HYBRID EVENTS
Innovation trend
in live-marketing
OCTOBER 2011
CONTENT
_MANAGEMENT SUMMARY
03
_EDITORIAL 06
_INTRODUCTION08
_RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE SURVEY
13
_RESULTS OF THE QUALITATIVE SURVEY
20
_HYBRID EVENTS IN PRACTICE 26
_HYBRID EVENT STRATEGY TOOLS
28
_NEW COMMUNICATION RULES
29
_CONCLUSION
31
_GLOSSARY 34
_CONTACT39
2
MANAGEMENT SUMMARY
This management summary provides an overview of the key findings of this study. The individual results are described in more detail in the
following sections.
_An event is the marketing measure with the
highest contact intensity. Because of its reach,
social media are a communication platform
that has the greatest potential for brand-, pro duct- and business communication.
_To describe this combination, VOK DAMS has
coined the term hybrid event.
_In contrast to the purely additive aspect, the
hybrid event describes the integrative interplay
of social media and live-marketing. In this con text, the term social media is defined broadly. It
encompasses not only classic social media
platforms, but also all web-based tools.
_The integration of social media makes it possible
to:
_communicate in real time
_interact with other people
_create a common sense
_enable access to the event in a playful manner
_make inferences about the potential target
group of the event
_increase the identification with the programme
_Hybrid events are participant-centred, not
event-centred anymore.
_Hybrid events solve an important challenge of
events: the successful combination of reach and
contact intensity.
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE SURVEY:
_75 % (and 64 % B2B) of all businesses surveyed
are already present on social media.
_Social media networks are the top communica tion tool.
_51 % (and 45 %) think that social media will gain
in importance.
_It is assumed that the mobile internet has a
particularly high potential.
_The hybrid event (the combination of social media and event) is considered the most relevant
communication measure.
3
MANAGEMENT SUMMARY
RESULTS OF THE QUALITATIVE SURVEY:
According to the respondents, the most important
success factors for the use of social media are:
_Synergy effects of integrated communication
_Enabling viral communication
_Appropriate seeding for widespread distribution
of information
_Strong and relevant contents
_Opportunities to design user-generated content
According to the respondents, the future prospects of hybrid events are:
_The combination of social media and events will
increase
_Technological innovations make new event
formats possible
_Stronger connection of online and offline events
_More efficient event concepts
_Stronger integration of hybrid events into the
communication mix
4
MANAGEMENT SUMMARY
HYBRID EVENTS IN PRACTICE
BEFORE THE EVENT:
_Integration into existing internet platforms
_Development of individual platforms
_Apps for smartphones
DURING THE EVENT:
_Event interactive wall
_Event game wall
_Event info wall
_QR codes
_Augmented reality
AFTER THE EVENT:
_Flashmob / Urban hacking
_Documentation
_Discussion forums
_Online games
HYBRID EVENT STRATEGY TOOLS:
_Social media insights
_Social media event monitor
_Social media.content management
NEW COMMUNICATION RULES:
_Simultaneity
_Response
_Attention
_Authenticity
_Testing
_Making it part of the communication
_Event and live-marketing specialists expect that
in the future, social media will be an integral
part of any successful event.
_The hybrid event is the most innovative trend in
live-marketing.
5
EDITORIAL
THE WORLD OF COMMUNICATION IS CHANGING RAPIDLY
The magic word is social media. No other discipline has had such a lasting effect on the field of
marketing. Today, technological possibilities allow extreme simultaneity of event and communication, as well as simultaneity of sending a
message and receiving a direct response from
the recipient. A response that is not only returned
to the sender, but also disseminated via social
media networks worldwide in a snowball effect.
And because of mobile communication with, for
example, smartphones, this happens in nearly
every inhabited place in the world. It can only be
conjectures what impact this has today and will
have in the future on marketing specialists. Welltrodden paths have to be abandoned; new developments have to be continuously tested for their
meaningful use.
This applies to the classic marketing communication as well as to events and live-marketing. Thus,
at the beginning of this study, we propose the following risqué hypothesis: “In the future, no event
will be successful unless it involves social media.”
This study will explain why hybrid events are a
new dimension of event communication. First of
all, the hybrid event stands for the combination of
social media and event. VOK DAMS has coined
the term to describe the integrative – in contrast
to the purely additive – interplay of social media
and live-marketing.
