Virtual events and hybrid events: the new interaction

tecnologia e interazione in pTECHNOLOGY AND IN-PERSON INTERACTION ARE THE CORNERSTONE OF FUTURE EVENTS

At this moment in history, virtual events are the norm. For months we have been participating in meetings with colleagues and clients exclusively from remote locations and we have got used to the idea that this will be the way we will interact for a long time to come, also recognising the positive aspects of this new way of meeting.

The sense of engagement that is generated at an in-person event is, however, very different from an online one: after experimenting in 2020, this year at ETT we have been working hard to find the best way to exploit the opportunities of this situation while containing its limitations. By harnessing creativity and developing new technologies, we have focused on creating innovative formulas to offer personalised and engaging experiences in all types of interactions.

The demand for technological solutions is certainly increasing. When the restrictions imposed by the pandemic ease and in-person events regain their central role, the hybrid event option will remain an option. In fact, it is now part of most people’s experience and offers a series of undeniable advantages for event users (elimination or significant reduction of travel costs, optimisation of time and logistics, possibility of virtually exhibiting elements or machinery that are difficult to transfer to the physical environment, etc.) which no one will be willing to give up.

The flexible integration of different solutions will also facilitate the future integration of initiatives that include a mix of in-person interaction and virtual online communication: hybrid events. This is why we took the opportunity to change our perspective again and review the most important aspects of event management, such as widening the audience, different sponsorship possibilities, heightened sustainability, expanding the competence framework and the technology pool.

We have worked on immersive environments based on project mapping, virtual and augmented reality, bespoke event apps, algorithms and devices for tracking interactions, artificial intelligence chatbots, live machine translation systems, sentiment analysis and the increasing use of live streaming.

One of the most effective examples of this new method is certainly the digital platform that ETT has developed for the first virtual edition of Orientamenti, the main Italian study and work orientation fair promoted annually by the Liguria Region, which supports middle and high school students and their families in choosing their study path or future career.