build rapport with your readers.

6. Keep it simple. The goal of a hybrid event is to create a unique and compelling experience that will drive your audience to action. So keep the number of sessions and activities to a minimum. Hybrid events allow organizers to be creative and flexible with their planning and programming. Additionally, it provides a way to connect with different audiences, which can help organizations reach their goals."

Sachin Anand from WebMOBI

What Are Some Examples of Successful Hybrid Events?

"Successful hybrid events are the right combination of different ingredients: good planning and strategy, a real integration of in-person and virtual audiences, and the right tools to bring all the attendees together. But, of course, the most successful hybrid events are the ones where you can exceed your goals.

One of our clients, a data performance company, recently hosted a hybrid event with the goal of reaching a broader audience. The event counted with 200 participants on-site, and 500 participants on the event platform and app. This hybrid event is a good case study: the hosts had a well-defined strategy on how to reach their targeted audiences, the video content live streaming strategically showcased not only the stage and the speakers, but also different angles of the on-site audience, and during the event the hosts encouraged participants to engage via the event app, and had a tablet to read the audience comments live, bridging the gap and creating a unifying experience between the in-person and online audiences.

Another company wanted to create their hybrid event platform with an outstanding design, following their in-person event branding. We managed to build together a hybrid event platform and app ahead of the game, empowering the hosts’ team to take out the most of the tool’s features and adapt them to their specific needs. This event gathered more than 3000 participants from more than 100 cities, so it was really important to foster participants’ connections. This company made clever use of the matchmaking tools, allowing participants to connect following their interests. The company also leveraged its social media, creating a huge buzz, and resulting in an awesome number of participants posting their home office, or a selfie attending the event on the go, via the mobile app.

But the success of a hybrid event it’s not only measured while it’s happening but also once the event is over: does the event create long-lasting relationships through its networking activities? Is there an active community that continues to engage once the event is over? Do participants keep their communication with the brand in the long term? If designed with the right strategy, hybrid events will contribute to the success of your company, and will help you to achieve your business goals."

Rita from SCOOCS

What Should Venues Be Equipped With?

"Event venues are the WOW moment for every event. Post pandemic, they need to evolve just like every other physical space like airports, offices, and stadiums. Over and beyond the traditional needs of the event venue here is a list of upgrades the venue needs to be ready with

1. Be Hybrid Ready – Hybrid events are the new normal. The silver lining of the pandemic was it unlocked the possibilities of a remote attendee. As in-person events make a comeback, venues will need to have all the components of Hybrid events.
2. Tech-Friendly Venue – Traditionally venues have steered clear from event tech and provided only basic tech like wifi & AV. But today a great differentiator is a partnership with a reliable hybrid event platform.
3. Make it Safe – As In-person events return venues would need to satisfy all health & safety standards. Take guidance from local health and venue safety authorities on best practices. Ensure yours. The staff is well trained & equipped in cleaning and hygiene techniques
4. Streamline Event Check-in – Onsite Check-in Technology in the venue is a natural extension of the at-venue event experience. Contactless check-in, Event Check-in apps , and Seamless vaccination validation are must-haves in today’s world.
5. Quality Internet Connection – With event organizers needing to live stream from the venue, it’s imperative to have blazing fast upload speeds. And don’t just restrict it to the organizers. Today attendee’s come equipped with event apps that require reliable internet too."

Sara Roy from Nunify

What Technology Do Virtual Attendees Require To Join An Event?

"Normally the technologies for connecting to a stream are internet-based technologies. So all the virtual assistant needs is a stable internet connection (either wifi or wired) and access to a web browser. Chrome is usually preferred but, in reality, they work with all of them. From there, each event can be streamed through multiple channels Zoom, Go To Webinar, Meets or platforms such as Youtube Live, Facebook Live, Linkedin Live or Instagram Live also serve this purpose and expand the audience of the event.

When event organizers want to have more control over access to their event, who can and who cannot access their event, they opt for event management software with its own RTMP server to broadcast in streaming such as Events case, among others, but from the point of view of the virtual assistant, all they have to do is register for the event, with a username and password and then, on the day of the event, use these credentials to access the event online through a dedicated URL.

Other options that have been used over the last two years are web apps or native apps. So the virtual assistant, in addition to having access to the content of the event itself, has access to the event agenda, sponsors, speakers, and other attendees with whom to network by holding spontaneous or previously scheduled videoconferences, the possibility of interacting live through tools such as live chat, Q&A and surveys, as well as gamification formats such as contests, challenges, and other games. The difference between the two formats is that web apps are a URL to connect to while native apps require downloading the app from the Android and iOS shops.

In short, the possibilities for customization are endless but the technological needs of the virtual assistant are always similar. If you have a computer or a mobile phone to connect to the Internet, you have a window to access thousands of events around the world."

Mentxu from Eventscase

What Are The Benefits Of Attending a Hybrid Conference?

"Attending a hybrid conference gives you the best of both worlds – the face-to-face connections and onsite engagement which we have so dearly missed as well as the convenience and comfort of staying at home while still participating in an event. Providing flexibility in attendance is key!

By opening the doors to both in-person and virtual attendees, you’re essentially increasing the reach of your event and allowing for a bigger audience to join in. More attendees usually mean more opportunities to engage and interact – only if you have the right software and features to enable it!

For example, with the Canapii mobile app, attendees will have greater networking options and opportunities. Onsite, you will have the ability to speak to different people and schedule meetings in person. With the app or on a platform, you will also be able to chat, video call, and arrange meetings with virtual attendees. Essentially, you can interact with absolutely anyone who has registered at the event.

Hybrid conferences are also a great way of repurposing your onsite content to engage your virtual attendees and online communities. Your event material becomes instant assets that can help generate revenue and deliver more value to your virtual attendees during or post-event. Make snippets of a live session, transform a roundtable meeting into a future webinar, and create evergreen content that will serve the event community in the weeks or months following the event.

Attending virtually eliminates the barriers of travel, transportation, and time while still allowing attendees to connect, interact and consume content. While attending in-person offers more immersive experiences. By combining both together, you can truly curate a holistic and inclusive environment for all event stakeholders."

Elliot from Canapii

What Are The Challenges Of a Hybrid Event?

"Perceived complexity is one of the greatest challenges in hybrid events. Organizers may feel intimidated by the idea of simultaneously planning an in-person and virtual event. Some professionals may believe hybrid events take twice as much effort, time, and resources for planning. No wonder: After all, the hybrid format combines two ways of engaging the event attendees. This perceived complexity results in organizers tending to focus on one format, choosing between running an in-person or virtual event. Subsequently, they cannot take full advantage of both formats’ benefits. Luckily, event solutions, such as Eventtia, allow organizers to combine the best of the two worlds, engaging attendees in-person and virtually. Moreover, thanks to advanced planning solutions, running hybrid events doesn’t require additional effort or resources. Organizers can run a full-fledged in-person event while deciding which aspects they want to digitize, creating unique experiences for their virtual attendees. At the same time, they can ensure the virtual guests’ expense integration with the in-person environment by enabling mixed networking. In other words, they can enable virtual attendees to connect with people who’re in-situ, experiencing the in-person event. Planning and managing a hybrid event may add a layer of complexity when designing and setting different digital workflows, such as online streaming, virtual attendee engagement, sponsorship booths, and networking. However, the entire process can be coordinated via platforms similar to Eventtia, allowing organizers to manage their hybrid events with just a few clicks."

Elsa Joseph from Eventtia

What Are Some Examples Of Hybrid Events?

"We have had all kinds of events turn hybrid on the Sarcon platform across industries and geographies.

Hybrid event types include medical conferences where some speakers join live while others are connected remotely and beamed on the stage. On the one hand, the entire event was streamed to live audiences; on the other hand, the sponsors and exhibitors were spread across the in-person and virtual editions of the event. Mandatory video conferences and web-based seminars have been around for a very long time.

The healthcare industry has been conducting these seminars online but with limited functionality; cutting down on some of the major highlights of these events. Take for example poster presentations and certifications. They are the key highlights of any medical conference, but due to the lack of more holistic technology, there were missed opportunities. With the help of hybrid platforms, speakers and industry experts can not only present vital information in person to the audience present at the venue but also broadcast the presentation to those audience members who have joined online, while also interacting with them live.

Others include rewards and recognition events for large enterprises where the leadership congregates at one location, be it in their office or a studio where they want state-of-the-art recording facilities while the audience attends the event from across the globe.

The importance of cybersecurity has started to reach the general audience. With the rising need to educate and reach a large number of individuals, companies involved in cybersecurity are organizing hybrid events. These events are aimed at bringing the pioneers and experts of cybersecurity under one roof. Going hybrid helps them bring experts and CIOs spread across the borders; allowing them to discuss and share upcoming features, trends, and products. Hosting hybrid events helps reach stakeholders across borders.

Prior to the digital revolution, a vast majority of industry summits were held on-ground in physical locations.  Two major limiters of such summits were the available real estate and the carbon footprint they would leave behind.  The number of attendees would be as large as the permissible foot traffic of the venue. And the amount of carbon footprint it leaves behind is directly proportional to the number of attendees. Today, with the prevalence of virtual technology, the concept of a hybrid process has enhanced and uplifted the way organizers conduct the event.

Hybrid summits not only have in-person audiences attending the on-ground event, but the number of virtual attendees can rise up staggeringly; an individual’s online bandwidth being the only limiter here. Moreover, the carbon footprint left behind is drastically low in comparison.

The financial sector, too, has embraced the power of hybrid events. High-profile banking summits, for example, have been organized on Sarcon’s platform.

And lastly, one of the most memorable events for any individual is their wedding. People have realized the value and ability of hybrid events to alleviate a certain amount of wedding woes. The virtual environment is designed to aesthetically match the real aspects of the wedding that is taking place in the physical world.

The bride and groom, along with the members of their family aggregate at the event venue for the ceremony. And those family members who cannot attend the wedding ceremony due to certain geographical limitations can join the ceremony through the virtual medium. Weddings are one of the most socially pleasing and awaited occasions for individuals. Watching a video of the ceremony online does not provide the dopamine boost our brains experience when we interact with the people we love while attending a ceremony. Hybrid platforms become the mediator and set the stage for the friends and family to socialize, interact, and come together under one ceremonial umbrella and rejoice while physically being located thousands of miles apart.

Summary

• Exhibitions & Tradeshows
• Virtual Weddings
• Conferences
• Job & Career Fairs
• Award Shows
• Medical Conferences
• 3D Webinars
• Housing Fairs
• Graduation Ceremonies

These are some examples of hybrid events, a type of events that brings the best of both worlds — in-person and virtual, together and elevates their most important aspects for a better outcome."

Dishant B from Sarcon

How Effective are Hybrid Conferences?

"At the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions on travel and limits on in-person events presented serious challenges to organizers of conferences and trade shows. Fortunately, the technology already existed that would allow them to work around these constraints. Tools like Zoom and Google Meet enabled speakers and attendees alike to gather virtually, no matter where they were in the world.

Even with many of the pandemic restrictions now loosened, a hybrid approach to events may prove to be a winning formula. With the cost and logistics of travel less of a consideration, the ability to reach a wider potential audience with reduced effort and expense could certainly prove appealing to a large number of those involved in putting on or presenting at large-scale conferences.

Quoted in the journal Nature, astrophysicist and conference organizer Elizabeth Tasker noted that a hybrid format makes events accessible to many more people. “Over the last two years, data from conferences has shown a sharp increase in the diversity of attendees for online meetings,” Tasker said. “Removing the need to travel plummets the cost of attendance, makes the meeting far more accessible for those with disabilities or illness, and typically makes it easier to balance caring or other local commitments.”

Earlier this year, PressReader had a presence at the World Travel & Tourism Council Global Summit. The event took place in Manila from April 20 to 22, and although we were not there physically, we did have an online “booth”. This included a “virtual fishbowl” in which potential partners interested in our product — a platform through which users can access digital versions of thousands of newspapers and magazines from around the world — were able to drop their business cards.

We at PressReader were not the only ones attending from afar. After the event, the WTTC reported that, in addition to the 600-plus in-person delegates from more than 50 countries, the summit had received over 10,000 virtual registrations. Those are encouraging numbers. While hybrid events come with their own unique set of challenges — such as ensuring that those tuning in virtually have as satisfactory an experience as those attending in person — when done right, they can be remarkably effective."

Nikolay Malyarov from Pressreader

What Is The Best Event Platform?

"NetworkTables is an all-in-one event platform for event organizers to help their attendees meet the right people at the right time at events. Created in collaboration with event managers since 2015.

It lets guests gain access before the event starts to connect with relevant people without the headache of filling out forms or downloading apps. Providing insights into who is attending an event, where, and the tools to book an appointment without fuss. The platform seamlessly integrates with ticketing tools so that attendees can use the platform without creating another profile.