In this context, the term social media is defined
broadly. It encompasses not only classic social
media platforms (such as Facebook, XING, Twitter, YouTube, etc.), but also all web-based tools
that can be used during an event, and that can
enable a genuine interaction of the visitor (Apps,
QR codes, augmented reality, etc.).
6
EDITORIAL
Four central questions have guided us through
this study:
_“What are the reasons for the growing impor tance of social media?”
_“What does the future of social media and
events look like?”
_“How are hybrid events implemented?”
_“What effect do social media have on the
communication with our target groups?”
Our study on hybrid events is not restricted to the
theoretical presentation of facts and results, but
shows how the knowledge gained can be put into
practice.
Hence, the following pages shall provide information, food for thought and inspiration for your
day-to-day work.
We hope you’ll enjoy reading our study.
Wolfgang Altenstrasser
Director
7
INTRODUCTION
Social media have become a contact point between businesses, brands, products and consumers.
The advantages are obvious. The social web intensifies the communication between people. A
large number of people communicate with each
other in real time, without any limits and via multimedia. Even on a small budget, communication
can be very successful.
While many innovative concepts have already
been tried and tested in the classic disciplines of
the marketing mix, the full potential of events and
live-marketing has not been realized yet.
Tradeshows, conventions, product launches and
company anniversaries will continue to take place
in the real world, but they will be supplemented
by the internet and the infrastructure of the social
media application. It will thus be possible to invite
participants, to interest them, to get them involved and to continue the dialogue after the actual
event. The physical, real event as the strong,
emotional primary event is thus extended by an
event on the internet, the secondary event.
The hybrid event – that is, the integrative interplay of social media and event – supports the
trend towards the democratization of business
communication. Communication is increasingly
shaped by user-generated content, shifting the
focus from the company to the users. The hybrid
event opens up a new dimension for achieving
classic goals of an event – in-depth information,
more motivation and, above all, a genuine involvement of the participants.
Social media activities can be implemented in all
phases of an event.
8
INTRODUCTION
HYBRID EVENT
Businesses want customers to become their fans
– because fans forgive, as many briefings provided to communication agencies prove. They
speak about increasing the number of fans significantly, entering into a direct dialogue, asking for
feedback or positioning products in the lifestyle
sector
The influence on the number of fans is of particular importance, since/because the identification
with image, product and brand values guarantee
economic success. Word-of-mouth is the new
currency of the 21st century. 78 % of people trust
personal recommendations. To take advantage
of this fact, experts in marketing strategy favour
Facebook above all other social networks.
This is hardly surprising since it is the largest and
fastest growing social platform in Germany, as
the latest figures of BITKOM show.
9
INTRODUCTION
BITKOM
Social media now link the relevance of information with a recommendation. Users choose information that is relevant to them, recommend it,
discuss it online, comment on it.
RELEVANCE AND RECOMMENDATION
Social
Media
R E L E VA N C E
= Added value
RECOMMENDATION
= Dialogue
live
Social media and also live link relevance and recommendation.
10
INTRODUCTION
Hybrid events solve an important challenge of
events: the successful combination of reach and
contact intensity. The event establishes the intensive contact to the participant. The number of
contacts is increased via mobile marketing and
classic communication; the contacts are exponentiated and intensified at the same time via social media networks.
SYNERGY POTENTIAL
The user-generated event becomes reality. For
business communication, it is important to understand the function and effect of social media in
order to assess what makes sense for one’s own
business. This study also deals with questions
about the changes in the communication behaviour of the target groups, the most popular webbased channels and the potential of hybrid events
– the combination of event and social media.
One crucial factor is, of course, the right content
that is of benefit to my business. Only recently did
Germany’s most famous blogger and marketing
expert, Sascha Lobo, demand, in his usual provocative manner, that the blogger community actively disseminate relevant content. He defines
the hybrid event as “a kind of twin – if the right
people come together in the right environment,
they can inspire each other like nowhere else”.
11
4%
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY
The survey carried out by the VOK DAMS.Institute
for Live-Marketing comprises a qualitative and a
quantitative part. 1,053 marketing professionals
participated in an online survey. In addition, interviews were conducted with 73 experts to ask
them about the application of social media in
their business communication. It was found that
the majority of B2B- and B2C businesses are already present in the social media.
