This post is part of the HopSkip Planner Spotlight Series where HopSkip spotlight's planners across the industry to bring awareness of how they adapted to COVID-19, communicating and lessons learned and sharing how they are viewing the meetings and events industry in a post-pandemic world.
Name: Vanessa Loney
Company Name: Blue Ribbon Events
Job Title: Head of Global Planning
Years of Experience: 13
How do you think you are positioned, after months of persevering with the pandemic, to take advantage of our new and disrupted meetings/events landscape?
We have all used/overused the term pivot, but I believe we all had to pivot our businesses in someway to move forward. Mastering virtual events has led to a certain level of expertise that we are using in hybrid events. We have positioned ourselves through the pandemic to understand audience engagement and client expectations. Hybrid events have always existed, but it's more important than ever to have an intentional strategy around it, especially for the virtual experience.
As our community moves forward with planning in-person meetings, what new technologies or processes are you implementing that you may have not looked at before?
The biggest factor for in-person and hybrid events is audience interaction. The usual Q&A at the end of events no longer is enough, especially after the past 2 years. Audiences expect to be engaged through presentations and keynotes. Additional visuals, videos and polls are key, especially for the online audience.
As we see virtual meetings transition back to face to face, hybrid meetings are beginning to be the vehicle to return to normalcy. What are your thoughts on hybrid meetings versus traditional fully in-person meetings?
Hybrid events allow for clients to reach a larger audience; but with that larger audience comes a larger budget. It is not enough to simply just have a stationary camera for online audiences. There needs to be multiple angles, audience engagement like polls and Q&A and directly speaking to the online audience. The A/V team truly is the star of any hybrid meeting.
In your opinion, what do you think the biggest value for your attendees is in regards to returning to live events?
There is nothing like the energy of in-person events. Networking with other industry professionals is truly an invaluable experience.
As the pandemic fades away and we return to face-to-face events what do you hope changes, either for planners or hoteliers, in the traditional RFP and proposal process as a result of all of the learnings from the last 20+ months?
My hope is that clients become more clear and intentional on the goals of events, whether in-person, hybrid or virtual. That helps both the planner and hoteliers execute at the highest level.
This post is part of the HopSkip Planner Spotlight Series where HopSkip spotlight's planners across the industry to bring awareness of how they adapted to COVID-19, communicating and lessons learned and sharing how they are viewing the meetings and events industry in a post-pandemic world.