Roundtables show an overview of each table, whether it’s online or offline, and let attendees choose who they are sitting next to strike up interesting connections, like choosing a seat on an airplane. Meanwhile, request meetings and generate perfect matches with a complete-time schedule on the day.

After an event, connect with all the guests that attended the same things as you and exchange virtual business cards, as you know you share common interests. Then gain access to on-demand recordings of the entire event. All while staying in the loop with post-event feedback, communication, and session ratings.

For organizers, they can create their own workshops, webinars, and workshops all year long and automate schedules and reminders to their guests. Keeping engagement high by seamlessly transitioning guests through all the sessions they have signed up for one after another. When it comes to virtual events, technical support rooms are available for any guest to jump into to quickly resolve any problems.

To keep the momentum going, event planners can also create an always-on event community. Here members create their own member-led sessions to extend a one-day event throughout the year.

Perfect for hosting in-person and virtual events while increasing value through networking. Great ease of use and pre-event features."

Tyler Wood from Network Tables

How Do I Engage Guests in a Virtual Event?

"Virtual events provide access for an audience that would otherwise find the content inaccessible. Maybe the cost is too great; maybe there are global travel restrictions; maybe they just don’t like crowds. There are many reasons why people cannot physically attend an in-person event. The beauty of virtual events is that they invite folks of all types, locations, and identities to participate.

Before we produce a virtual event, we start with the question, “why does this need to be live?” The reason always boils down to engagement. What makes a virtual event an EVENT is the ability to engage with the content, its creators, and others in the audience. By inviting users to engage, you cultivate belonging. They become a part of your tribe.

Engagement looks different depending on the type of event. What works well for a brand activation may not work for an internal corporate presentation. For optimal participation, engagement opportunities should feel organic.

An audience’s most basic expectation is that they can communicate with each other in real-time. Comments, chat, or Q&A – these are table stakes for any virtual event. Most virtual event platforms have this baked in, but third-party widgets like ChatWing or Chatroll also work wonders.

Stepping up from there, you’re looking at “call and response” engagements – think quizzes, polls, word clouds, or trivia. Our favorite tool for this is Slido, which can be embedded on your website or accessed via a QR code.

When events get massive, they may exist in multiple locations – maybe they’re streamed on YouTube as well as Facebook and Zoom, or maybe there are multiple tracks. Combining data streams – like YouTube comments and tweets  – and incorporating them graphically into your content helps an audience feel like they’re a part of something bigger.

Whatever engagement strategies you choose, make sure your virtual event audience feels like they’re an organic and vital part of the total experience.  

In conclusion, do not be discouraged from trying to host a hybrid event even if you have never done so before. Technology is more available than ever, and time is ideal.

And in practice, hosting them isn’t difficult. Not if you have the proper equipment and knowledge."

Nick Bacon from Mainstream Media‍

Why Should I Attend a Hybrid Content?

"A hybrid conference offers what Hannah Montana would refer to as the best of both worlds. Hybrid settings allow people to connect in person, or digitally. If what you seek is human connection, then you can attend the conference in person and network. But if you want to connect with other people without having to travel to the venue, or you simply aren’t ready to deal with large groups of people then you can attend online.

These are some of the many benefits of attending a hybrid conference:

Increased attendance: as mentioned above, attendees will either attend online or in-person. This means that there are no excuses (or fewer) for not attending, which ensures the conference will be a success in terms of attendance.

Less carbon footprint: since fewer people will have to travel to attend the event physically, the overall carbon footprint reduces. A smaller physical audience will also require less equipment, reducing transportation and labor emissions.

Better engagement: big conferences usually run multiple panels, talks and workshops simultaneously to suit everyone’s interests and fit an extensive schedule into a short period. This usually leads to people missing out on some talks they may have wanted to attend, but this issue is solved at hybrid events. Since the virtual side of the conference requires the recording of all panels, then you can listen to every talk you were interested in once the conference uploads the videos post-event. No one will have to miss out on any aspect of the event if it’s a hybrid.

So we can agree that attending hybrid conferences is the ideal choice for everyone."

Ana Lopez from Walls.io

What Do I Have To Consider Entertainment & Education Wise in a Hybrid event?

“A hybrid event in its simplest definition is an event with two audiences… those attending in person and those attending remotely.  

In terms of education and entertainment, you must determine what you want each of those audiences to experience. Those attending remotely will never have the same exact experience as those attending in person… it’s not possible. The excitement, energy, and conversations one has at a live event cannot be replicated for your remote audience. Therefore, when considering your entertainment and educational content, you must consider the experience.

For your educational content, do you want both groups of attendees to have access to the same content? Do you want some content available only for in-person attendees? Do you want to provide special sessions for your remote attendees? The content at your event must be value-driven and provide actionable solutions for your attendees. However, not all content is suitable for both audiences. If you are having a breakout session where the primary focus is on the interaction between attendees (i.e. a workshop format where attendees have to work together to solve a problem), that session may not be best for your remote attendees. As you are building your agenda, consider what tracks and sessions are appropriate for your two attendee groups.

When choosing entertainment options, you will have similar questions to answer. How do you want the two groups to interact, and what entertainment options do you want to provide? Do you want a party for your in-person attendees and a separate online party for your remote attendees? For your specific audience, would it be better to bring the two groups together for the entertainment portion?

We have brought in entertainment such as DJs playing “Name That Tune,” and artists painting live on stage. When we bring in entertainment, we first decide what the goal of the entertainment is, how it will translate to the two audiences and what we want the experience to be like for the attendees… then decide what the best match is for that experience.

Always look at entertainment and education from the perspective of your audience to help guide your decisions.”

Lisa Schulteis from Electralime

What Aspects Make Hybrid Events Successful?

“When it comes to hosting a hybrid event, it is important to keep in mind that both audiences need to be fully engaged. Livestreaming is not enough, because remote guests require the same level of interaction as in-person attendees.

At Dot.vu, we strongly believe that the keys to successful hybrid events lie within the interactivity of your event. You need to engage participants both physically and virtually, and make sure to create an equal experience for both types of participants.

There are many Interactive Experiences that can be designed to help you organize the most amazing hybrid events, such as Interactive Videos, Quizzes, Polls, Gamified Experiences, and so on. These Interactive Experiences can be used before your event to promote participants and boost sign-ups, during your events to engage, entertain, and delight, or after your event to gather feedback and share results.

For example, you could create an Interactive Virtual Tour for online participants so they can virtually go around the event facility and explore the different rooms, stages, and so on. This is an excellent way to allow online attendees to the network by starting online discussions and visiting the different stands and exhibitions.

You can also use Interactive Videos instead of traditional presentations. The same Interactive Videos can be shown to both types of participants, except that online attendees could interact directly within the video while in-person attendees could interact through QR codes with their phones. In your Interactive Videos, you could add as many interactive elements as you want, such as polls, quizzes, Marketing Games, contests, and so on.

In other words, the keys to a successful Hybrid Event lie in planning an event that will be engaging and interactive for every attendee regardless of their location. With Dot.Vu, the Leading Interactive Content Platform, can create many Interactive Experiences that will delight your audience both virtually and in-person.”

Erika Naud & Ivanina Topuzova from Dot.vu

How do I engage guests in a Hybrid event?

“In the post-pandemic world, where hybrid events are increasingly becoming popular, many event planners struggle to bring their virtual and in-person audiences on the same page simultaneously. Pre-pandemic, there was much less emphasis on engaging virtual attendees, who were more of mere spectators. However, now people prefer to choose their participation format, suiting their convenience, and this necessitated a major overhaul of attendee engagement techniques. Combining the best of digital and physical worlds to keep all attendees happy and excited throughout requires some reinvention of strategies.

1. Foster Inclusion

Creating a sense of inclusion is more difficult for remote participants. They miss the social interactions and lively ambiance that keeps onsite attendees hooked. A ‘virtual facilitator’ can help replicate the onsite experience for them by interacting over live chat, Q&A, agenda, polls, and more. For presenters, acknowledging the virtual audience is important, and so is taking their names and addressing the camera to give them a sense of eye contact while answering their questions.

2. Prefer Live Sessions

Live sessions are always recommended instead of pre-recorded ones. To both sets of audiences, live sessions give an opportunity to have their questions, views, and doubts addressed in real-time, which always ensures a higher degree of interaction.

3. Allow Ample Networking Opportunities

While in-person attendees can comfortably indulge in networking during lunch breaks or around their tables, facilitating it in virtual spaces is often challenging. Offer breakout rooms for remote participants, helping them set up targeted or randomized meetings. Some tools also allow replicating physical venues where attendees can move between tables or join different conversations, enhancing the overall experience. It’s also crucial to create a means where virtual attendees can network with the onsite audience.

4. Use Technology Optimally

Whether you’re filling the session gaps with fun elements or meaning to create a connection between both sets of audiences, using the right technology is essential to keep the engagement level high. In addition to ensuring a seamless experience for remote attendees, you can go creative and use technology to further blend both worlds. For instance, showing the remote participants on the main screen on-site can further enhance the sense of inclusion and promote connectivity between virtual and in-person attendees.”

Jaya from Eventcombo

What Are The Keys To Successful Hybrid Events?

“Hybrid events are more popular than ever, and it’s not hard to see why. More event organizers are embracing the hybrid format with the potential to increase attendance, boost revenue, and improve convenience. That being said, organizers need to understand the format before they can use it effectively.

Balance Virtual & Physical Elements

One potential stumbling block when running a hybrid event can be neglecting the in-person or virtual elements. By focusing too heavily on one aspect of the format, organizers can fall into the trap of producing a ‘False Hybrid’ event. This leads them to cater too heavily to one group of attendees while neglecting the other.

False hybrids can be effective for some events, particularly if virtual and physical audiences participate on separate days. However, it is generally essential to treat both sets of attendees equally, to ensure all participants feel engaged and not alienated.

Use the Right Technology

Mobile event apps are now a common sight in the industry, to the point of becoming a vital resource. While these apps can greatly improve an in-person event, the potential to link them with a virtual event platform makes them essential for effective hybrids.

By partnering with the right event solutions specialist, organizers can create a branded app that improves attendee interaction, promotes networking, drives footfall, and more besides. Likewise, these features can be mirrored onto a custom web platform, letting virtual and in-person attendees engage with content, sponsors, and each other.

Know Your Audience

There are many reasons to run a hybrid event, but one of the most common is to expand your audience and increase event attendance. While the hybrid format can certainly deliver this, you need to establish what key features will help achieve your goals.

For example, if you want to expand your audience globally, you should probably consider an app and platform will multilanguage capabilities and closed captioning.

When planning a hybrid event, it is always best to consult an event solutions specialist who can guide you through the process and deliver exactly what you need.”

Ben Harper from All in the Loop

Who Would Attend A Hybrid Conference?

“The popularity of hybrid events can be attributed to their unique flexibility to attendees. With the option to attend either in person or virtually, conferences can expect much higher participation levels and a lot of interest from participants around the world.

Thanks to globalization, many corporations today have international teams that can rarely meet in person. For workplaces like these, internal events like team meetings, employee engagement activities, or quarterly planning events are best done in a hybrid environment, where local employees can meet in person, and any employees who work in other parts of the world can attend virtually. Additionally, external corporate events such as product launches or customer conferences can gain much more attention from customers globally if they have the option to attend events in a hybrid capacity.

Besides the corporate world, educational institutions also have much to gain from hybrid events. Everything, from student information sessions to doctoral dissertations, is now hybrid events, allowing a mix of local and international participants to interact and learn. Universities can now teach hybrid courses using higher ed LMS, and by doing so, they can eliminate several financial or legal barriers that their international students would face otherwise. Many graduation ceremonies are also hosted as hybrid events, allowing students to participate even if they have returned to their home country.

The case for hybrid conferences and events has been made even stronger since the pandemic. The risk associated with large gatherings has made hybrid events common in workplaces and educational institutions. Many sick or immunocompromised people prefer to attend events virtually, while those who are immunized have the option to attend the same events in person, provided that they take the necessary precautions.

There are many reasons a person may attend events in person or virtually. Oftentimes, the decision simply comes down to personal preference. This flexibility and room for choice are why hybrid events are and will continue to be very popular.”

Edly

How much does a Virtual or Hybrid conference platform cost?

“The cost of a virtual or hybrid platform can vary quite a bit, and most do not have native streaming built in, which creates an extra cost (we natively do).  Most companies, us included, have a base starting price.  This could be anywhere from $8,000 – $20,000+.  This covers your base license for use and typically a set number of users.

If you would like custom features, additional professional services, or go beyond your base user count, costs can rise.”

Catherine Moats from Corporates Events Online

How do you Define a Hybrid Event?