The quantitative survey provides insights into the
preferred social media platforms and their importance in the future.
IS YOUR COMPANY ACTIVE IN USING SOCIAL
MEDIA?
Percentage of companies (B2B) using social
media
36 %
No
No
64 %
Yes
Yes
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
Percentage of companies (B2C) using social
media
25 %
No
75 %
Yes
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
12
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY
WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM DO YOU USE
FOR THE COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR TARGET GROUP?
(Multiple answers possible – Numbers per piece)
Social media platform used for communication
purposes (B2B)
Wikis
467
25
Wikis
Microblogs
457
Microblogs
567
Blogs
Blogs
678
Social networks
Social networks
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
Social media platform used for communication
purposes (B2C)
Wikis
25
453
Microblogs
567
735
Blogs
678
823
Social networks
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
Regarding the usage of social media components, social networks, closely followed by blogs,
are the leaders in both target group areas. The
success of social networks may also be explained
by the fact that there already exists a large audience. It is not necessary to set up a community
– as is the case with a blog or website.
13
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY
HOW MUCH DO SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCE
YOUR COMMUNICATION MIX?
Evaluation of the influence on the communication
mix (B2B)
17 %
No influence
26 %
Little influence
25 %
Moderate influence
No influence
Little influence
Moderate influence
17 %
Strong influence
Strong influence
15 %
Very strong influence
Very strong influence
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
Evaluation of the influence on the communication mix (B2C)
17 %
26 %
25 %
No influence
Little influence
Moderate influence
17 %
Strong influence
15 %
Very strong influence
5%
10 %
31 %
29 %
25 %
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
While the practitioners in the B2B sector consider
the influence of social media on their communication mix as mainly little to moderate, the B2C
sector offers a different picture. A total of 54% of
respondents already now consider them as having a strong to very strong influence.
14
5%
10 %
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY
WHAT WILL BE THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL
MEDIA AS COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN THE
NEAR FUTURE?
Prognosis for the development of social media as
communication tools (B2B)
Will considerably
lose in importance
0%
Will considerably
lose in importance
Will lose in
importance
0%
Will lose in
importance
22 %
No change
No change
33 %
Will gain in
importance
45 %
Will considerably
gain in importance
Will gain in
importance
Will considerably
gain in importance
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
Prognosis for the development of social media as
communication tools (B2C)
Will considerably
lose in importance
0%
Will lose in
importance
0%
No change
%
45 %
Will gain in
importance
12 %
37 %
Will considerably
gain in importance
51 %
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
The expectations regarding the development of
social media in the near future are unambiguous.
In the B2B (78 %) and in the B2C sector (88 %), the
communication experts expect that the Web X.0
will gain in importance. As the dissemination and
success of social networks increases, B2C businesses will reach an ever-increasing part of their
target group in this way.
15
%
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY
HOW IMPORTANT IS THE NETWORK OF ONLINEAND OFFLINE MEDIA?
Importance of the network of online- and offline
media (B2B)
Network is of
no importance
Network is of
no importance
5%
Network is of
little importance
Network is of
little importance
13 %
28 %
Moderate network
Moderate network
29 %
Network increases
Network increases
25 %
Network increases
considerably
Network increases
considerably
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
Importance of the network of online- and offline
media (B2C)
Network is of
no importance
Network is of
little importance
Moderate network
9%
0%
4%
21 %
39 %
Network increases
Network increases
considerably
36 %
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
The digital elements of social media extend the
classic communication tools. Therefore, it can be
assumed that the network of offline- and online
media will increase. But what do the experts say?
Here, B2B and B2C are in agreement again – albeit to slightly different degrees: The network becomes more and more important. In total, 82 %
(B2B) and 96 % (B2C) expect that the interplay of
both media forms will increase moderately to
considerably.
16
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY
HOW DO YOU RATE THE CURRENT AND FUTURE
POTENTIAL OF THE MOBILE INTERNET (VIA
SMARTPHONES)?
