We tried to make hybrid events work once before. Are we ready to try again?

By Ernie Smith

The truth about global travel is such that a lot of complexities are on the table again for the first time in a few years. And that may make hybrid events look a lot more attractive.

As The Washington Post recently reported, the percentage of overseas visitors to the United States dropped by nearly 12 percent in March. On top of that, uncertainty around conference travel has been on the rise: The U.S. National Institutes of Health recently reversed a decision to ban scientists from traveling to events, even if they paid their own way. Such decisions could resurface at any time.

Add to that the rise of new economic pressures globally, and people may be less likely to make the trip to a big event. That may create an opening for hybrid events to re-enter the venue.

Hybrid’s COVID-era iteration had some problems—startups tried recreating the expo hall floor almost exactly. But nagging issues with engagement, including a recent academic study that found that digital natives considered virtual engagement “less immersive,” implies that there’s lots of room to go back to the drawing board.

“My dream for a hybrid event was that a virtual attendee had the same level of experience as an in-person attendee,” said Will Curran of the AI event insights platform Voxo. “However, that has shifted now, because I don’t think that, as an industry, we’re investing in that exact same way.”

Now we’re uncovering a more realistic direction. Here’s what Curran sees coming next:

The role of event engagement: Curran says that event engagement was a real challenge during COVID, and only started to turn a corner as in-person became the norm again. He says that many event planners see separating engagement as the way to go: “I think one thing we tried to solve as we were coming out of COVID was, ‘How do we do the networking virtually?’” he says. “But the thing I think we know is that, look, save the networking for in-person.”

Inclusion-minded hybrid: Some, like working parents, have seen hybrid as a way to access content while still being able to navigate child care. Curran sees that potentially expanding to audiences who may not be able to travel because of cost or visa complications. “This provides that solution for someone to inexpensively still attend and engage in the content primarily,” he says.

Borrowing from digital: Curran, a Twitch streamer who frequently appears online in front of a DJ setup, says that event planners should take steps to understand online platforms. Networks like Twitch and Reddit could offer ideas more engaging than just a camera in a room. “I’ll say something controversial: I think that there are a lot of planners out there who probably shouldn’t be planning virtual events, because they’re not digital-native first,” he says.

Thinking big-picture: Is there room to do something more ambitious? Curran’s pie-in-the-sky idea involves creating interactive phone books at the expo hall, where virtual and in-person attendees can network. “I think it would just, like, be so cool,” he says. But even if we don’t get there, the innovations of the last hybrid boom led to low-cost live-streaming gear that’s easy to manage.