"A hybrid event is a combination of in-person and virtual. Typically, both audiences share a live stream digital experience – oftentimes, this can be both audiences watching the same screen or the virtual audience watching a live in-person event. The latter is more common. Event organizers aim to provide a similar experience for virtual attendees by offering break-out sessions, chat engagement, and props like snacks or swag shipped to their homes. Typically, the virtual and in-person audiences remain separate yet offer a slightly different perspective on the same content. The beauty of hybrid events is allowing attendees from all over the world to get access to the content they normally wouldn’t have access to. While hybrid events became popular out of necessity, it does feel like it’s here to stay, given how large an audience they can support."

Jas Banwait from SnackMagic

In conclusion, do not be discouraged from trying to host a hybrid event even if you have never done so before. Technology is more available than ever, and time is ideal.

And in practice, hosting them isn’t difficult. Not if you have the proper equipment and knowledge.

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

Just as virtual events became the standard for events over the last two years, now, hybrid events are becoming the new normal. 

With in-person events on the rise again (according to a Northstar Meetings Group survey, 96% of planners will do an in-person event this year), but the benefits of virtual events too strong to simply throw by the wayside, event organizers are bringing the strengths of the two together in the format of a hybrid event. The result? The energy that comes from face-to-face interactions, as well as increased reach, better engagement and improved analytics from virtual event platforms.

However, organizing a hybrid event in this new normal is anything but normal. It  requires new planning and extra precautions to keep attendees as safe as possible. This is mission critical in making sure your hybrid event is a success. To help, we’ve listed out everything you’ll need to keep an eye on when planning your next event:

1. Pick a venue that can accommodate COVID-19 protocol

It can be difficult to zero in on a venue for your hybrid event because there’s a lot to consider. From technical support to attendee capacity, here’s a list of things to keep in mind when assessing potential venues. Safety is one of the most important.

Keep in mind that the venue will have to conform to the safety regulations of their respective local and national governments, so look for venues that already have well-documented and clear safety policies and protocols in place. 

Bonus: Venues that have received Covid-19 Safe Accreditation are optimal choices. You can keep an eye out for: 

• Global Biorisk Advisory Council’s (GBAC) STAR accreditation. This program evaluates 20 elements  of a venue’s operating protocols and risk-assessment strategies, from disinfection practices to emergency preparedness. 

• The AIM Secure Accreditation. It is an industry-wide mark of excellence focussing on offices, venues and service providers.

When your attendees see that the venue is committed to keeping them safe, your on-site attendance will improve.

2. Make checking-in as safe as possible

Prevention is better than the cure, so being as cautious as possible is the best way to go. Here are a couple of measures you can take to drive better safety even before the event is in full-swing:

• Require a negative COVID test or proof of vaccination for entry: By doing so, you’ll decrease the possibility of anyone catching the virus at the event, and it will also make attendees feel more confident and comfortable about attending in-person.

• Staggering arrival times: A simple way to avoid congestion at the entryway is by allowing groups of attendees to arrive at certain times. Attendees can choose their time ahead of time on your registration form, ticket booking site or event landing page. Consider allowing cohorts of people - such as those from the same workplace - to book arrivals together. 

• Allow mobile check-ins: Invest in technologies that allow digital scanning or can process virtual tickets to enable entry into the event. Making the process as contact-less as possible will make check-in more safer but more efficient too.

• Streamline traffic: Set up dedicated entrances and exits at the venue - more than one will be a benefit as it will help to diffuse any traffic jams so to speak. Use floor markers to keep people at a safe distance while they wait to check in, enter rooms, etc. 

3. Communicate health and safety protocols clearly

Make sure attendees know what health and safety protocols are set in place, before and during the event. 

• Before the event: Keep attendees in the loop by emailing them about what they can expect at the venue such as the requirement for a negative COVID-test or the use of a mobile app for check-ins. Keep in mind that people are going to be anxious about their safety, so being as clear and comforting as possible will go a long way.

• During the event: Put up lots of signage in your hybrid event venue to communicate expectations and rules for attendee behaviour. For instance, at CES 2022, attendees were given the choice of three coloured stickers to indicate how much touch they were comfortable with.

 Signs that tell attendees to wear masks or where they can find hand sanitizer are some examples. The point is to make attendees feel comfortable and secure. 

4. Keep lots of PPE and sanitation handy

Setting up dedicated areas stocked with hand sanitizer and protective masks are a small but powerful signal that keeping your attendees safe is top of mind.(Bonus: they give you a custom branding opportunity for your business or that of your sponsors.)  Highlight these areas with signage.

5. Touchless, yet matchless, COVID cuisine

There are plenty of ways to offer attendees safe but delicious food at your hybrid event. Here are some options to consider:

• Seated meals, with tables and guests appropriately distanced are a good option for small events. 

• Pre-packaged gourmet meals that can be easily consumed by attendees at the in-person venue, and which can be delivered to the houses of virtual attendees. 

Ask attendees to choose from a menu ahead of time to personalize the experience. This also makes for a more eco-friendly event.  Steven Enselein, senior vice president of events for Hyatt, gives the example of a hybrid event recently held at Hyatt Regency O’Hare, “The same breakfast, lunch and snack arrived via contactless delivery right at the doorstep of each virtual attendee’s house. Inside was a menu and plating instructions so they could follow along with the group on-site,” says Enselein. “We are always thinking about outside-of-the-box ways to make remote attendees feel cared for and part of events.”

To sum up…

Hybrid event safety is one of the most important considerations for event organizers now and going forward. Keep these tips in mind when planning your event, and you’ll be able to create an experience that makes your attendees feel safe, comfortable, and supported.

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

Just last month, the marketing head of a utilities company told us over a relaxed business lunch how she so deeply wished she had some superpowers - like being present at more than one place at the same tme. She wasn’t an exception by any standards, because almost every other person you run into wants some kind of superpower - the power to work faster, the power to learn things swiftly, the power to be more efficient … the list is endless. 

While there was no magical meteorite or radioactive spider in sight, we realized that we had something that came pretty close: virtual event platforms. 

There are some uncanny similarities between online event platforms and superheroes. The range of features that these advanced platforms bring to your events can easily match some of the superpowers of those women and men in their flowing capes. Here are the 5 similarities you can’t miss!

1. Teleportation AKA zero latency streaming

Teleportation is the power to move from one place to another, magically. More importantly, it doesn’t matter what you are moving, so with teleportation, the efforts to move a pin are no different from moving a 16-wheel truck. 

In the context of virtual and hybrid event platforms, teleportation holds a key application. It is about teleporting information and data. All the audio and visual data that presenters and attendees share are ‘teleported’ to any corner of the world with minimal relay lags. For instance, Zuddl has zero latency streaming, which means your real-time streaming  and back-and-forth communication is truly real-time.

Like Blink, the Marvel superheroine, who can teleport herself and others at will, your ability to what you can achieve with the superpower is only limited by your imagination.

It’s also about bringing your presenters and attendees on the same platform, even though they may be a couple thousand miles from each other in reality. That unmatched immersive experience makes everyone feel they are fully a part of the event.

2. Shapeshifting AKA customization

Bruce Lee once famously said, “Be water, my friend… Be formless, shapeless, like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle…” Which is what an event platform is - it takes the form of what you want it to be.

You can use the platform to host a company offsite with the same ease (and platform) as you can host a career fair. You can conduct a virtual conference, an all-hands meet, a trade show, a product demo, and so on with the same platform. All it takes is a little bit of creativity. 

3. Size changing AKA scalability

Lots of marketing and promotional activities have a great ROI, but the moment the size of your target audience grows, the costs go through the roof. Alternatively, some other channels become prohibitively expensive when you want to scale down. Wouldn’t it be just great to have something that’d be both extremely affordable and effective, whether you go from 10 to 1,000 or the other way round?

The DC comics created Bumblebee  - a superhero that could grow tiny at will and accomplish a mission. A sophisticated virtual event platform can do the same, only it’s real and easily accessible. 

Imagine you have a meeting with your distributed team of nineteen people spread across nine countries and three continents. A platform like Zuddl would be just fine for this purpose. Or imagine you’re planning an annual conference, where you expect an in-person attendance of 100 and a virtual attendance of another 500. No problem, virtual event platforms like Zuddl can help you scale up or down with equal ease.

The amazing scalability of modern day virtual platforms makes them just the right fit for events of all sizes. In hybrid events, where you aren’t sure of the number of virtual attendees, it’s really comforting to know that your event platform has your back. That last minute tweet by a celebrity marketer might suddenly shoot up your signups, but you don’t have to worry because you know the platform will deliver the same extraordinary experience no matter how big your audience grows.

4. Invisibility AKA working perfectly behind the scenes

Remember how Spiderman appears from nowhere, quickly goes about saving the day, and then swings away afterwards? All done in a blink of an eye. That’s what your platform for virtual events does today. Just think about how the platform can make the virtual attendees and presenters feel they are in the same room, at the same place. That’s possible because although the platform is the medium, it connects people from different locations so seamlessly you don’t notice its presence. 

The real strength of a technology is how much it can get done behind the scenes, out of sight,  without getting in the way. If you need to go back to the platform admin with requests for every feature, it’s just not efficient. 

Powerful platforms deliver, yet stay invisible. A sophisticated platform for virtual events is one that is so user-friendly and intuitive that it appears like it is a native platform.

5. Immortality AKA on-demand events

Superman is indestructible. And this is one his most enduring charms.

The platform for events offers immortality in the sense that once you’ve conducted an event, their recordings are available forever. There doesn’t have to be any mandatory expiry date.

So it’s quite simple. You have organized an event that was hugely successful. And you want more prospects, more suppliers, more partners and more team members to benefit from it. So what do you do ? After the event has ended, you transform it into an on-demand webinar, for instance. If someone wants to watch that event and its presentations, all they need to do is to simply sign up. And the recording will be available for a long, long time.

This is a brilliant way of getting more juice out of every event you organize, every dollar you spend. This immortality also helps your brand build a leadership position, because visitors to your website will notice that you’ve shared numerous on-demand videos and are letting people benefit from it.

To sum up …The platform holds the key

‘Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’ Arthur C Clarke’s observation may not have been made in the context of virtual event platforms, yet it fits in pretty well. The amazing capabilities of the modern, sophisticated event platforms easily match the superpowers of our fantasy heroes.

To be sure, your virtual event is only as good as the functionalities the event your chosen platform offers. Which means that the outcome is pretty much decided the moment you choose the platform - a great platform virtually ensures that the event is going to be a huge success.

As the trusted virtual event platform for enterprises, Zuddl uses industry-leading technology in order to ensure your events offer seamless experiences to attendees. To understand if Zuddl is a good fit for your next event, drop us a line. We’d love to show you around!

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

We’re thrilled to announce that the reviews are in and *drum roll* Zuddl has landed 6 new badges AND we’ve been recognized in the Leader category in G2’s quarterly reports! This achievement has been much celebrated by our team, building on the momentum from previous G2 reports. We want to thank all of our customers for leaving us such positive feedback!

Highlights from the G2 report:

1. Ranked as Leader Summer 2022

Truly a thrilling accomplishment for us! This badge is testament to our dedication to help our fantastic clients host record-breaking virtual and hybrid events. 

What reviewers have to say about us:

2. Ranked as ‘Leader Mid-Market’

Our achievement this quarter is a level up from High Performers last season.

Mid-market quadrant leaders are recognized based on high ratings by G2 users as well as high satisfaction ratings and market presence scores. This determines where a product is placed in a quadrant - Leaders, High Performers, Contenders, and Niche.

3. Awarded ‘Easiest To Do Business With Enterprise’

This is definitely a badge we are proud to receive as achieving the ‘Easiest To Do Business With’ award is not at all easy to attain! The award is only earned after G2 asks customers a variety of business relationship-related questions focused on satisfaction, convenience, and trust, and factors in user satisfaction ratings. It is also based on the reviewer’s willingness to recommend the product to a friend.

Zuddl scored a 9.4 ease of score rating in the virtual event platforms category - far above the average score for this sector which is only a 9.1. This score illustrates our outstanding dedication to going above and beyond for our customers' success.

What reviewers have to say about us:

4. Awarded ‘High Performer Enterprise’

Zuddl has previously received the ‘High Performer’ badge, and we’re thrilled to receive it again as it shows how time and time again, we enable our customers to drive value and success for all their stakeholders - their attendees, their partners and their investors.

5. Awarded ‘High Performer Small-Business’

Zuddl has previously received the ‘High Performer’ badge,  and we’re thrilled to receive it again as it shows how time and time again, we enable our customers to drive value and success for all their stakeholders - their attendees, their partners and their investors.

6. Awarded 'Best Support Small-Business'

G2’s Support awards are calculated based on ratings from verified consumers on the quality of support and ease of doing business with Zuddl. Overall, we have a high rating of 9.7 from our reviewers which puts us far ahead from the average support rating which is only a 9.3.

Here's what reviewers said about Zuddl:

More about G2 and the summer 2022 reports

G2 is the world's largest tech marketplace where businesses can discover, review, and manage the technology. Every quarter, the company awards badges to businesses that excel in performance, ease of use, setup, customer support just to name a few based on 1M+ user reviews.

