On 10 June, Natalie Jackson, head of events at APL Media, took part in Best of Both Worlds: How Event Creators are Preparing for a Hybrid Future, a webinar organised by Eventbrite. Here are five takeaways she shared during the discussion:

1. You can include hybrid elements in virtual events. In early June, APL Media arranged for the panellists of a wine-tasting event to meet in person in a Covid-compliant studio. “In terms of hybrid, it’s bordering on that idea: the panel is together, so you’ve got that great interaction, but it was broadcast to a virtual audience, which was massive,” said Natalie.
2. Find creative ways to make people engage virtually. “One of the things we do, for example, is we have surveys that go out [during events], but they’re turned into a competition, so people can win things if they enter,” said Natalie. “It’s right at the end of the event, too, to keep people on.”
3. Add paid-for layers to free digital events. “We’ve added on a VIP experience to [some of] our events,” said Natalie. “We take viewers from a webinar to a [different] Zoom meeting, where you have all the people on camera, to give that face to face time… and [where] they can ask questions directly to our panel.”
4. Marketing hasn’t changed, but the budget has. “We still find the best way to get the messages out there is through digital advertising, whether it be a newsletter or social media,” said Natalie. “What’s important to recognise is that our clients won’t spend the same sort of money as they would for a live event at the moment, and that’s going to affect our marketing spend.”
5. The future is hybrid. “We’ve been doing surveys: 60% of our viewers said they’ll continue to watch virtual events, while 25% of them would go to live events,” said Natalie. “It’s a scary time… because we don’t know if people will feel comfortable going back out. I think we’ll have a combination, people will like to do both.”

Head here to watch the whole event.