Potential of the mobile internet (B2B)
No potential
Small potential
4%
No potential
10 %
Small potential
Moderate potential
33 %
Great potential
Great potential
21 %
Very great potential
Very great potential
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
Potential of the mobile internet (B2C)
No potential
%
Small potential
33 %
0%
0%
15 %
32 %
Moderate potential
23 %
Great potential
21 %
62 %
Very great potential
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
The internet is mobile. The number of mobile
phones allowing access to the internet is constantly growing. Pioneers of these so-called
smartphones are BlackBerrys, iPhones or devices
of various manufacturers that feature Google’s
Android operating system. Some industry experts
talk about an app economy because the smartphones and their apps (applications, software)
can be adapted to the individual needs of the
user. But what do marketing experts think about
the potential of the mobile internet? Here, the B2B
sector is a bit more cautious than their colleagues
from the end user sector. While 54 % of B2B experts think the potential is great to very great, 85
% of B2C experts think so.
0%
1
32 %
Moderate potential
0%
17
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY
WHICH COMMUNICATION FORMATS HAVE THE
STRONGEST GROWTH POTENTIAL IN YOUR OPINION?
(Multiple answers possible – Number per piece)
Growth potential of different/various communication formats
271
631
Print
876
Mobile marketing
Online marketing
Radio
TV
Tradeshows
23
249
260
782
987
Events
Social media
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
Regarding the communication formats with the
strongest growth potential, marketing professionals clearly favour events and social media.
18
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY
INTEGRATION POTENTIAL OF INDIVIDUAL COMMUNICATION MEASURES WITH WEB X.0
Integration potential of individual communication
measures with social media
Print + social media
4%
14 %
Mobile marketing + social media
25 %
Online marketing + social media
Radio + social media
2%
20 %
TV + social media
35 %
Events + social media
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
Regarding the integration potential of classic and
new media, most of the marketing experts surveyed also agree that the greatest potential lies in
the combination of events and social media.
Soon no event will be able to do without the combination with a social media component. The
possibilities to prepare the event, to activate participants, to accompany events, to disseminate
elevant information and to post-process the event
are diverse, and there are no limits to creativity.
19
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY
The individual answers from the expert interviews
(N = 73 experts) were grouped together. The
answers given most frequently, divided into target groups, constitute the top five response clusters below.
WHY ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS ACTIVE ON
SOCIAL MEDIA?
B2B – TOP FIVE RESPONSE CLUSTER
1
Invitations to events
2
Background information
3
Exchange and discussions
4
Offer- and product information
5
Finding information
B2C – TOP FIVE RESPONSE CLUSTER
1
Networking
2
Entertainment
3
Discussions and exchange about products
and brand
4
Information about offers
5
Recommendations from other users
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
The answers to the question about the motives of
the interviewees’ customers to be active on social
media reveal some similarities as well as differences. According to the interviewees, B2B customers look for information while B2C customers
rather look for entertainment and interaction.
Both groups are very interested in personal networking, with the B2B group even preferring
communication in real life.
20
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY
WHAT ARE YOUR MOTIVES FOR PARTICIPATING
IN SOCIAL MEDIA?
B2B – TOP FIVE RESPONSE CLUSTER
1
Integrated communication
2
Proximity to the customer
3
Effective acquisition
4
Updating of brands and products
5
Feedback on customer satisfaction
B2C – TOP FIVE RESPONSE CLUSTER
1
Integrated communication
2
Updating of brands and products
3
Word-of-mouth
4
Proximity to the customer
5
ROI
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
Both groups of interviewed businesses said that
the reasons for them engaging in social media lie
primarily in integrated communication. In addition, both groups see social media as an opportunity for closer proximity to their customers as well
as an extended market research approach.
21
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY
SUCCESS FACTORS FOR THE SUCCESSFUL
APPLICATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA
TOP FIVE RESPONSE CLUSTER
1
Synergy effects through integrated
communication
2
Enabling viral communication
3
Appropriate seeding for widespread
distribution of information
4
Strong and relevant content
5
Opportunities to create user-generated
content
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
Besides synergy effects, experts consider viral
communication, seeding and content as particularly relevant success factors when using social
media. Another finding is the need to learn about
new communication mechanisms. Only those
businesses that know the communication patterns of social media will be successful.
22
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY
HOW DO YOU STRATEGICALLY COMBINE YOUR
EVENTS AND YOUR ENGAGEMENT WITH SOCIAL
MEDIA?