Check out more of our reviews on G2, and, if you are a customer, we would be grateful if you left us one!

Get a demo

We’re interested in helping businesses host memorable and ROI-driven virtual and hybrid events. If you want: If you want:

✓ 100% customizability - ie. the ability to design and create events exactly how you want them

✓ Complete support - immediate assistance and quick resolutions within minutes, not hours

✓ Extreme confidence in your numbers - no guesswork about ROI and value

✓ That human touch - infuse that feeling of actually being there 

then book a demo right here.

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

At Zuddl, we send more than 10 different types of notifications to our users. For instance, when one attendee sends a 1:1 meeting invitation to another and when a meeting invite is accepted, when someone asks a question or an attendee answers one, for votes, etc. All of these notifications are sent instantly as the user takes action.

Single vs multiple notification delivery

At Zuddl, we send two types of service notifications:

• Real-time notifications
• Email notifications

Pusher lets you create web apps with real-time functionality such as sharing live results, messaging, and pushing content to end-users and back. We use one of Pusher’s messaging solutions; Channels, to communicate between our servers, apps, and devices which thereby helps us send real-time notifications to attendees in a single event. Pusher’s ‘Channels’ is also used for real-time charts, real-time user lists, real-time maps, multiplayer gaming, and also to notify many other types of UI updates. Whenever anything happens in our systems, it helps us keep our web pages, apps, and devices updated.

Every notification contains a payload. The notification payload is created at the backend which contains the title, description, and other required information.

Users also receive emails for every notification received on the app such as event reminders, thank you emails, and post-event emails amongst others. For email notifications, we use SendGrid, a cloud-based SMTP provider that allows you to send emails without having to maintain email servers. SendGrid manages all technical requirements, from scaling the infrastructure to ISP(Internet service provider) outreach, reputation monitoring to whitelist services, and real-time analytics.

The first notification system we developed was great but was not scalable. It also had other issues, for example, wrong notifications being sent or notification misfires, delays, and complicated logic on the UI side. In the case of single notification delivery types such as Pusher and email, the existing implementation worked. But when multiple notifications delivery types(Email, Pusher and Firebase Console Messaging) were required at runtime, we had to put on our thinking hats to handle such use cases.

How we used design pattern for notification delivery

To get the right service or delivery at run time we use a factory design pattern. But before I go about explaining the factory design pattern, it is essential to to understand how design patterns are used.

A software design pattern is a basic, repeatable solution to a commonly occurring problem within a given context in software design. It cannot be used off the shelf as a finished piece of code design but needs to be customized and transformed into a source code for a particular use case. It is supposed to be used as a template for how to solve a known problem factoring in several scenarios.

Factory method pattern is one type of design pattern also known as a creational pattern that uses factory methods to deal with the problem. In this way, we can create objects without having to specify the exact class of the object that will be created or the subclasses that are responsible for creating the instance of the class.

To resolve the multiple notifications delivery types that are required at runtime for any event, we created a factory class.

The above class is responsible to fetch a service type based on delivery type.

We have also created a NotifyAdapter class to check common validations like duplicate notification, input request validation, and many others.

Our other services(Email and Pusher) only call the NotifyAdapter class and internally we fetch service type based on DeliveryType using factory pattern.

Take away

Factory Method is a widely used, creational design pattern that can be used in many situations where multiple concrete implementations of an interface exist. The pattern removes complex logical code that is hard to maintain and replaces it with a design that is reusable and extensible.

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

While a virtual career fair brings top talent to your doorstep and initiates the first candidate-employer interaction, there are thousands of other employers vying to do the same. 

So, how do you make yourself stand out? 

Here are 5 ways employers can stand out in virtual career fairs and attract the best candidates.  

 1. Create a virtual expo booth: 

Typically, there are two types of virtual career fair avenues: 

• One is a simple webpage with a chat window where attendees can interact with recruiters at a chosen time. 
• The other is a virtual platform where you can build an elaborate design that mimics an in-person career fair with exhibition halls, expo booths, and a resource center.  

Obviously, choosing a more robust design with extensive features and an immersive booth design is a great way to build your employer brand and bring about excitement among your attendees.   

 Talk about a sure-shot first step in drawing candidates in! 

2. Perfect your employer brand ‍

Nowadays, job seekers want to know whether their job is going to be impactful. Much like how employers evaluate a potential candidate’s background and experience, candidates heavily focus on evaluating an employer’s brand before applying for a job.  

Therefore, a key tactic to make yourself stand out in virtual career fairs is to outline how every talent can add value to your organization.  

Being crisp and clear about your long-term business goals and mission is surely a good thing. This gives attendees an idea of what would be expected of them and how they would be able to contribute to the company’s mission.  

3. Conduct a session for your sponsors

Socializing and networking are something job seekers look forward to when they attend your virtual event. An effective way to boost attendee engagement is to consider conducting a live streaming sponsor session that allows them to present to your audience in real time.

Your sponsor could choose career and company-focused topics, providing insight into what it's like working for a company like yours. Also, they can answer any queries that people may have about the benefits, work culture, and other best practices for their first interview.  

4. Make your virtual booth interactive ‍

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Gamification is one of the best ways to stand out in a virtual career fair and make your mark. Passive activities such as watching a video (yawn) are simply not as effective as incorporating interactive elements such as virtual games.

Set up virtual trade show games, with the likely opportunity for attendees to win a prize. This would keep people immersed plus buy more time for your booth reps to interact with potential candidates and build rapport.   

5. Employ immersive design options ‍

A virtual job fair is much more than running a plain old webinar. Setting up an immersive 3D virtual booth can go a long way in standing out to candidates. It creates a memorable experience for them as it is inherently more immersive in nature.

Think about it, 3D booths are something that virtual job seekers hardly ever see from other employers, and this allows you to really cash in on impact and recall.

Of course, the possibilities are endless when you have a good virtual event hosting platform that will help make all the right features pop out with intuitive and engaging virtual experiences. 

Career fair coming up? Hit it out of the park by running it on Zuddl - talk to us.

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

Have you ever sat through an overly long workshop event and counted down the minutes until it was over? We’ve all been there. With virtual events here to stay, adapting to the changing landscape and learning how to throw a successful online event is of utmost importance.

When it comes to training virtually, a different set of challenges and possibilities exist in this space. Read this article to learn how to make your workshops work for your company!

Be prepared

Being prepared might seem like a no-brainer. However, running a successful workshop takes a lot of planning. A sense of organization and keen focus are key to pulling off an engaging workshop. You’ll need plenty of creative preparation before diving into the day-of agenda. 

Some items to keep in mind that can help promote a smooth, impactful experience:

• Plan for breakout groups in between sessions
• Send out any set-up and navigation instructions prior to starting
• Create and list out your main discussion points
• Know how to get a hold of technical support if needed 

Choose the right platform

You’ve prepared your pre-workshop checklist, your speakers have been lined up, and you’re ready to host an impactful day of learning. Having the right tools to enable your agenda will make all the difference in making sure attendees feel engaged. 

For virtual events, you’ll want to utilize a platform that enhances the learning experience for all involved. This could mean choosing a platform that allows for in-session chat capabilities to enable participants to ask questions easily and collaborate with each other effortlessly.  Perhaps you’re hosting a large event and need to accommodate numerous attendees. Start off on the right foot by choosing a platform that allows you to do so.

The right platform will look different depending on the event in question. Choosing a platform like Zuddl that brings attendees together seamlessly is a good place to start.  

Get people involved

It can be difficult to sit for hours on end listening to a speaker, regardless of how invested you are in the topic. To that end, having an interactive component during training can be helpful. This could be a group discussion during break times, or it might be something as simple as a group question and answer session at the end of a section.

The more enjoyable an event is, the more memorable the information becomes, thus helping to solidify the information presented. A few ideas on ways to get attendees involved:

• Rooms for networking sessions
• Audience surveys or quizzes
• Interactive games
• Collaborative brainstorm sessions

Additional tips

Eager to offer even more to your virtual attendees? A few additional options might look like:

• Offering virtual swag or “a gift bag” much like an in-person event
• Hire a virtual event entertainer
• Create a theme around your event
• Limit the time the actual event runs 
• Provide food for your virtual attendees

Checking your list…

Remember, a successful training workshop is one that keeps people engaged and learning. By following these few tips, your next event is sure to be an impactful one.

Psst… there are a variety of tools and features on Zuddl to help you provide a valuable online training experience. Feel free to book a demo with us and go over them in real-time!

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

The virtual realm has not only been a savior to companies since the pandemic but also become a beneficial addition to their event strategy. Virtual and hybrid events are all the rage today because they possess the ability to make any event inclusive, scalable, accessible, convenient and insightful.

However, as with anything else, hosting a virtual event comes with its own set of challenges and limitations, especially if you’re running it on widely popular but basic streaming platforms.

Here are 6 challenges you’re likely to face or have faced as an event organizer while running a virtual event:

1. Engagement 

Your virtual attendees are typically individuals who have been working and attending meetings virtually for a long time now, so it’s no surprise that the phrase ‘Zoom fatigue’ is being mentioned more and more these days; they’re tired of attending meetings online, and this is why engagement is one of the biggest challenges faced by virtual event organizers today.

Going virtual is not just about knowing how to run an event virtually, but more about knowing how to make the event engaging and interactive. When companies run events on basic virtual platforms, the scope for engagement is very limited.

In order to overcome this, event organizers must prioritize features such as Chat, Polls,Q&A and live networking if they want event attendees, exhibitors and sponsors to all have a fulfilling experience.

2. Technical know-how

There is a common tendency for event planners to assume that a virtual event is no different from another Zoom or Microsoft Teams meeting, and who can blame them. With these basic tools, they may be able to run day-to-day activities just fine, but that’s about it.

To overcome this obstacle, organizers need to not just upskill themselves but also have access to the right technology as well as the right tech support in order to produce studio-quality events without breaking the bank. 

3. Lack of control over proceedings

As an event organizer who’s working with basic technology, you’re left with no option but to make the best of what you have. What this implies is that you’re restricted by limitations of your tool when it comes to managing your speakers, sessions, attendees and of course, the overall event experience. 

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Additional reading: Here's a sneak peek of event trends in 2023 as per our latest report.

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The only thing that can make a difference here is a virtual platform or tool that allows you to take charge of the event behind the scenes - that way you can control the event rather than the other way around!

4. Lack of scope for branding

One of the most limiting things about a virtual event that’s run on a basic virtual platform is that every event pretty much looks the same. You can never really make your brand’s presence felt since the scope of customization is quite low. 

This can be a deal-breaker especially if you’re expecting a good return on investment from your virtual event. Branding at a virtual event can only be enhanced when you have a powerful virtual studio on your side.

5.  To go live or to pre-record

This is the question that would boggle Shakespeare’s mind if he was around today.  As an event organizer, it’s important to understand how your attendees like to consume their content. While live streaming  offers a real-time experience, pre-recorded content offers flexibility and an on-demand edge to your event that is sure to appeal to today’s Netflix-watching audience.

This is why many organizers are going in for a blended approach these days. However, you need to have the right technology to make this possible.

6. Latency, latency, latency

Last but not the least, most streaming platforms are vulnerable to latency. This one problem is powerful enough to derail a virtual attendee’s entire event experience. With engagement already a challenge on its own, latency can just pile up to the problem and make an attendee feel totally lost and disconnected.

Banking on technology that can give you near-zero latency streaming capabilities is the safest way to dodge this bullet.

So, what’s the solution?

No matter how much event organizers upskill themselves, they will always be limited by the technology available to them.

If your business has  already invested in an event platform or streaming tool  like Hopin, Hubilo, Teams or  Zoom, can you still find a way to upgrade your event production and attendee experience  without breaking the bank?

The answer is yes!

Zuddl Studio is built for the modern day event organizers. Seamlessly manage the backstage speaker transition to and from the stage, add lower thirds animation - all this while retaining complete control of your brand. 

Zuddl Studio will work seamlessly with your existing event stack, and change your event game forever.

Psst... join our waitlist to get special privileges and early-bird giveaways!

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

Much to our delight, Zuddl has been awarded three new badges: Users Love Us, High Performer Spring 2022, and High Performer Asia Pacific Spring 2022, in the most recent quarterly report by G2, the business software comparison website trusted by thousands across the world.

You can check out our G2 profile here.

What is G2 and how does it work?

G2 is the world’s largest tech marketplace where consumers and businesses can discover, review, and manage the technology solutions they need. This is largely due to the 60 million people who visit G2.com every year to read and write authentic reviews about more than 100,000 software products and services. 

Reviews: All users undergo a moderation and approval process, so only unfiltered and unbiased reviews are published on the site. Additionally, G2 prioritizes more recent reviews to reflect up-to-date user experiences about a piece of software. For instance, you can see the most recent review we’ve received from a customer right on the top of the list. 

