On the other hand, 56% of remote attendees focused on cost savings, 52% on time savings, 40% said to attend only the sessions wanted, and 37% just wanted to try a virtual event. And, if no virtual option was available, 93% of virtual attendees would not attend the in-person event, whereas 78% of in person attendees would attend a virtual option.
Shortly following the Summit, participants were asked to provide their evaluation of the event and provide comments about their experience. The questionnaire used a five point scale with one (1) being the lowest rating and five (5) being the highest. A summary of findings and a complete reporting of all data and comments was presented to Summit management. The results from direct observation, responses to the questionnaire and written comments provided by participants revealed valuable insight into how participants think and feel about their experience. The report includes a brief summary of results and key findings.
An important measure of success is whether attendees plan to use the information obtained and skills gained once they return to the workplace. According to questions relating to the action planned to take following the Summit:
In order to determine what motivates the decision on how to attend the meeting attendees were asked to select from a list of reasons for attending and provide comments.
Why Attend in Person vs. Remotely | |
Reason | % of Respondents |
Expand professional network | 43.38% |
Other | 43.38 |
Prefer in-person interaction with presenters and/or attendees | 41.8 |
Learn better in-person | 30.15 |
Build better/deeper relationships with existing network | 25.74 |
Source: Virtual Edge, June 2011 |
Pros of in-person attendance:
Cons of in-person attendance:
Reasons for Virtual Attendance | |
Reason | % of Respondents |
Saved money | 55.68% |
Saved time | 53.41 |
Selective session attendance | 39.77 |
Interest in "trying" | 36.36 |
Other | 29.55 |
Learn better (this way) | 4.55 |
Source: Virtual Edge, June 2011 |
One of the perceived concerns surrounding hybrid events, says the report, is that once a remote option is introduced to a traditional, in-person event, in-person attendance will decline. A key finding of this study, however, is that 93% of virtual attendees would not attend in-person if the virtual option was eliminated. This dramatically confirms the power of a virtual option when it comes to extending the reach of an event.
If no in-person, would you have attended remotely?
If no virtual option, would you have attended in-person?
Results from the study revealed some important differences between the in-person audience and the remote audience, says the report. One of the largest differences between the two audiences came from the responses to related statements about relationships and networking.
Barriers to Success for Virtual Audiences; (Average Meaningful Differences Between In-Person and Virtual Audience; 5 = Excellent) | ||||
Meaningful Difference | In-Person 2010 | In-Person 2011 | Virtual 2010 | Virtual 2011 |
Better/deeper relationships with people in my professional network | 3.85 | 3.84 | 3.02 | 3.14 |
Know more people to help with implementation of virtual solutions | 4.1 | 4.03 | 3.81 | 3.61 |
Sufficient opportunity for networking during Summit | 3.87 | 3.62 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
Source: Virtual Edge, June 2011 (comparison of 2010 and 2011 sessions) |
A short recap of recurring themes from insight gained from comments provided by attendees is included in the report. The two most important takeaways from the Virtual Edge Summit (In-Person Attendees) include:
And, the two most important takeaways from the Virtual Edge Summit" (Virtual Attendees) include:
When responses were filtered by generation, they revealed a surprising similarity in results across the generational groups. The average of all responses from:
Among the few noteworthy areas of difference support that Millennials are increasingly becoming advocates of virtual technology solutions. Millennials rated the following areas higher than Gen X'ers and Boomers.
The primary benefit of measuring the results of events is to gain insight that can fuel evidence-based continuous improvement, concludes the report. The following recommendations were developed by the ROI of Engagement Team in collaboration with Virtual Edge Institute, based on survey results:
For more information about "Measuring and Maximizing the Impact of a Hybrid Event," please review the release and access the PDF complete report here.
Here are three more reasons to move to hybrid model in regards to sustainability initiatives: (1) to reduce the carbon footprint of meetings as in air travel, (2) begin to see the advantages of post conference education and awareness to seed the Web with the conference marketing becoming one continuous stream rather than starts and stops, and (3) use the content to position presenters as thought leaders thereby increasing their visibility - and yours. There is no reason you can't construct the virtual to generate revenue through fees or sponsorships - sponsoring a lunch or breakfast was a great idea, but let's move on and expand to promote sustainability awareness and adoption. This is not an expense issue especially if you take a look at how over budget you are in the carbon category and understand it can generate revenue.