TOP FIVE RESPONSE CLUSTER
1
2
3
4
5
Social media help increase involvement
(involvement)
Social media as enabler of events
(support)
Social media as endorser of events
(support)
Social media support multiplication
purposes
Social media support documentation
purposes
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
The majority of the interviewees consider the
combination of social media and events as useful. Strategic integration potential lies especially
in the increased involvement and the content
function (enabler or endorser) that social media
can offer to live-marketing.
23
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY
HOW DO YOU COMBINE OPERATIONALLY YOUR
EVENTS AND YOUR ENGAGEMENT WITH SOCIAL
MEDIA?
TOP FIVE RESPONSE CLUSTER
1
Guests can get involved prior to the event
2
The user can create content
3
Social media help document events
4
Support invitation purposes
5
Word-of-mouth increases success of the
event
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
From their experience with integrating social media in their operational practice, experts conclude
that the benefit lies in particular in a stronger involvement of the target group prior to the event
and in the dissemination of information after the
event. Thus, the idea of user-generated content
can also be realized for events. In the future, there will be more user-generated events for which
attendees will have determined parts, even some
content, in the run-up to the actual event.
24
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY
WHAT DO YOU THING ABOUT THE PROSPECTS
OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND EVENTS?
TOP FIVE RESPONSE CLUSTER
1
2
3
Social media and events will continue to
grow together
Technological innovations will make new
event formats possible
Stronger connection of on- and offline
events
4
More efficient organization of events
5
Stronger integration of hybrid events into
the communication mix
Source: VOK DAMS Institute for Live-Marketing, Hybrid Events 2011; N = 1,053
The results of the qualitative survey also provide
clear evidence that the importance of hybrid
events to the communication mix of businesses is
increasing, and that hybrid events harbour a
great integration potential. However, many marketing- and communication professionals are still
reluctant to take the step into the “new world” for
fear of losing control. Social media allow everybody to edit or comment on the texts, pictures
and videos of a business. Also, the time pressure
increases. A tweet on Twitter or an entry on the
Facebook fanpage cannot wait to be processed
by the appropriate department before being
released.
Businesses have to think about the answers to a
few questions before using social media:
_Who is allowed to represent the business?
_What topics are taboos?
_Are there any language rules – also in a crisis
situation?
_In what networks does the company want to
participate?
_To what extent are comment functions allowed
and comments moderated before release?
25
HYBRID EVENTS IN PRACTICE
The current event practice shows that no other
communication medium is as dynamic as social
media. The hybrid event supports the trend towards the democratization of business communication – shifting the focus from the company to
the users. The hybrid event also opens up a new
dimension for achieving classic goals of an event
– in-depth information, more motivation and,
above all, a genuine involvement of the participants.
Social media activity can be applied in all phases
of an event:
1. BEFORE THE EVENT
INTEGRATION INTO EXISTING PLATFORMS
_Using Facebook, Twitter or XING for invitation
purposes
_Multiplying communication contents
DEVELOPMENT OF INDIVIDUAL PLATFORMS
_Programming of individual microsites or a
Facebook site
_Asking people to get involved
_Asking people to contribute content and infor mation about their needs and wishes
_Developing games to increase contact intensity
APPS FOR SMARTPHONES
_City guides of the event location
_Event guide containing all relevant information
_Games to consolidate event contents
2. DURING THE EVENT
EVENT WALLS
INTERACTIVE EVENT WALLS
_Via a social media platform like Twitter, comments can be added and visualized in real time
_Involvement of guests via opinion poll tools with
immediate evaluation similar to Twittpoll
26
HYBRID EVENTS IN PRACTICE
EVENT GAME WALL
Multiplayer games to consolidate messages in a
playful manner
EVENT INFO WALL
_Photo wall as digital guestbook, interactive recording of news via smartphones
QR CODES
_Application of so - called Quick Response Codes
to link to further information via he internet –
particularly suitable for exhibitions and product
presentations
AUGMENTED REALITY
_Smartphone applications that allow a combi nation of the real world and virtual information
which are located directly in the real world
3. AFTER THE EVENT
FLASHMOB/URBAN HACKING
_Organizing and implementing events via social
networks which become part of a campaign
and support the dissemination of messages or
an image
DOCUMENTATION
_Pictures or video material of the event are disseminated and commented on via social networks like YouTube, Facebook, etc.