Ratings: Besides reviews, businesses are also given an overall rating on a scale of 1-5 from users. This information as well as data aggregated from online sources and social networks are taken into account to calculate Customer Satisfaction and Market Presence scores that are then published by G2 every quarter. These are also used to determine which badges are awarded.

What do the awards we received mean?

1. Users Love Us

From the very start we've zealously focused on user experience, so we were thrilled to receive this badge, which is only earned by getting a consistently high customer satisfaction rating. We needed to collect 20 reviews with an average rating of 4.0 stars or above, and we were able to do so and more! Thanks to our supportive and happy customers, at the date of publication, we have an outstanding aggregate 4.8 star rating from 76 reviews. 

2. High Performer Spring 2022

This ​​badge is awarded to organizations with high customer satisfaction and market presence scores in their respective categories. Our users make it crystal clear that Zuddl is still their preferred choice over other options in the virtual and hybrid events platform category on G2. 

3. High Performer Asia Pacific Spring 2022

Zuddl is in the High Performer quadrant in the Asia Pacific Regional Grid® Report because we are rated highly by G2 users and have substantial Satisfaction and Market Presence scores compared to the rest of the products in the category.

Thank you to our customers

We’re thrilled to have gained positive recognition from real, verified users for our platform and our service, and couldn’t have done it without the incredible support of our customers. Thank you to all of you that have taken the time to submit a review!

Your feedback matters too!

If you use our product and haven't yet shared your opinion, why not help those in their quest for finding a highly-rated user-friendly and customizable virtual and hybrid events platform? Leave a review on our G2 review page.

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

Virtual events came to the world’s rescue during the pandemic. They served as a safe way for companies to continue to engage with their internal and external stakeholders remotely. Later, when in-person events came back into the picture, companies still found it valuable to retain a virtual element as part of their event, as the latter proved to be a scalable, cost effective and measurable way of running events. The insights that planners were getting from virtual event platforms changed the way they strategized events; and this created the perfect situation for hybrid events.

Virtual elements are here to stay

What can we learn from these developments? It’s simple; virtual events or elements are here to stay. Their relevance has gone beyond the pandemic. Companies have acknowledged the unique benefits of going virtual or hybrid. Now, since we’ve already highlighted the boons of virtual events above, one must wonder what are the more challenging aspects of going virtual? For one, of course, it’s the need to upskill and understand event technology; this is where a robust virtual event platform plays a huge part. However, there’s one more crucial aspect to any event that organizers cannot compromise on - the security of an event.

Event security needs have evolved

Different ways of running events bring their own challenges. You can see why a virtual event is a desirable cyberthreat target; cyber criminals stand the chance of tapping into important attendee data and company information if the event is not robust enough to keep them at bay. In the past two years, there have also been instances of cyber criminals posing as attendees and joining a virtual event. Once they succeeded s, they were capable of doing anything from sharing risky links and inappropriate content with attendees to heckling the speakers at the event.

We’re sure that all this information is scary enough for planners to make sure they prioritize event security and not take it for granted. Thankfully, securing your event doesn’t have to be difficult. 

Here’s an easy checklist of best practices for you:

1. Choose a virtual event platform that is certified and highly secure so that there are no chances of software vulnerabilities within the platform.
2. Ensure that the event platform you choose has periodic audits in place to ensure the confidentiality and security of event data.
3. When picking the event platform, another thing you should look for is how much control it gives you as an organizer; you should be able to restrict and limit the content shared during your event.
4. While inviting guests to your event, generate unique URLs for each attendee and unique access codes too.
5. Inform your attendees that all communications related to the event will only come from your official trusted email address and information from any other source must be ignored.
6. Inform attendees whenever you plan to record a session; it always makes them feel at ease when you get their consent.

‍How attendees can make sure they attend secure virtual events

If you’re an attendee, you can add another layer of safety to your event experience by ensuring the security of your personal information by:

1. Verifying the source of all the emails and communications you received about the event
2. Using a reliable browser that is aptly patched to handle security vulnerabilities
3. Creating a password that you don’t use anywhere else (if the event requires you to create one)

To sum up… 

As we see the world embracing virtual elements in every walk of life from education to large-scale events, it is our responsibility to be aware of the risks of going virtual in order to reap the many many benefits that virtual events bring us.

Want to make your next virtual event secure? You can't go wrong with Zuddl - book a demo today.

Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

Think about the last time you went to the theater to watch a movie. 

You probably went in, sat down, dutifully put your phone away (we hope), looked up at the big screen, and enjoyed the show. A simple and easy experience.

Now consider the POV of someone who goes into the theater to watch the same movie but is hard of hearing, or who speaks a completely different language than that shown in the theater. It would be a completely different, more difficult and exclusionary experience.

Why should you care about this?

One of the biggest benefits of virtual events is that as an organizer, you are no longer hampered by geography. There’s no need to worry about factoring in travel for attendees or speakers, or being constrained by venue capacity when you’re hosting a virtual event. This means that people from all over the world can attend, and where previously you might have been able to host only 1000 people at an in-person event, you can now reach tens of thousands. 

But with great capability comes great responsibility.

You  now need to ensure that each of your tens of thousands of attendees has an  equally amazing experience at your event, whether that’s a virtual  conference, company offsite, virtual office, ora virtual tradeshow. And  central to this is ensuring that each person - from different countries and  diverse backgrounds - can actively participate, contribute to discussions,  and have equitable opportunities.

But this isn’t without its challenges.

When planning virtual experiences for constituents, organizers may fall prey to  an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality. No longer being able to ‘see’ the needs and requirements for different types of attendees can make it harder to address them. 

And this is definitely an issue when one billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, experience some form of disability. In the United States alone, the Centers for Disease Control notes that: 61 million adults – or 1 in 4 – people live with a disability. These statistics alone makes leading with accessibility and inclusivity the mentality to have as a hybrid or virtual event organizer.

Attendees from different backgrounds or with disabilities will want to consume your content, ask questions to speakers, chat and interact with their fellow attendees - just like everyone else. This means that you not only need to be purposeful and empathetic in the way you organize your event and present your content, but that the virtual event platform partner you work with needs to be able to be fully accessible and inclusive - it needs to put all attendees on an equal footing.

The good news: Zuddl makes your virtual event more accessible and inclusive!

Central to hosting a virtual event is making sure the content of your event can be understood by all your attendees. This is especially important when it comes to live sessions or recorded video that you or your speakers are sharing during the event. But, as illustrated by the movie theater example, if attendees at virtual meetings are non-native speakers or are hard of hearing, they may find it difficult to follow along and stay engaged.

This is where Zuddl can make a difference. 

Multilingual audio support

The reality is that not everybody can speak English or speak it well. So if you have people joining the virtual meeting from France, Finland and Fiji, using multilingual audio support is a great way to ensure that all attendees will still be able to understand speakers and the content that is being presented, which in turn helps to create a more inclusive, egalitarian virtual space.

This, of course, is especially important for companies with remote, multilingual teams. When hosting virtual company offsites, sales kickoffs, company meetings or any other internal events, multilingual audio support can help non-native speakers to better comprehend and retain information, and feel more connected to the workforce.

It makes business sense too. 

According to a survey conducted by the Common Sense Advisory, a market research firm, 72.1% of consumers spend most or all of their time on websites in their own language. The same piece of research states that 72% of consumers are more likely to buy a product that is offered to them in their own language. Need we say more?

Live captioning

Live captioning works hand-in-hand with multilingual audio support. This results in a real-time visual aid that helps attendees at your event better decipher what’s being said on-screen. 

The feature helps to improve accessibility for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, but can be useful for everyone, including those who join the live event late, or who are multitasking during the event. 

This is useful when you’re hosting a virtual meeting for your company or team as giving employees the option to read-along live captions in their native language makes it simpler to absorb information and therefore increase focus and engagement. In fact, 80% of consumers are more likely to watch an entire video when captions are available.

‍Protip: Make presentations and video sessions available for attendees to watch after the event is over. This way they can revisit the information shared as per their convenience and make sure they don’t miss what was shared during a meeting.

Chat function and Emoji Reactions

The use of live chat and emoji reactions at your event gives your attendees the freedom to interact with and react to speakers and content shared as per their convenience, and it means there is equal opportunity to ‘speak’ and ask questions. For those who find written language a bit restrictive, they can easily express themselves through an easy emoji reaction.

To sum up…

Virtual and hybrid events are only as inclusive as they’re made to be; while event platform partners like Zuddl can make a great difference, creating spaces and experiences that make everyone feel welcomed and valued needs to be an active effort on the part of organizers. Talk to our team today to learn how to get it right!

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

If you’ve been staying updated with the latest trends that are changing the event industry, you’ll already know the relevance of virtual and hybrid events in today’s digital-first world. With workplaces and workforces going remote over the past two years, it’s not just  events that have taken a virtual form; day-to-day activities such as team meetings, hiring processes as well as training modules have all done so too.

From an organization's perspective, the need of the hour is knowing  how to tap the potential of the virtual realm to best suit business needs. One of the essential aspects of taking this step is to lock in on a virtual events platform that can turn this idea into a reality, easily and seamlessly- which brings us to our main point.

If you’re looking for a virtual event platform but don’t know where to start in terms of exploring your options, this article is just about to make your life so much easier.

For starters, it helps to have a basic checklist in place in terms while you’re exploring and comparing platforms. 

What should you look for in a virtual platform?

• It should be easy to use
  

No matter how much a platform boasts of its capabilities, it won’t make a difference to you as an organizer or as an attendee if the platform is not easy to use. This is why finding an easy-to-use virtual platform should be the first condition on your checklist.

• It should be scalable
  

Next, ask yourself how your events are going to be in the near future. While you don’t have to zero in on the exact details, you can still gauge certain things such as the size of your events. This will help you choose a virtual platform more suited to your needs. For instance, let’s say your event plan has a mix of smaller focused events as well big conferences with a typically high attendee expectation. In this case, you’re going to need one platform that can help you run it all.

• It should be customizable
  

Another important factor to keep in mind while choosing the platform is the scope of ownership and branding. To say it in simpler terms, always pick a virtual event platform that will empower you to own the event rather than the platform owning you! 

With the trend of decreasing attendee attention spans, customization goes hand in hand with engagement when it comes to delivering memorable and immersive experiences, so if these are things you consider important, don’t choose a platform that will limit you from making your events epic.

• It should suit your budget
  

As with anything else, pricing plays an important part when it comes to choosing your virtual event platform too. Once you’ve checked the previous items in the checklist, you can now further filter your search to find a platform that offers the features that you love within your budget. Keeping a flexible budget makes sense if you feel there’s a platform that more than meets your expectations.

• It should have good reviews

As much as technology takes over our lives, there is one thing that a human being values more than anything else; it’s the firsthand experience or story that another human being has to offer. It’s no different when it comes to choosing the right virtual event platform. User reviews can really inform you about the pros and cons of any platform from a lived experience perspective, so while this is our last point on your checklist, it is surely not the least!

Popular virtual event platforms for you:

Now that we’ve told you how to pick a virtual event platform, here are some big names that are making waves in 2022!

Zuddl

If you’re on the hunt for a platform that puts your brand ahead of anything else, Zuddl might just be the perfect choice for you. 100% customizable and super easy to use, it’s hard not to see why this virtual event platform could be your obvious choice - it can help you create impactful and immersive virtual experiences that are on par with in-person events.

Some of the highlights that set Zuddl apart are that it is latency-free, scalable to an attendee capacity of 1,50,000 and features a drag-and-drop editor that makes adding widgets such a breeze. From an organizer’s perspective, the all-powerful virtual greenroom ‘Backstage’ lets you take control over your virtual event like never before.‍

“How do I engage my attendees?” is possibly one of the key areas of concern for many event organizers in any virtual event is the level of engagement. Thankfully, Zuddl’s event-wide gamification. Chats, Polls, Q&A and a host of other features can help you not only reach your engagement goals but also surpass them. (Click here to read more about our gamification feature)

On the networking front, the AI-powered interest-based matchmaking feature makes networking a simple, fun and meaningful experience rather than an awkward obligation that you’d otherwise dread.

AES 256 encrypted and GDPR compliant, Zuddl has consciously been built keeping data security and attendee privacy at the core of its design. 

To complete the whole experience, Zuddl also provides you with actionable insights with realt-ime analytics and post-event metrics that are sure to take your future events to a whole new level.

Hopin

Hopin is another popular virtual event platform that emulates the in-person experience. With an attendee capacity of 1,00,000, it offers basic tools such as chat and polls to get your engagement going. 

Its standout feature is the event schedule tool which allows you to swiftly plan a series of events by giving you a top-down perspective. With Hopin, there is scope for customizing your event to an extent; you could work with the default themes and partial drag-and-drop capabilities to add your stamp to the event experience.
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vFairs
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vFairs offers a 3D virtual environment for your virtual event needs. With features such as 1:1 networking and group networking, video and document hosting, the platform offers a value-driven alternative to traditional or in-person events. 

