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Looking ahead to next year, in a Business News Daily year-ender, Sharat Sharan, President and CEO of ON24, doubles down on Shiao’s expired prediction: “In today’s cost-conscious business environment, demand for hybrid events—a physical event with a virtual extension before, during or after the physical event takes place—will continue to grow.” That’s a safe bet.

Finally, this webinar from Unisfair actually includes discussion with event organizers who have married virtual components to live events. These events are grasping toward a hybrid event model. I wouldn’t call them strictly hybrid, but they’re getting closer. The presentation by PJ Boatwright, VP of Live Media with Fortune magazine illustrates an opportunity to produce a ultra-high level “invitation-only” event and monetize it with a come-one-come-all simulcast and sponsorship component. One key point worth noting in the presentation by Fiona Bruder, SVP Client Services for George P. Johnson: Three-quarters of brand marketers expect trade shows to integrate virtual components. If this is true, then demand for these services is much higher than the supply. I would venture to guess that fewer than 10% of major trade shows integrate a virtual anything.

Why are the virtual event platform providers jumping on the hybrid bandwagon? Because of a growing opportunity and a lurking threat. The opportunity is obvious: Hybrid is in the air—it comes up whenever I talk to professional event organizers. The lurking threat for platform providers is commoditization of their services. A performance-based virtual platform model is already nipping at their heels. How hard would it be for Google or some over-caffeinated dorm-dweller to churn out an open-source virtual event site?

The Times article avoids the kind of hyperbole that we used to see back in the day, and the author was smart to speak with Michael Doyle at the Virtual Edge Institute, who wisely explains that virtual events need to be part of an ongoing (perpetual) social experience. The IBM example in the article is interesting, but these vendor-driven attempts at creating community often miss the mark. The drive is on now to build effective B2B communities and then produce events that bring those communities together. B2B media should be leading these efforts, but good examples are rare.

This article only briefly mentions hybrid events, but doesn’t cite any good existing models, as I suspect there aren’t any. As a B2B event producer, I’ve cast my lot with the hybrid model, which we’re currently building on top of a performance-based video archive platform. We’re using video and webcasting content to develop a sense of community among like-minded professionals and we plan to host regular “connected events” that enable face-to-face and teleconferenced interaction within that community.

Virtual events will always be with us. I’ve produced, and will continue to produce virtual events and webcasts. The economics of the model are simple, they’re easy to do, and they fill an important need. But at the level of human experience, virtual events are airless and isolating.

In the center of this Times article, I was surprised to see a mention of “Comdex Virtual,” which somehow escaped my notice last month. Real Comdex (1979-2003) used to consume the entire business media community annually and the people who attended have long-lasting, viceral memories of that massive industry gathering in Las Vegas. I haven’t been able to find anyone who “attended” Comdex Virtual, but I assume thousands signed in, signed out and went on with their lives.

At B2BPresence we believe that the Google AdSense “pay-for-performance” approach will eventually clone and adapt itself to every marketing ecosystem. Marketplace365 has opened the door for performance-based marketing in virtual events, and competitors will have to take notice.
Virtual Edge carried an interesting overview of the platform, and an interview with Onstream Media’s CEO Randy Selman. Marketplace365 is a self-service environment for exhibitors, speakers and show producers, and the company claims that event producers can set up an entire event in a little as 9 days with no IT background and just basic computer skills. Selman touts the platform as a “true, 365 day a year marketplace where people can hold events, run expositions and drive traffic year round.”

Virtual events, as a one-off deal, necessarily lack the SEO leverage that comes from an enduring web presence. Marketplace365, as single platform that aggregates content, claims to have a leg up in the SEO game. That makes sense, but of course the proof will be in the search results.
At B2BPresence, our emphasis is on hybrid event models that enable real human interaction. We’ve produced and participated in “virtual events” and we’re still of the opinion that these are just informational web sites. However, these models will continue to thrive and will influence the development of live events. We look forward to further developments.