DISCUSSION FORUMS
_Using existing or specifically created platforms
for follow-up communication and as feedback
channel
ONLINE GAMES
_Sustained follow-up activities to strengthen the
brand image
27
HYBRID EVENT STRATEGY TOOLS
Planning and implementing hybrid events within
an integrated event communication requires
specialists that are competent in both social media and live communication.
Therefore, VOK DAMS offers the following strategic tools, which have already proven useful in
practice:
1. SOCIAL MEDIA INSIGHTS
Social media insights offer information-, strategy- and creativity workshops to increase the success of social media communication. Thus, the
topic of social media marketing can be approached progressively. Companies develop a social
media strategy and campaign measures that fit
their brand perfectly.
2. SOCIAL MEDIA EVENT MONITOR
The social media event monitor is a tool used for
the evaluation of C2C communication on the social web. Data is gathered on defined topics,
brands, products and events. The specific focus
on live communication is new. Thus, it is possible
to illustrate and analyze information about the
communication before, during and after an
event. Based on the monitoring results, the communication can then be adjusted.
3. SOCIAL MEDIA.CONTENT MANAGEMENT
The social media.content manager supervises
and leads the company’s dialogues and discussions on the social web about brands, products
and services or the company itself. The manager
acts either as active participant in the discussion
or as passive observer until the discussion requires him/her to become active. Depending on the
goals, the social media.content manager communicates directly and professionally with the
target group. The content manager acts either as
private individual (C2C communication) or openly as a representative of the company (B2C communication).
28
NEW COMMUNICATION RULES
This new form of communication also requires
new rules for the hybrid event.
_Simultaneity – new information has to be made
available immediately via the respective social
media channels
_Response – contributions also require a quick
response
_Attention – the responses have to be oriented
towards the wishes and needs of the users, not
towards the intended message
_Authenticity – the communication has to be honest and open, it has to match my image profile
THIS MEANS FOR CLIENTS WHO WANT TO BE
ACTIVE IN SOCIAL MEDIA:
1. ATTENTION
Blogs, forums, websites, networks – there are
many platforms on which the target group is present and comments on content. At first, it is important to find out where the target group is
strongly represented and what their major concerns are. In this phase, paying attention and listening is the priority.
It is also a form of market research. Users and
customers talk about services and products. Here
you will learn what they like and what you may
be able to improve. In the long term, it is recommended to monitor the social media elements.
Summarizing the individual opinions often reveals a trend in customers’ opinions on products.
2. TESTING
Begin small. Make your first step with a Twitter
account or a Facebook fanpage. It should be
clear that people are interested in people. In
principle, they don’t want to become the fan or
friend of a product.The communication should
make it evident that people tweet, blog and post
for a business. A common buzzword is authenticity: PR and marketing vocabulary is understood as
such by the users. Those who are constantly trying
to sell something during a conversation at a party will not be invited again. Constant advertising
messages result in users withdrawing their attention from the provider also in social media.
29
NEW COMMUNICATION RULES
Here, the role of those who are communicating
also changes. Who has greater credibility when
talking about a product than its developer or the
product manager? In social media, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the marketing- or PR professional who represents a business.
3. MAKING IT PART OF THE COMMUNICATION
The blog entry, the tweet, the status update on
the Facebook fanpage should become an integral part of the business communication. This could
include short message that aren’t worth a press
release.
Link your social media elements with each other.
Tweets should also be posted on the Facebook
fanpage or other social media sites. The same
applies to new entries on the business blog. Special aggregators like Friendfeed.com and Tumblr.
com bundle the contents of different platforms. A
user can thus follow all the activities of a business
at one address only.
Part of the success in social media is consistency.
A blog entry every few weeks, a tweet on Twitter
once a month does not lead to the success proposed here. A faithful user community can only be
formed through persistence. Despite all the virality, patience is important. You can’t attract
thousands of fans on Facebook or thousands of
followers on Twitter over night. Social media are
rather a marathon than a middle-distance race.
30
CONCLUSION
Event or live-marketing is indisputably the marketing measure with the highest contact intensity.