Like Zuddl and Hopin, vFairs too is integrated with useful add-ons to further customize the event experience. When it comes to networking, attendees may enjoy the choices it offers: striking up a conversation on the spot or scheduling a conversation for later.

BigMarker‍

BigMarker is a popular choice for those hosting small to medium scale virtual events. This browser-based platform offers standard features such as polls, surveys and screen share while the chat function is enabled based on the organizer’s preference?permissions. 

While this platform may not have the best audio and video quality, it fairs well in terms of its email marketing, landing pages and social media streaming capabilities.

Airmeet‍

This virtual event platform can host a virtual event of up to 1,00,000 attendees. As an organizer, you’ll be able to accept up to 300 sponsors on Airmeet, so it’s a good choice if you’re looking for extensive sponsorship. 

Its networking tables and usage-based pricing are notable, and it is also available as a free version, which is limited in its capacity but still offers networking features such as the social lounge and 1:1 networking.

Hubilo‍

Another notable platform for virtual and hybrid events is Hubilo, which allows you as an organizer to focus on attendee and sponsor experience by offering engagement features such as a leaderboard and points for participation. 

Apart from the basic essentials of a virtual event, Hubilo also offers full-time customer support and event insights that organizers can leverage.

So there you have it, folks. Choosing a virtual event platform doesn’t have to be difficult, and we’ll make sure it never will. Want to make your decision even easier? Talk to us today.

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

There are plenty of exciting hybrid and virtual conferences lined up this year. We’ve put together a list of different types of events you can attend and will be continually updating this list. If we’ve missed out on any you think we should include, do let us know and we will add it in.

JANUARY

CES® 2022

Dates: Jan 5-7

Event type: Hybrid

Why attend: CES is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).  Virtual attendees will be able to access livestreams of keynotes and select conference sessions, and will also be able to connect with onsite exhibitors and other attendees. Those who attend in-person will also be able to use the platform to plan their event agenda and connect with each other and virtual participants. Networking and on-demand content will be open to all attendees until the end of January.

Digiday Media CMO Summit

Dates: Jan 25 – 26

Event type: Virtual

Why attend: The Digiday Media CMO Summit brings together marketing leaders in media, advertising and retail to discuss behavioral trends that they are counting on to find opportunities and share tips — from how they’re navigating new trends such as a surge in OOH advertising to ever-evolving challenges in brand safety — and best practices.

VentureBeat’s The Future of Work Summit

Dates: Jan 12

Event type: Virtual 

Why attend: At VB’s Future of Work Summit, we’ll discuss with top executives how organizations are reimagining and re-architecting their technology stack and strategies to allow for this new virtual world of work. This transformation enables powerful, transformative AI/ML, metaverse technologies such as AR/VR, and AI-assisted intelligent chat and virtual assistants for more collaboration. But it also requires a new kind of workplace culture, emphasizing trust and independence. The Summit will extract specific takeaways, including strategies, tactics, technologies that the boldest and most successful companies are leveraging to pave the way for this new future of work.

FEBRUARY

The Nasscom Technology & Leadership Forum

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Dates: Feb 16-18

Event type: Virtual 

Why attend: NTLF 2022, with the theme 'Shaping the Techade: The New Now and the Next', will bring together diverse voices from around the world to focus on topics like - reimagining the art of the possible, leadership differentiators, scaling growth, and building a fairer world.

The Virtual MarTech Summit 

Dates: Feb 22-23

Event type: Virtual 

‍Why attend: This 2-day summit with a focus on B2C & B2B two tracks spanning pressing topics like Cookieless, Gamification, Social Media & Influencer Marketing, CX, Customer Data Platform, UGC, Personalization, Precision Demand. You’ll hear from leaders working in a cross-section of industries whose stories illustrate unique company pain points, breakthroughs, and triumphs.

MARCH

South by Southwest (SXSW)

Dates: Mar 11-20

Event type: Hybrid

Why attend: The event features Conference sessions, Film Festival screenings, Music Festival showcases, world-class Exhibitions, networking opportunities, competitions, awards ceremonies, and much more. The array of guests spans from major entrepreneurs like Michael Dell, health professionals like Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jason Isbell.

Adobe Summit

Dates: Mar 15-17

Event type: Virtual

Why attend: Be inspired by influential leaders and expert Experience Makers as they share industry trends and insights. Speakers this year include AlbertBourla, CEO of Pfizer, Meghan Heather who is the Global IT Portfolio Director of The Coca-Cola Company, and Shantanu Narayen, the CEO of Adobe.

Social Media Marketing World

Dates: Mar 14-16

Event type: Hybrid

Why attend: Join thousands of the world’s smartest marketers and influencers at the only marketing conference you need to attend and walk away with real business-building ideas that you can put to work for your business or clients right away.

APRIL

Microsoft Envision

Dates: Apr 12

Event type: Online

Why attend: Microsoft Envision is a digital series where you'll join thought leaders from across industries to explore the latest business and technology trends. Get ready to discover the new wave of digital innovation and connect with peers from across the globe.

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MAY

IBM Think 2022

Dates: May 10 – 11

Event type: Hybrid

Why attend: Think is an ever-evolving, inclusive, accessible, horizontal conversation about human ingenuity, its advocates, and the tools they employ to break paradigms and create new ones.  It’s more than just a conference — it's how IBM engages with the world. And you can place yourself right at the center of that ever-evolving conversation.

Ad World 2022

Dates: May 2-3

Event type: Virtual

Why attend: Join 50,000+ of the world’s brightest minds in advertising to learn, share secrets and connect online. For two days on 2-3 May 2022, Ad World will stream 10+ Digital Advertising Tracks, consisting of hyper-focused speeches, panels and live Q&A sessions to help take your business to the next level. The all-in-one advertising event will bring you closer to leading marketers and brands than ever before from the comfort of your home.

JUNE

Gallup at Work Summit

Dates: June 7-8

Event type: Virtual

Why attend: The Gallup at Work Summit is for anyone seeking learning and development opportunities. More specifically, the Summit is for individuals whose job it is to develop other people or who are seeking individual development. Join leading experts in improving employee engagement, wellbeing, manager development, and other business topics that influence every workplace.

Bloomberg Technology Summit

Dates: June 8

Event type: Virtual

Why attend: Digital transformation has touched every sphere of life. We are all immersed in a world of data. This data facilitates our healthcare, business and government activities, commerce and entertainment. The Bloomberg Technology Summit: Looking Forward highlights the ways in which society has been changed by digital disruption and provides the roadmap for what lies ahead.

Women in Tech Global Conference 2022

Dates: June 7-10

Event type: Hybrid 

Why attend: ​​​​​​The hybrid conference will bring women in tech, minorities and allies from all over the world together through an interactive platform featuring live educational & training content, keynotes, engaging panels, breakout rooms, technical workshops, and networking with virtual and in-person sessions.

Cisco Live 2022

Dates: June 12-16

Event type: Hybrid

Why attend: Cisco Live is the networking company’s major event for customers, CIOs, and technology executives. The event is set to ignite creativity, deliver practical know-how, and accelerate the connections that fuel the digital future.

JULY

DigiMarCon West 2022

Dates: July 11-12

Event type: Hybrid

Why attend: Join your peers in-person or online for 2-days jam-packed with digital marketing best practices, latest trends, practical solutions, strategy, and networking, also check out the next generation of technology & innovation; Internet, Mobile, AdTech, MarTech & SaaS Technology.

AUGUST

BLACK HAT USA 2022

Dates: Aug 6-11

Event type: Hybrid

Why attend: Black Hat is the most technical and relevant global information security event series in the world. For more than 16 years, Black Hat has provided attendees with the very latest in information security research, development, and trends in a strictly vendor-neutral environment. These high-profile global events and Trainings are driven by the needs of the security community, striving to bring together the best minds in the industry. Black Hat inspires professionals at all career levels, encouraging growth and collaboration among academia, world-class researchers, and leaders in the public and private sectors.

SEPTEMBER

SAASTR ANNUAL 2022

Dates: Sep 13-15

Event type: Hybrid

Why attend: 10,000+ SaaS executives, founders, and VCs will come together for SaaStr Annual 2022, the world’s largest SaaS community event on the planet.  Get ready for specific, SaaStr-style actionable advice and learnings to help grow your business from $0 to $100M ARR with less stress and more success. No commercials, no paid content, no boring panels. Every session is hand-screened and vetted to help you learn.

OCTOBER

Reuters Impact

Dates: Oct 3-7

Event type: Virtual

Why attend: Solving the climate risk challenge requires a significant, and coordinated private and public-sector effort. Reuters IMPACT is a free virtual global conference that brings together world leaders, big business and forward-thinking pioneers to inspire, drive action and accelerate innovation towards the global economy’s top priority: the climate emergency. No matter what role you perform, or the size of your organization, Reuters IMPACT will help you identify how you can influence business driven climate action.

NOVEMBER

HRPA 2022 Fall Conference

Dates: Nov 22-24

Event type: Virtual

Why attend: HRPA exists to ensure that HR professionals have the tools to act as champions for positive change, leading Ontario’s workplaces into the future. The association brings together business leaders from around the world for their series of annual conferences. A fall conference has been scheduled for November 22-24 and will mark the last major event in their 2022 calendar.

DECEMBER

AdWeek: Publishing Week 2022

Dates: Dec dates TBC

Event type: Virtual

Why attend: Adweek's Publishing Week is an elite summit designed to cut through the noise and connect the most forward-thinking minds in publishing to solve challenges unique to this evolving industry. With the need to add scale and create personalized experiences for their audiences, publishers have had to embrace a more agile mindset. Learn how these companies are leveraging the power of technology to enable multi-channel subscription and ad revenue strategies.

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

The holiday season is around the corner but you’re short of ideas on how to bring your remote team together for some fun and festive activities that everyone can enjoy. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of 10 easy activities you can organize that will bring all your team members, regardless of their location, full of cheer. From holiday scavenger hunts to cocktail and cookie parties, we’ve got your covered.

1. Holiday Scavenger Hunt

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Organizing a virtual scavenger hunt is one of the easiest ways to bring your team together for a fun, exciting activity that makes everyone feel included. 

How to play: Put together a list of holiday-related items that your teammates have to find within a certain time such as something red and green,  their favourite Christmas item, or a cup of cheer; it’s best to keep your requirements a bit broad so that teammates can use their ingenuity to find items within their house or in the office that fit the bill. 

You can create different lists for different teams, with the fastest team to collect all items winning a prize. Take a look at how the Digital Schoolhouse team enjoyed a fun scavenger hunt session!

2. Watercooler trivia

Virtual watercoolers have become the new go-to’s for remote teams to have casual conversations about everything from holiday plans to TV shows that they’re watching; you can turn these fun conversations into a fun trivia night activity.

How to play: A watercooler trivia night is similar to your usual trivia games where teams answer  a set of general knowledge questions. But the rather enjoyable twist here is that the questions will be about your teammates. Prepare a list of fun questions about some common subjects of conversations at the water cooler, such as “Who’s known for the best Dwight Schrute impression?”

Even better if you use a virtual event platform like Zuddl that has an inbuilt gamification feature which means that you can use a leaderboard to track and tally points for you, and let everyone know who’s they have to beat to win! 

3. Holiday-themed karaoke night

What’s a holiday party without some festive music? Bring your virtual team together for a karaoke night where they can let loose and spend the evening belting out the classics. 

How to host: Invite your team to a virtual meeting space or use a virtual breakout room like we have on Zuddl, play karaoke tracks and ask colleagues to duo or solo one after the other. There’s nothing like singing an off-key rendition of ‘Jingle Bells’ to bring a team together.

Here’s the KGW8 team hosting a great virtual karaoke session. 

4. Gingerbread-making contest‍

Nothing says Christmas like gingerbread - but most people have more experience in eating it than making it. So why not host a fun gingerbread-making contest?

How to host: Send everyone a DIY gingerbread kit ahead of time, or if that’s not possible, ask everyone to stock up on the ingredients needed for baking gingerbread men. Invite a chef to your virtual baking session or play a video whilst everyone follows the instructions. Encourage everyone to get creative with their baking and celebrate successes and failures too! End the evening by eating your gingerbread ‘together.’

5. Wreath-making workshop

With work and home time bleeding into each other, many people don’t have the time to decorate their homes for the holidays. For such workaholics, a wreath-making session is the perfect way for some ‘me time’ that gets their creative juices flowing - that gets them an incredible wreath to hang on the door in the process!

How to host: Similar to the gingerbread contest, you can either send your entire team the items for making a wreath or ask them to collect these items beforehand. Organize a virtual hangout session for everyone to learn how to make their wreaths (even better if you hire an instructor), and laugh through the wreath-making fails and wins together.

6. A holiday talent show

Find your in-house Beyonce or laugh out loud with your comedians—an end of the year talent show is the best way for your team to get to know and bond over each other’s hidden talents.

