A hybrid meeting refers to a form of meeting combining online and offline. It is a new-style meeting that has been attempted everywhere in the MICE industry for the recent ten years. The name of hybrid is applied as the whole event is transmitted using video streaming, enabling real-time online participation, while hosting business meetings such as conferences and exhibitions as they have so far been hosted in specific times and spaces. 

A hybrid meeting connects participants outside the venue to online using IT technologies such as streaming, while being hosted as an offline meeting within the possible scope of social distancing. According to the report issued by the Exhibition & Convention Institute (ECI), 73% out of 1,400 event organizers across the world responded that they plan to host hybrid meetings as of July 2021. 

In order to plan and operate a successful hybrid meeting, three factors are important: utilization of meeting technologies; planning of good contents; and offering of personalized experiences. 

As the number and size of hybrid events increase sharply in the future, meeting technologies are expected to develop as well. Digital technologies or tools capable of assisting the operation of an event will develop consistently such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), eXtended Reality (XR), metaverse, hologram, short-range wireless communication, face recognition, mobile app location-based service, etc. In order to operate a hybrid meeting, it should be possible to convey a sense of realism vividly even online through the offering of various camera angles, VR contents, utilization of avatar, etc. There is a need for hybrid meeting planners to utilize proactively virtual meeting platforms and solutions with various functions capable of conveying a sense of realism and connection vividly and induce interest and immersion among participants using new SNS platforms such as Clubhouse, etc. 

In planning and operating a hybrid meeting, real-time big data related to participants can be collected and utilized, and human labor can be saved using chatbot. The current more strengthened chatbot technology has been added with the discussion function, in addition to the question function. The visually fabulous media façades may be utilized to deliver information. The projection mapping technology for projecting an image onto the surface of an object is receiving attention as a technology for public relations. 

A strategy in keeping with the current trend of metaverse is also necessary to plan a hybrid meeting. Having emerged as the major topic this year, metaverse is a futuristic convergence space where virtual space and real space are connected using eXtended Reality (XR) technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) as a medium. In this year’s New York Comic Con, the paid membership system was adopted in an attempt to apply metaverse to the MICE industry—for example, differentiating the scope of metaverse platform offerings based on membership classifications. 

Planning good contents is one of the most important parts of a meeting. The meeting technologies are supposed to play a critical role in holding a meeting, but all of them are meaningless unless contents are good-quality. Good contents should be educational while captivating the audience. It is desirable to provide region-friendly contents and infotainment contents combined with MICE and entertainment, while containing a message of sustainability based on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance). Out of the existing mentality that recognizes online contents as complementary goods to offline, it is imperative to improve user satisfaction through the combination of online and offline and a virtuous cycle of contents. Furthermore, if we create an environment where participants interact actively, we will be able to hold a meeting more efficiently. 

It is also a promising hybrid meeting planning strategy to focus on developing good content and upgrading small events to become global small and strong events. According to the Korea MICE Association, among the MICE events, small-scale events less than 100 people account for 71.8% of the total as of 2018. One of the strategies for planning hybrid meetings is to focus on advancing small-scale events and nurturing them into small but strong global events. In the past, it was not easy to host a MICE event in the city or county region where an exhibition/convention center was not available. However, hybrid meetings have now become popular, and the unique venues and differentiated, region-specific contents are combined with digital technologies to enable hosting even a global event. No doubt, safety has now become a critical factor determining the success of an event; thus, the criteria for selecting a venue have been changed. It is imperative to take virtual studio, hygiene and safety, communication network, environment-friendliness, etc. as critical criteria and review them in order to plan and operate hybrid meetings. 

It is also important to provide personalized experiences to participants. Personalization refers to data-driven marketing to deliver customized information tailored to the consumption propensity of each and every customer. In fact, the ultimate change that the digital transformation has brought about to business can be said to be personalization. In the case of an ordinary participant, unless it is an area of interest, or there is an element of a new experience, he/she is no longer fascinated as far as trends go. That is also the reason personalized marketing emerges across all industrial sectors. It is essential to create experiences tailored to an individual through the segmentation of participants. The method of enabling the search of theme-based programs or the recommendation of contents based on interest is also efficient. 

As we go through the Corona era, hybrid meetings are anticipated to play a role continuously in the MICE industry. The hybrid meetings in the future will deem the communication with participants more important and put greater emphasis on the offering of personalized, customized experiences. The utilization of appropriate meeting technologies, strong contents, and personalized and customized offerings will become key factors for successful hybrid meetings. Furthermore, by activating interactive communication with participants and introducing fun elements, successful hybrid meetings can be planned and operated.