When you combine physical and virtual event, you get something new – NJ Hybrid Event.
It’s a powerful, inspiring live event that engages and connects people virtually with the help of the latest technologies. So, it’s finally time to forget webinars and think more of professional live TV-broadcasts instead, where the audience can participate and interact from all over the world.
Sounds interesting?
Let us introduce Artturi Lehtiö, Director of Strategy & Corporate Development, F-Secure. He shares five key points, thoughts and tips, how they created a remarkable Hybrid Event with us NJ.
1. Re-think your event
“We’ve always streamed our events at F-Secure. Even in the past when it has been, generalizing, only “PowerPoints in an auditorium”. But it’s really hard for people to stay focused for two hours just watching boring executives just showing PowerPoints and talking by. A lot of it is influenced whether it looks like someone has actually invest a lot of time and effort into it or whether it looks like someone couldn’t be bothered to anything other than copy an old PowerPoint deck and just talk through it. With Hybrid Event it’s more like planning together with NJ professionals a full-size TV-show, with hosts, arc of drama and so on, not just a one-way screening. So, plan a Hybrid Event, not a webinar.”
2. Make it reliable
“Probably the most important thing is that technology, technical implementations work reliably. I think the reliability is the most important, and it’s also always the one we get most constructive feedback about. The basics, that you only notice when they don’t work, like can you hear everyone clearly, does the video work, does the stream work, all of that is very important. Other is that are you able to stay engaged. It’s really really hard, especially when you’re steering at a small computer screen. That’s the part where the magic either happen, or it doesn’t. Reliable, interesting, wow-effect. Three elements of successful Hybrid Event.”
3. Balance fact and fun
“One challenge is always balancing humor and ratio. One challenge, at least for us, is that we’ve tried to get a lot of ideas from TV, reality TV to find formats that work for us. One challenge with 30 different countries is that we got over 50-60 nationalities with big cultural differences. Different people have seen different TV shows, or they’re used to different kind of jokes, so you need to be very careful about what communicates universally, globally versus what locally makes you sense, but what makes sense to a lot of other people.“
4. Cost-effective
“Having everyone physically in the same place isn’t always an option. A lot what we do is trying to figure out ways where very cost-effectively can make it look and feel like a big important event. Because then people would pay a lot more attention and take it more seriously. So, that’s one huge difference and that’s kind of a mindset thing primarily.”
5. Find the right partners
“In general, especially for company events, and especially when you’re trying to do something more courageous or more challenging, having a partner, who you have previous experience with, who knows you and knows your executives, understands your company culture, understands your way of doing things will also help a lot. Like NJ. Would I recommend NJ? Absolutely, and even for our competitors as well.”
Last words, Artturi?
“I don’t think there’s any going back for us. I think we continue doing Hybrid Events or then everyone physically in same place, but I don’t think any going back old webinar, webcast streaming.”
Time to create your own Hybrid Event? Contact us for ready concepts or let´s tailor the digital experience together.
Noora Olsson, noora@nj-production.com, +358 40 150 4080