It is also indisputable that because of its media
penetration, social media is the communication
platform with the greatest potential for brand-,
product- and business communication. VOK
DAMS has coined the term “hybrid event” to denote this combination.
DEFINITION OF HYBRID EVENT
First of all, hybrid event is simply the combination
of social media and event. The term has been
coined to describe the integrative – not the purely additive – interplay of social media and livemarketing.
In this context, the term social media is defined
broadly. It encompasses not only classic social
media platforms (such as Facebook, XING, Twitter, YouTube, etc.), but also all web-based tools
that can be used during an event and that can
enable a genuine interaction of the visitor (Apps,
QR codes, augmented reality, etc.).
ADVANTAGES OF HYBRID EVENTS
The integration of social media makes it possible
to:
_communicate in real time
_interact with other people
_establish a common sense
_enable access to the event in a playful manner
_make inferences about the potential target
group of the event
_increase the identification with the programme
Thus, instead of focusing on the event, hybrid
events mean that the focus is on the participants.
This shift in focus reflects the paradigm shift in
brand communication – the brand is placed in
the domain of the user, and remains only partly in
the domain of the marketing department. Hybrid
events can thus solve an important challenge of
events: the successful combination of reach and
contact intensity.
31
CONCLUSION
RESULTS OF THE QUANTITATIVE SURVEY:
_75 % (and 64 % B2B) of all businesses surveyed
are already present on social media.
_Social media networks are the top communica tion tool.
_51 % (and 45 %) think that social media will gain
in importance.
_It is assumed that the mobile internet has a par ticularly high potential.
_The hybrid event (the combination of social
media and event) is considered the most rele vant communication measure.
RESULTS OF THE QUALITATIVE SURVEY:
According to the respondents, the most important
success factors for the use of social media are:
_Synergy effects of integrated communication
_Enabling viral communication
_Appropriate seeding for widespread distribution
of information
_Strong and relevant contents
_Opportunities to design user-generated content
THE FUTURE PROSPECTS OF HYBRID EVENTS
ARE:
_The combination of social media and events will
increase
_Technological innovations make new event
formats possible
_Stronger connection/integration of online and
offline events
_More efficient event concepts
_Stronger integration of hybrid events into the
communication mix
32
CONCLUSION
HYBRID EVENTS IN PRACTICE
1. BEFORE THE EVENT:
_Integration into existing web platforms
_Development of individual platforms
_Apps for smartphones
2. DURING THE EVENT:
_Event interactive wall
_Event game wall
_Event info wall
_QR codes
_Augmented reality
3. AFTER THE EVENT:
_Flashmob / Urban hacking
_Documentation in social networks
_Discussion forums in social networks
_Online games
HYBRID EVENT STRATEGY TOOLS
1. SOCIAL MEDIA INSIGHTS
Social media insights offer information-, strategy- and creativity workshops to increase the success of social media communication.
2. SOCIAL MEDIA EVENT MONITOR
The social media event monitor is a tool used for
the evaluation of C2C communication on the
social web.
3. SOCIAL MEDIA.CONTENT MANAGEMENT
The social media.content manager supervises
and leads the company’s dialogues and discussions on the social web about brands, products
and services or the company itself.
NEW COMMUNICATION RULES
_Simultaneity
_Response
_Attention
_Authenticity
_Testing
_Making it part of the communication
Event and live-marketing specialists expect that
in the future, social media will be an integral part
of any successful event. The hybrid event is the
most innovative trend in live-marketing.
33
GLOSSARY
AUGMENTED REALITY:
The first applications were developed for aeronautics and the military. For example, a jet pilot
has information about his target displayed on the
front of his helmet. For smartphones such as the
iPhone, there are apps that display additional information on the current camera picture, such as
the closest restaurants, bus stops or Wikipedia
entries.
BLOG: SHORT FOR WEBLOG, A COMBINATION
OF THE WORDS WEB AND LOG.
Originally a logbook was kept on board of a ship
to record the distances a ship travelled, etc. Blogs
adopted the chronological order of entries. Blogs
can be created and maintained with simple technical tools. Costs and effort are tremendously
low. It is not necessary to have any knowledge in
programming, as a complete web presence
would require. Microblogs feature short messages, no longer than a text on a mobile phone. Often, blog entries provide information about links
to more detailed articles. The most popular microblogging providers are Twitter and Google
Buzz.
