LAS VEGAS—Last month, BizBash took its first steps into the hybrid event world with BizBash at Connect Las Vegas, and, let’s just say, we’re not looking back. More than 700 in-person attendees gathered safely at the Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa in Las Vegas, and nearly double that number were following along with the event’s programming online through the virtual experience produced by akire productions.
THE RUNDOWN
In order to receive all badges made by PC/Nametag and swag from GiftSuite at the registration desk to kick off the three-day event, in-person attendees were required to show a negative COVID-19 test result that was implemented and verified through ShareMy.Health's Fern Health Check the day of, in addition to completing daily contactless health screenings via 42Chat and temperature checks using PREVENT's infrared technology the following days. Those who had already received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to the event received a blue wristband and were given the option of wearing a mask throughout the event, while those who had not been fully vaccinated were asked to wear a mask. (Fully vaccinated attendees were still required to complete the daily health screenings and temperature checks.)
The multiday event featured more than 20 education sessions geared toward restarting the industry, as well as the opportunity for one-on-one appointments led by BizBash’s parent company and on-site partner, Connect Meetings. Within each room where education sessions were being held, CORT Events designed and set up a floor plan that allowed guests to keep their distance or sit with others without being too close, to accommodate for every attendee’s comfort level. For one-on-one appointments, planners and venue managers sat 6 feet apart at tables positioned with chairs at both ends.
Food and beverage for the event was served by masked and gloved staff on Red Rock’s outdoor terrace, with high-boy tables for eating spaces 6 feet apart. The now-traditional clear, plexiglass shields allowed for the Red Rock’s staff and food to be separated from guests in line.
THE KEY TAKEAWAYS
1. It’s important to create an experience that is accessible for everyone all the time—meaning in person and virtually in real time, as well as on-demand post-event.
“Thanks to hybrid event formats, organizers have allowed the opportunity to not fear missing out,” said Erika Lohmar, president and executive producer of akire Productions, who ran point on the production of BizBash's live and virtual programming. “You may miss the opportunity to do so in person, but now we have the ability to connect where we are, and even later, pending our own schedules and how best we learn. No more FOMO!” She added, “We enjoyed creating the experience that would meet everyone's needs—inclusive of having captions available, which we saw as important and in analytics found that 15% of our audience engaged with the opportunity.”
2. Having additional content and events in place for the virtual audience, while the in-person audience was attending events live, helped with engagement all-around.
“We were able to bring both audiences together and build interaction, but also let them each have their own event journey,” explained BizBash's senior marketing strategist, Michela Noviello, who also oversaw the planning of the event. Exclusive to the virtual audience were online events such as a DJ battle presented by Quiet Events and Uber Battles, interactive trivia by Mystery Trip and a morning workout led by Megan Wenstrup, founder of FitGive Movement.
3. Allowing for breaks in the schedule for virtual attendees—the same as in-person attendees have the option for—helped to better engage that online audience.
“We all need breaks,” said Lohmar. Event emcee Kate Patay of Patay Consulting added: “Giving the virtual audience the time to step away from the screen, take a wellness break, squeeze in some work, reply to emails and address anything personal in their schedule kept them actively engaged when they were online.”
4. Having dedicated emcees for the virtual audience to ask questions and engage was successful in connecting them with the live content.
Patay said, “The team with akire Productions was fantastic in making sure the in-person attendees also had access to the virtual content if they wanted it—and many did!” Patay was on-air live with the virtual audience at many points throughout the three-day event, answering questions and responding to online attendees on the spot.
5. Communicating event safety expectations internally and externally—and still creating an environment that fosters community within those expectations—was a constantly moving target.
“We’re all dealing with short time frames for ever-changing guidelines and levels of comfortability,” said Patay. “We need to make sure that we follow best practices from the CDC and local authorities, as well as the host property while keeping in mind that everyone is coming from different regions that have varying guidelines too, so internal communication was of the utmost importance for idea-sharing and being flexible in the approach.”
Lohmar added, “Considering that we are all getting back into the flow of being in person, in addition to changing local and CDC guidelines, organizers should consider adding in more time to adjust to all that is happening in each venue location. Our challenge, for example, was that we had load-in and rehearsal schedules as we would have in the past, and it just wasn’t enough time. Also, consider accommodating for less staff on the ground if you’re working in an area that has more capacity restrictions. In years past, we would have staff buzzing around our venues, able to jump in and help, and although everyone was super accommodating and hospitable to get the job done, it didn’t happen as instantaneously like we may be used to with fewer feet on the ground.”
6. Pre-event marketing strategies had to shift away from previously traditional tactics.
“Ensuring we used the correct voice in our marketing message was extremely important for this event,” said Noviello. “This past year was nothing short of difficult for event professionals, and while we wanted to build excitement around the event, we also wanted to ensure we were not negating the effects the last year had on the industry. Listening to our audience and crafting our marketing message around their real-time reactions was key.”
7. Planners, producers and speakers have to retrain their mindsets as presenters.
“We are now presenting to the room and the camera,” explained Lohmar. “Now, it’s all about having short, dynamic presentations—with some visual impact for our visual learners—and really leaning on technology such as confidence monitors or downstage monitors (DSM) to be able to engage with messages coming in from the virtual audience in real time.”
Patay suggested: “Speaking to just one audience won’t accomplish the goal of a true hybrid session. Consider working with speakers in advance to master engaging both audiences simultaneously, and create moments where the camera can make the virtual audience feel like they’re right there in the room. A speaker that only looks at the camera or only engages with those in the physical room could lose one of the audiences if this isn’t planned for and addressed in advance.”
8. The event and meetings industry is ready to be back and wants to reconnect.
“Watching the meaningful interactions that took place in Las Vegas solidified to us that people are ready to connect again,” said Noviello. “BizBash at Connect Las Vegas was our first look into BizBash events moving forward. Looking ahead to BizBash at Connect Tampa this fall, our team is excited to go beyond what we created in Vegas and deliver a space to our audience that inspires connections, both virtually and in person.”
VENDORS
AV: InSync Production Services, Inc.
Biorisk Mitigation: PREVENT
Catering & Venue: Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa
Chatbot & Daily Health Screenings: 42Chat
COVID-19 Testing: Fern Health Check
CSR Partners: EnventU, SEARCH Foundation
DMC: Imprint Events Group
Event Design: CORT Events
Event Production: akire productions
Media Production: Red Tail
Promotional Merchandise: PMSI Promos
Registration: Swoogo, PC/Nametag
Silent Education: Quiet Events
Stage Design: ATOMIC
Swag: GiftSuite
Interested in attending BizBash at Connect Tampa from Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2021? Register here!
