Hybrid meetings help meeting professionals in exceeding their goals.
Sonic Foundry and Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Foundation conducted research to establish how hybrid meetings are helping meeting planners to expand the reach of their events and drive business results. The research team conducted nearly 40 interviews and a quantitative survey which was completed by 1800 participants. These participants included meeting professionals, event delegates, technology vendors and consultants.
The research indicated that hybrid meetings are helping meeting organizers around the world in achieving their goals such as increasing sales, improving performance and boosting attendance.
Key findings
An overwhelming majority of respondents see the growing importance of hybrid meetings, and are planning to adopt this trend in near future.
- Ninety-three percent said hybrid meeting helped them in exceeding their objectives.
- Seventy percent believed hybrid meetings will be an important part of meetings in the future.
- About half of respondents reported that they capture their conference content for on-demand access.
At a high level, the research confirmed meeting professionals have begun to use hybrid meetings to achieve their goals. A majority of respondents reported that they use hybrid meetings to share content, ideas and experiences with attendees across the globe and time zones. Plus, on-demand content was important for attendees who may not be able to attend the event while the event is happening.
The survey also found that most meeting planners are new to hybrid meetings but they believe that hybrid meetings would be a key part of meetings in future.
Still, the survey found that the meeting planners that opposed hybrid meetings were concerned about technology failure and felt hybrid meetings cannibalizes face-to-face meetings. The study showed quite the reverse, the data showed that the hybrid event model boosts the attendance of in-person events.
“This research clearly supports what we have known but lacked scientific data to support. By strategically using hybrid technology, the planner can expand the reach of their event which increases the ability to drive business results – a far more valuable asset than merely controlling costs,” said Cindy D’Aoust, COO and interim CEO of Meeting Professionals International.
