During the recent Covid-19 pandemic, many businesses found it necessary to give their events and conferences a virtual component. It was the only way around the restrictions imposed on assemblies that made it near impossible to attend in person. For this reason, virtual events skyrocketed in popularity and are combined expected to have a revenue of $657.64 billion by 2030. 

Now, we’re largely past the pandemic and life has returned to a sense of normalcy it had lacked for a little over 2 years. This also means event organizers are desperate to get people back physically to their events.

However, many businesses also learned that having a virtual component to your event, is a great way to engage a larger audience. It also provides excellent tools for making the physical part of the event run smoother. 

For this reason, Redeye, Swedish investment banking company will run its 6th Growth Day using ifairs on the 2nd of June. For this event, over 70 Nordic growth companies in the tech and life sectors will showcase their products to hopeful investors looking for the next hit. More about this event in the following post. 

The transition from physical to virtual events with ifairs

Malin Cederlund from Redeye Event Services has recently discussed Redeye’s transition to digital events. For years they’ve been transforming their events with a more digital aspect in mind to provide virtual experiences to a larger target group. 

When the pandemic struck, this effort was significantly intensified. This resulted in their events creating and fostering a digital audience. With the pandemic now over, Redeye wants to move back to physical events again, but they do not want to lose their digital audience while doing so. That’s where ifairs come into the picture.

ifairs’ virtual conference platform bridges two worlds

Cederlund continues with describing the benefits ifairs’ virtual event platform brings to their event planning. Essentially, it helps bridge two worlds together; The physical and the digital. 

By using hybrid event platforms such as ifairs, Cederlund states that Redeye gets a perfect opportunity for creating a great virtual event with a heap of functions for the virtual audience that enhance the event experience. The digital platform of ifairs also adds great value to the physical event itself and that lays the foundations for a successful hybrid event that caters to everybody’s preferences.

Untapped potential now being explored

The story behind the cooperation between ifairs and Redeye is one we see repeated more and more. Essentially, the Covid-19 pandemic was a wakeup call for many event organizers. 

The potential of the digital opportunities we have in this day and age have until now been largely untapped. Most aspects relating to events were kept purely physical with all of its limitations.

Where the physical world keeps us separated by time and space, the digital world has us connected at all times. You can essentially be everywhere all at once and it is clear that when it comes to events, this is a benefit. In short, the future of company events is hybrid.

The main benefit is the expanded audience you gain access to. Physical events require the attendee to be able to travel to the venue, potentially find accomodation if the event lasts several days, and then make sure they can get home as well. 

Therefore, if an event is hosted in Australia and you live in Sweden, it is highly unlikely you will manage to attend. That is where hosting a hybrid event, such as what Redeye is planning to do with the assistance of ifairs, comes in handy.

When an event goes hybrid, you’ll be able to attend from anywhere in the world. As long as you have an internet connection, of course.

Hybrid events cater to all audiences

Now, one question is important when it comes to Redeye’s hybrid event: will it be an enjoyable experience that can keep virtual event attendees engaged when viewed on a screen?

Answering this question is not easy as it is highly subjective. Some people naturally prefer being present physically while others appreciate the comfort of attending from their couch. 

However, regardless of this preference, hybrid events cater to them both. 

The interesting topic in this discussion is whether people who are used to attending events physically will be able to enjoy it digitally. 

The key here is whether the virtual event platform allows the virtual attendees to engage in different ways with the event. 

They should be able to ask questions, navigate between booths and exhibits, and have dialogues with other attendees and exhibitors.

The financial benefits of Redeye’s hybrid event

It is evident that hosting an event can be a very costly affair. Many things have to be sorted and accounted for before the event can kick off. Making sure all those things are in order is not easy in the slightest. 

Attendees need food and drink, the venue needs to be rented and heated, and maybe provide accomodation for the attendees. These are only a few of the most important things that need to be in order for a functioning event. The cost of them combined is already substantial. 

When a company such as Redeye decides to make their event go hybrid, these costs are going to go down. This is because you can decide to rent a smaller venue for fewer people. And this is without actually barring any attendees from attending. They can do it online and many will choose that route due to its convenience. 

With fewer people present physically, catering costs for food and drink also goes down. It is also a lot easier to manage fewer people physically. The situation will be more under control, and security easier to maintain.

A great hybrid conference lies ahead

Redeye’s big event is just around the corner. It will be interesting to see how their experiences with virtual events will play a part in their execution of their hybrid event. 

With ifairs delivering the infrastructure for the virtual component of their event there are plenty of opportunities to see how it helps facilitate an engaging virtual experience and how ifairs can improve the physical experience as well.