How to host: Use a virtual platform, ideally with a Stage feature, that your team can use to run the show. Performers can take to the stage one after another to share their talents and wow your team. Even better if the platform you use has engagement features that those watching can use to encourage their teammates (Zuddl has Emoji reactions for instance). You can use Polls to ask attendees to vote for their favourite performance. 

7. Virtual holiday photobooth‍

If there’s one advantage of remote work besides working in your pyjamas, it’s the ability to take fantastic team photos easily. No matter how big your team is, you can take the best group pictures at a virtual party that you can display at your virtual office (and poke fun at) all throughout the year. 

How to host: Set up a virtual photo booth with holiday-themed backgrounds - one with Santa and reindeers or even a Home Alone style one - and ask teammates to dress up according to the theme! Think ugly Christmas sweaters or funny reindeer headbands. 

8. Improv comedy night

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Get everyone in a great(er) mood with a fun improv comedy night. Bring out the comedian in every team member and have a huge laugh together.

How to host: All you need is a fun and friendly host for the improv session. Just like in Who’s Line Is it Anyway, the host will give your team different scenarios to act out that are sure to cause some laughs.

Take a look at ArtsQuest’s improv comedy sessions for corporate teams to inspire your own.

9. Holiday Escape Room

A holiday-themed escape room is actually a fun team building activity that will also test your team’s collective intelligence. The premise of this game is that a team is locked inside a room. They must solve clues or puzzles in order to complete a mission and then ‘escape’ out of the room before time runs out. 

How to play:  Book a virtual holiday escape room online and spend an hour or so putting your brains together to help rescue Santa or find the Naughty or Nice list. 

10. Cocktail and Cookie Party

Getting everyone together to celebrate the holidays by sharing food and drink is the perfect way to relax, chat, laugh and spend time with each other as a team. 

How to host: As with the gingerbread baking or wreath-making sessions, send cookies and cocktail ingredients to your colleagues’ houses or ask them to pick up ingredients before your party. For the first half of the party, everyone can mix their cocktails or pop cookies in the oven to bake, after which you can enjoy an evening of drinks and food and conversation. 

To sum up…

This holiday season, take the opportunity to celebrate the people around you with a fun-filled virtual party. Whether it’s a trivia session or gingerbread wars, create an unforgettable experience for all your teammates with these game ideas that will strengthen team spirit and spread holiday cheer.

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

Virtual events - whether trade shows, seminars, conferences or musical festivals - have grown to be so popular and impactful that 45% of future B2B events will be completely virtual. 

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For most event professionals, this should come as no big surprise as the benefits of virtual events are obvious: better reach, branding, engagement  and ROI. Because of this, hosting a virtual event has become an evergreen marketing strategy that is worth cultivating, regardless of the size of your business or which industry it belongs to. 

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Let’s quickly look at the ways different industries have benefited from holding virtual events, so you can learn from them and follow in their footsteps.

1. Education industry

When the pandemic made it impossible for students to go to school, college or universities, educational institutions were forced to pivot to virtual spaces and classrooms instead, and reimagine methods of teaching, engaging, motivating and inspiring students. 

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While educators were hesitant and untrusting initially, most have come to realize the surprising ways in which virtual events and platforms can create supportive and collaborative environments that enable more efficient teaching and learning.By virtue of the digital medium, educators can create exciting new virtual experiences for their students; they can invite guest lecturers from all over the world, facilitate small-group student learning via virtual Breakout rooms, and even set up networking sessions to drive  social interaction and camaraderie.

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Not to mention, educational institutions can hold a variety of virtual events, from university lectures to job fairs, open houses to networking events, with ease online - and at a fraction of the cost, and logistical effort. Take for example the virtual open day experience offered by the University of Stirling. Prospective students watched presentations about student life, funding, accommodation, and applications, and were able to chat with current students, lecturers, and directors in course-specific virtual Rooms. There was also a virtual tour that showcased the campus and university's facilities.

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Thanks to virtual events and platforms, educational institutions now have unique ways to power better learning and engagement with students. 

2. Hospitality industry

As with the education sector, the hospitality industry was forced to pivot to virtual solutions in order to continue to create memorable experiences for guests without compromising health and safety.

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The adoption of virtual event platforms to host events, exhibitions, meetings, and conferences in particular has led to hotels and restaurants discovering how to leverage them as new avenues of expression, communication and connection with guests, and of course, maintain cash flow.

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Take for example, the RPM Restaurants group in Chicago. The group hosted a variety of virtual events, ranging from cooking classes led by one of their chiefs to a drink-making session with a hotel mixologist. They also created meal kits for their classes that contained all the ingredients needed for the dish or cocktail that could be picked up or delivered to event attendees. The sense of social connection and community is strengthened when everyone cooks or drinks together online. Indeed, having received a strong positive response to these classes, the RPM group plans to hold more of these events.

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Cooking classes are just one example of virtual events hosted by the hospitality industry. Businesses have also held a variety of healthy lifestyle classes such as yoga, meditation, physical fitness and even gardening. Using ticketing tiers was an avenue to drive revenue.

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Larger MICE events were also successfully held online. Food & Hotel Asia for example, held a virtual Food & Hotel Digital Week that consisted of sessions and product showcases. Because of the medium of the event, it was attended by more than 5,000 industry players from more than 20 countries and regions. Quite an achievement for the company’s inaugural event.

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So even though the ease of lockdown and social distancing has meant the rise of in-person gatherings once again, it’s clear that the hospitality industry will benefit from continuing to hold virtual events or hybrid ones. Not only does it give establishments a way to stay top of mind, it also provides convenience for guests and helps to keep profit margins up. 

3. Marketing and communications

Perhaps no industry has benefited from the rise of virtual events as much as the marketing industry. While the benefits of hosting virtual events remain the same for this industry as the hospitality and education industry ie. better branding, and more reach and engagement, one of the greatest benefits enjoyed particularly by marketers is the ability to capture data.

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Unlike in-person events where tracking attendee micro-moments and calculating revenue is difficult (click here to read more about how to calculate ROI from a virtual event), thanks to virtual event platforms, marketers can keep track of engagement metrics such as time spent at the event or individual sessions, the number of Polls answered or Q&As asked.

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If the virtual event platform offers organizers the ability to create Expo Booths like Zuddl does, marketers will also be able to see which attendees clicked on the ‘Registered Interest’ button, and which marketing collateral was the most or least consumed. This enables organizers to make changes on the fly that leads to better rates of engagement and to collect information on leads for post-event follow ups.

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This in turn can lead to more leads and revenue. (Click here to read more about how NASSCOM generated 1000+ leads for their event sponsors).

4. Tech industry

Unsurprisingly, the tech industry took to virtual events like a duck to water, with companies like Salesforce, Consumer Technology Association, G2 and IBM pivoting to large-scale virtual conferences and summits with ease and reaping the benefits. (Click here to find out which of these companies made our list of 12 virtual events done right.) 

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The perfect example of this is Gainsight’s Pulse. In May 2021, the company decided to transform their traditionally in-person event to a virtual version. The event featured 25 sessions presented by the leaders of top companies like Adobe, VMWare, and LinkedIn, and was attended by over 22,000 Customer Success and Product professionals from 50+ states/countries. In stark contrast, the same in-person event held in 2019 was attended by only 5,000 people. 

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The company shared pre-recorded sessions and switched to live Q&A with the speakers right after the session, an engagement strategy that seemed to have paid off; the company tracked one million viewer minutes over the two half-days. Indeed, Stephanie Robotham, Chief Marketing Officer at Gainsight, pointed to the availability of real-time tracking of virtual attendees as a tremendous advantage, as it allowed them to take action immediately and have richer data for sales follow ups. 

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As a consequence of better reach and engagement and tracking, the tech industry has been able to hold more impactful and valuable events.

To sum up...

All kinds of businesses, forced to throw out their playbooks completely due to lockdowns and other pandemic restrictions over the last year, discovered a silver lining amidst the chaos: virtual events. 

Regardless of industry, it became quite clear that through use of virtual and digital event solutions, organizers and marketers were able to hold immersive and creative virtual experiences for their customers and clients that drove energy, enthusiasm, meaningful connection and engagement for attendees, and delivered on business goals for organizers.

Even though in-person events are on the rise again, it’s a surety that virtual events or hybrid ones (a blend of virtual and in-person components) will remain. The benefits of virtual events are just too obvious to walk away from.

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Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. The platform has clients across the globe, such as the United Nations, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, HSBC, VMware, Google, StackCommerce and Cipla amongst others. In January 2022, Zuddl announced that it closed $13.35 mn in Series A funding.

When it comes to event planning and marketing, you're only as good as your team—and vendors are an extension of that team.

In addition to lightening your workload, identifying and working with the right vendors creates a smoother, more manageable experience for your events team.

In this blog post, we list the 10 most essential vendors to consider when planning your annual user conference. We also share some expert tips so you can identify cost-saving opportunities and negotiate favorable terms with vendors. 

Read on.

The outsourcing advantage: Balance external and in-house tasks

While you may be able to assign a few tasks to your internal team members, here's how outsourcing to the right vendors can give your conference the edge it needs.

1. Cost-effectiveness

If you hire full-time staff for every specialized task—salaries, benefits, and training costs will drain your budget faster than you think. By outsourcing, you can tap into expert services without long-term financial commitments.

2. Expertise on demand

[.testimonial-ebook-purple][.ebook-testimonial-text][.h5-ebook-24px-p-600]When it comes to event expertise, you really don’t know what you don’t know.[.h5-ebook-24px-p-600][.ebook-testimonial-text][.ebook-testimonial-profile][.ebook-testimonial-profile-steph][.ebook-testimonial-profile-steph][.ebook-testimonial-profile-text][.b1-ebook-600-cb-500]Stephanie Christensen[.b1-ebook-600-cb-500][.b3-400-cb-300]Events and Marketing Leader[.b3-400-cb-300][.ebook-testimonial-profile-text][.ebook-testimonial-profile][.testimonial-ebook-purple]

Vendors bring specialized skills to the table that can elevate your event in ways you might not achieve on your own. 

Think: Cutting-edge event technology or exceptional catering services. By leveraging their expertise, you offer your attendees a level of innovation and professionalism that might be challenging to achieve internally—all while saving time, resources, and money.

3. Relieving workloads

Wherever budget allows, bring in vendors who can significantly lighten the load on your team, allowing them to focus on what they do best. 

For instance, your marketing team focuses on promoting the event while a trusted vendor handles the logistics. It's a win-win that leads to smoother operations and happier employees.

4. Flexibility and scalability

Events are dynamic, and your requirements can change rapidly. Vendors offer the flexibility to scale services up or down based on your requirements. Whether you're increasing attendee numbers or requesting last-minute changes, having vendors who can adapt quickly is invaluable.

Craft a winning vendor selection strategy

A well-thought-out strategy is your roadmap to choosing vendors who will be not just service providers but partners in your conference’s success.

1. Define your needs

First, figure out what you need. Review your internal team's strengths and identify key gaps. 

[.blog-widget-orng][.blog-widget-orng-inner][.blog-widget-icon-wrapper][.blog-icon-lightbulb][.blog-icon-lightbulb][.blog-widget-icon-wrapper][.blog-widget-text]Think: Do you need creative minds for event production? Do you lack logistical, F&B, or staging expertise? [.blog-widget-text][.blog-widget-orng-inner][.blog-widget-orng]

2. Budget wisely

Set a realistic budget for each vendor category and prioritize spending based on what's most critical to your conference's success.

3. Research and recommendations

Referrals from your trusted sources can be all you need.

Tap into your professional network for trusted vendor recommendations and to determine which vendors to avoid. Your colleagues and industry contacts can provide valuable insights based on their experiences.

4. Request proposals and customer stories

Involve your legal and procurement teams from the beginning to assist with detailed RFPs and negotiations. They can help you navigate contracts and ensure you get fair terms, maintain vendor relationships, and save money and time.Also, don't hesitate to ask prospective vendors for case studies or customer testimonials.

5. Evaluate and decide

When reviewing proposals, consider not just your core requirements but also the vendor's culture fit, bandwidth, creativity, and flexibility. 

[.blog-widget-orng][.blog-widget-orng-inner][.blog-widget-icon-wrapper][.blog-icon-lightbulb][.blog-icon-lightbulb][.blog-widget-icon-wrapper][.blog-widget-text]Think: Do they understand your vision? Are they excited about becoming an extension of your team? Can they meet in person and join your recurring check-ins? Can they conduct site visits? What other projects are they managing that may affect their bandwidth and focus on your event?[.blog-widget-text][.blog-widget-orng-inner][.blog-widget-orng]

10 Key vendor partners to consider for a successful user conference

1. Event production and management

Event production and management vendors turn your vision into reality. They can coordinate logistics, manage timelines, and handle on-site operations. A great production company doesn't just execute your vision—they elevate it.

We advise looking for teams (i.e., vendors) that are resourceful and resilient, receptive to feedback, and willing to iterate and innovate alongside you.

