Survey of event planning professionals shows majority believe engagement is crucial for successful virtual and hybrid events

More than 92, or 69%, of survey respondents agree that a robust hybrid events platform is necessary to yield financial dividends. Although in-person events are returning, uncertainty with COVID-19 remains and events are not likely to return to as they once were in the pre-COVID era. According to a new survey, commissioned by Hubilo, “virtual and hybrid event platforms are going to remain an indispensable part of the event planner’s toolkit for the foreseeable future.”

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Event organizers throughout the U.S. surveyed recognize the reality of this pandemic-altered landscape with, nearly 70% of respondents saying they expect COVID-19 and variants will force them to shift some in-person or hybrid events to wholly virtual over the next year and 69% have prioritized an investment in hybrid event technology for the future.

The expectation that virtual attendees will be a vital part of the event mix has not waned, but how to keep them engaged and combat “screen fatigue” has remained a challenge for some. In fact, a solid majority of respondents, 57%, said engagement was the most important factor for producing a successful virtual or hybrid event.

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“The survey shows that event planners are more successful in this new landscape of hybrid ad virtual events when engagement is the focus. Having the tools and a platform to enhance and optimize attendee engagement is crucial,” said Hubilo CEO and co-founder Vaibhav Jain. “We’ve prioritized providing multiple engagement levers that allows users to create a unified experience across audience types. As a result, customers using our tools have seen an increase event engagement by 70%.”

Additional survey data includes:

• The impact of COVID-19 on event planners is still huge
• The importance of Investing in hybrid event platforms
• Prioritizing engagement front and center for event tech
• Why engagement is crucial and how to achieve it

That’s why top investors such as Alkeon Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Balderton Capital recently funded the tech company with $125M in Series B funding that will be used for continued improvements to the platform making it the business professionals go-to source for virtual and hybrid events.

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