2. Audio-visual (AV) specialists

AV specialists can make or break your presentations, live streams, and recordings—essentially the core of your conference. 

Trust is paramount here. Vet your AV vendors thoroughly—ask for referrals, check their experience, request testimonials, and understand their contingency plans.

[.ebook-purple-list][.ebook-q-card-heading][.h5-ebook-24px-p-600]Consider specific questions such as:[.h5-ebook-24px-p-600][.ebook-q-card-heading][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-list-text]•  What measures do they have in place to ensure seamless execution on the day of the event?[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  How do they handle last-minute changes or overruns?[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  What is their strategy for dry runs on the main stage that may run late into the evening?[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  How flexible are they if speaker dry-runs go overtime or change? How do they charge in such scenarios? [.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  How flexible are they if speaker dry-runs go overtime or change? How do they charge in such scenarios? [.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Can they change scripts and music on the fly?[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  How capable is their mainstage team? Confirm if they manage down-stage monitors, scripts, etc. [.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Can they provide specific examples of when they solved the problems mentioned above?[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-purple-list]

Moreover, emerging trends and technologies such as holographic displays, VR experiences, headphones for open-air breakout rooms, and interactive activations can set your event apart. 

Ensure your AV partner offers state-of-the-art tech and is capable of integrating these elements (according to your preferences, of course).

[.blog-widget-orng][.blog-widget-orng-inner][.blog-widget-icon-wrapper][.blog-icon-lightbulb][.blog-icon-lightbulb][.blog-widget-icon-wrapper][.blog-widget-text]Try to determine if they fit well with your executives’ vision and team’s culture.[.blog-widget-text][.blog-widget-orng-inner][.blog-widget-orng]

3. Event technology providers

[.blog-widget-orng][.blog-widget-orng-inner][.blog-widget-icon-wrapper][.blog-icon-lightbulb][.blog-icon-lightbulb][.blog-widget-icon-wrapper][.blog-widget-text]Nearly 80% of planners have used more event technology since COVID-19 to deliver enhanced attendee experiences. Source[.blog-widget-text][.blog-widget-orng-inner][.blog-widget-orng]

Event tech vendors usually offer fragmented services such as registration and ticketing, virtual event software, marketing and analytics, speaker and exhibitor management, lead capture and attendee apps, on-site services, and more.

Our advice is to look for vendors that consolidate everything in one place (such as Zuddl) so you don't have to juggle tools or spend more time and money on multiple platforms. This also frees up your time to focus on what really matters: creating an unforgettable experience for your attendees.

[.ebook-purple-list][.ebook-q-card-heading][.h5-ebook-24px-p-600]Things to keep in mind when selecting an all-in-one event tech platform:[.h5-ebook-24px-p-600][.ebook-q-card-heading][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-list-text]•  Customizable and brandable: Look for platforms that let you match your event’s branding with your company’s branding through customizable landing pages, registration workflows, attendee portals, and more.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Analytics and reporting: The ability to track event-level engagement data and demonstrate how events directly influence your pipeline through revenue dashboards.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Scalability: The platform should be able to scale as your event programs scale—from webinars to large-scale user conferences.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Integrations: Easy-to-implement integrations with sales, marketing automation, and CRM tools.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Lead capture: Lead capture and retrieval capabilities for owned and third-party events. [.ebook-list-text][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-purple-list]

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4. Registration and guest services staffing

First impressions matter. Friendly and efficient registration staff can set a positive tone for the rest of the conference. 

Work with well-trained temporary staff who can guide attendees, answer questions, and manage crowds. Make sure they understand and represent your company culture well. They should be flexible and prepared to take on ad-hoc responsibilities or job shifts on the fly.

[.ebook-purple-list][.ebook-q-card-heading][.h5-ebook-24px-p-600]Pro tips[.h5-ebook-24px-p-600][.ebook-q-card-heading][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-list-text]•  Provide comprehensive training sessions before the event.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Create a FAQ sheet or cards to help staff handle common inquiries.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Be mindful of the legalities surrounding temporary staff, including hiring practices and setting clear expectations.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Ensure all temp staff is aware of where information desks are located for questions they are unable to answer.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Fully communicate expectations regarding the dress code, arrival times, and customer experience—what kind of professionalism is needed when interacting with attendees.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-purple-list]

5. Swag and merchandise partners

Gone are the days of generic swag and merchandise. Aim to leave a lasting impression through thoughtful gifts that could include services and donations on behalf of your attendees.

Explore vendors specializing in creative, sustainable options that can resonate well with your audience. Whether it's a personalized gift or a tech gadget, the key is to choose items that your attendees will genuinely find valuable.

[.ebook-purple-list][.ebook-q-card-heading][.h5-ebook-24px-p-600]Here are some innovative ideas to get you started:[.h5-ebook-24px-p-600][.ebook-q-card-heading][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-list-text]•  Send postcards back home—on your attendees’ behalf.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Gift reusable water bottles.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Offer services such as car detailing or meal prep.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Donate to charities or non-profits instead of handing out swag items.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-purple-list]

When picking a vendor, you might want to consider:

• Flexibility: Can the vendor accommodate last-minute changes and requests?
• Location: Local vendors might offer faster turnaround times and allow for in-person sampling.

6. Entertainment and talent buyers

The right type of entertainment can significantly enhance your conference’s atmosphere and keep your attendees entertained.

Look for talent buyers who can act as intermediaries, securing entertainment acts like DJs, musicians, or interactive performers within your budget. They should be able to effectively handle negotiations, availability, and contracts—saving you time and money.

[.ebook-purple-list][.ebook-q-card-heading][.h5-ebook-24px-p-600]Our advice:[.h5-ebook-24px-p-600][.ebook-q-card-heading][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-list-text]•  Be sure to take all entertainment expenses into account (not just the event fee, but rider requirements, staff, flights and accommodations, etc.).[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Ask for recommendations based on previous successful events.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-purple-list]

7. Culinary and catering services

Great food is often a highlight for attendees. Choose caterers who offer more than just menus——they should be your partners in delivering a memorable dining experience.

[.ebook-purple-list][.ebook-q-card-heading][.h5-ebook-24px-p-600]Questions to ask:[.h5-ebook-24px-p-600][.ebook-q-card-heading][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-list-text]•  Can they accommodate dietary restrictions and preferences?[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Do they have ideas for interactive food stations?[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Are they flexible with custom menus?[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Do they include locally sourced items on their menus?[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]Can they offer food-tasting sessions before the event?[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-purple-list]

The vendor should offer insights into what dishes stay fresh the longest, are in season, and can be served efficiently to large crowds.

8. Transportation and logistics providers

When everything runs like clockwork—transportation (especially for your VIPs), registration, schedules, and logistics—you and your guests can immerse themselves in the best event experience instead of the hassles. Pick vendors who can help you achieve this.

[.ebook-purple-list][.ebook-q-card-heading][.h5-ebook-24px-p-600]Bonus tips:[.h5-ebook-24px-p-600][.ebook-q-card-heading][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-list-text]•  Partner with (or simply give a heads-up to) ride-sharing services like Uber or Lyft. Inform them about your event to ensure sufficient drivers are available around the venue, reducing wait times for your attendees.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Consider all aspects—from parking management and shuttle services to clear signage and accessibility.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Build backup plans if transportation fails at any point or is late.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-purple-list]

9. Venue and accommodation coordinators

Look for venue coordinators who can help you easily navigate the layout design, ensure compliance with local regulations, and provide essential on-site services such as Wi-Fi and equipment.

For instance, a helpful venue coordinator might suggest the best room setup for workshops or point out areas with the best acoustics for speeches.

[.ebook-purple-list][.ebook-q-card-heading][.h5-ebook-24px-p-600]Consider specific questions such as:[.h5-ebook-24px-p-600][.ebook-q-card-heading][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-list-text]•  Have a dedicated point of contact (POC) at the venue to assist with layouts and ensure the flow of your event makes sense.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Negotiate for better rates or added perks, such as complimentary Wi-Fi and breakfast for guests, free parking, or extended access hours.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Ensure accommodations are nearby or easily accessible to reduce attendee fatigue.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-purple-list]

10. Security partners

Safety is non-negotiable, especially for large-scale events or when high-profile guests are involved. Here are some key points to consider when vetting a solid security partner:

[.ebook-purple-list][.ebook-q-card-heading][.ebook-q-card-heading][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-list-text]•  Thoroughly understand their communication and crisis management plans.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Review their staffing strategies and how they coordinate with public safety personnel (police officers, EMTs, fire marshals, etc.).[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-list-text]•  Discuss how last-minute security incidents will be handled discreetly and efficiently on-site.[.ebook-list-text][.ebook-notepad-list][.ebook-purple-list]

Remember, each vendor category plays a pivotal role in crafting an event that's not just successful but memorable — both for you and your attendees. The best way to ensure such an event is to identify, recruit, and work with the right vendors.

Once you finalize the vendors, make sure to treat them as an extension of your in-house team. When they are valued and treated as true partners, better results and ownership will follow. Ask for their advice, involve them in decision-making, and include them in team-bonding and morale-boosting activities.

In the following pieces under the Vendor Selection and Management section, we will cover how to build effective RFPs and how to onboard and work with vendors. 

Until then, happy planning, and here's to the success of your user conference!

It’s been a busy month at Zuddl HQ! November brought a fresh wave of updates designed to make event planning and execution even smoother for you. Whether you’re hosting global conferences or tradeshows, we’ve got something in store that’ll resonate with your goals.

This isn’t just about shiny new tools. It’s about giving you features that genuinely solve the real challenges you face every day. From crafting more personal attendee experiences to managing events across teams effortlessly, these updates are here to help you do what you do best, only better.

So, let’s take a quick walk through November’s spotlights and see how they can elevate your events and streamline your processes.

First up,

Side Events Within Third-Party Events - A Secret Weapon for Deeper Lead Engagement

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At third-party events, it’s all too easy to let valuable opportunities slip away. Event organizers often need more focused, intimate opportunities to showcase their brand and engage key leads on a deeper level.

Without Zuddl, it often involves juggling spreadsheets, email threads, and manual RSVPs, not to mention missing out on valuable lead data.  This is where Zuddl’s Side Events feature steps in. With just a few clicks, you can invite booth visitors and non-booth attendees directly, capture lead information seamlessly, and manage registrations all in one place. 

How Does It Work?

• Scan a badge, spot the top qualified lead, and invite them to your event right then and there.
• Create a registration page for side events additionally to enable even non-booth visitors to register and attend. 
• Manage the guest list, track attendance, and collect attendee insights.

What’s in It for You?

1. Get more face time with the right leads: Setting up side events with Zuddl is easy. It presents a perfect opportunity to give your most promising leads more personal, meaningful touchpoints with your brand, helping you build stronger connections.
2. Improve attendee turnout: By ensuring that invitees who have shown interest in your brand are prioritized on the guest list and by automating highly personalized reminders, Zuddl significantly boosts turnout and improves attendance rates for your side events.
3. Simplify the process: No more juggling spreadsheets or endless email chains. Zuddl makes it easy to invite attendees, capture lead data, and manage RSVPs—all in one place.

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Dedicated, smaller tracks that focus on niche content can sometimes provide all the content you need. This helps you get great insights quickly, so you can then enjoy the rest of the bells and whistles of big events. - Julius Solaris at Event Marketers Week

Attendee Web Portal: Simply Event Access for Everyone

Some attendees simply don’t want to download an app for a one-day conference. The Attendee Web Portal solves these problems, offering an inclusive and flexible option that works for everyone.

How Does It Work?

The Attendee Web Portal gives your attendees access to all the event content they need—straight from their browser. No downloads, no extra steps.

With the portal, attendees can:

• View schedules, custom pages, and content without needing a mobile app.
• Log in seamlessly using magic links or verification codes.
• Enjoy a consistent experience with the same content available across web and mobile platforms.

What’s in It for You?

• No app? No problem: Attendees can log in via the web portal and access schedules or event content instantly.
• Multitask-friendly: Check the schedule on your laptop while streaming sessions on your phone.

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Global Email Templates

The Global Email Templates feature has evolved into a smarter, more streamlined template management system, allowing you to focus on personalization. No more losing track of countless email templates created for different events. With a dedicated dashboard, you can now effortlessly create, organize, and manage event-specific templates without cluttering your global options from one central location. 

How Does It Work?

Global Email Templates make it easy for organizers to:

• Save and reuse email templates for multiple events or specific use cases.
• Manage templates in one place, whether at the event level or the global (tenant-wide) level.
• Edit, clone, and update templates quickly without losing formatting.
• Work across editors, including both visual (befree) and HTML editors.

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Ready to Simplify Your Event Communications?

With these features, your attendees get what they need (without the hassle), and your team gets more time to focus on delivering unforgettable events.

Let us know how you’re using these updates to make event planning smoother—we’d love to hear your story!