DOODLE.COM: CALENDAR TOOL.
The website allows its user to enter dates to coordinate events with a group of people.
34
GLOSSARY
MEASUREMENT OF SUCCESS: THE SUCCESS OF
WEBSITES CAN BE MEASURED IN VARIOUS
WAYS.
The page impression provides information about
how many times a request to load a page was
sent to the server in a given period of time. The
visits provide information about how many individual users visited the website. Each visit is counted if the visitor leaves the webpage for at least
30 minutes. The unique visitor represents the
number of individual visitors. Even if a user returns within a month, s/he is counted as only one
visitor. In the field of social media, efforts are
being made to extend the number of clicks by including further measurements. How long and
how intensive (time wise) a user looked at the
content, how active (in form of comments) s/he
was and how well connected (how much influence) s/he has.
FACEBOOK:
With 500 million members worldwide, Facebook
is the largest network in the world. If Facebook
was a country, it would be the third-largest, ranking behind China and India in population numbers. In Germany, about 20 million people have a
Facebook account. Each month, the network
grows by ten per cent on average. Facebook is
characterized by its wide range of interaction
possibilities and third-party applications. Thus, it
is a communication platform, rather than a collection of profile entries.
Friendfeed is a subsidiary of Facebook. This website allows its user to bundle information from different social media platforms. Thus, a user can
indicate in just one place on what websites s/he is
active and follow the news of his/her friends and
acquaintances.
35
GLOSSARY
FLICKR.COM: IS A PHOTO SERVICE OF YAHOO!
All participants of an event – as well as the event
organizer – can upload photos of the event on
this website, creating a much more comprehensive image of the event. Flickr can also be used for
product pictures, because interested journalists
and bloggers can access the data at all time and
create a download or link in their own online entries.
GOOGLE BUZZ: IS THE EQUIVALENT TO TWITTER.
The search engine has integrated the service into
its email program (Google Mail). Users can send
short messages and subscribe to the texts of other
users. Google offers the integration of Buzz into
its map service, enabling users to find out where
a text was composed.
LBS: LOCATION BASED SERVICES.
Examples are Gowalla.com and Foursquare.
com. Photos and messages on Twitter can also be
linked to the location of the user via a smartphone.
LINKEDIN: IS THE INTERNATIONAL EQUIVALENT
TO XING.
According to information by the company, more
than 65 million members in 200 countries use this
business network.
MYSPACE: IS A US-AMERICAN NETWORK OWNED BY THE NEWS CORP. OF RUPERT MURDOCH.
The platform is a particular favourite of artists,
bands and musicians because it allows user to
design their profile page to their liking. According
to information by the company, more than 100
million people worldwide use the platform every
month.
36
GLOSSARY
POSITIONING SYSTEM: SMARTPHONES KNOW
THE LOCATION OF YOUR USER.
They use a GPS chip that requires an unobstructed line of sight to the sky. The Global Positioning
System provides location information about the
user where signals can be received from satellites. Often an A-GPS is also used; A stands for Assisted.
A smartphone uses trilateration connecting with
mobile phone towers to determine the precise
position. The location can also be determined by
way of a WLAN signal (WiFi). One provider is Skyhookwireless.com, whose system is used by Apple
on the iPhone. For this purpose, WLAN hotspots
were recorded on maps. Thus, an iPhone can
compute distances, although the number of hotspots in rural areas is too small. The biggest advantage: A hotspot can also be located in closed
environments such as tradeshows, hotels and airports.
QR-CODES: IS THE ABBREVIATION FOR QUICK
RESPONSE.
A QR code is a black and white square pattern.
The two-dimensional code is readable by dedicated scanner apps on smartphones with cameras. The app can scan the pattern to open a link
to a website, to YouTube or a telephone hotline.
Thus, further information can be provided on
events, advertising, brochures.
TWEET:
Text-based posts on Twitter, containing no more
than 140 characters, including a link to a
website. Photos can be attached to the tweet.
TWITTER:
The US-American messaging service provider allows posting short texts and links of no more than
140 characters, sent via a computer or smartphone. Subscribers (so-called followers) can read,
comment on or forward the posts to other followers. Thus, news is disseminated virtually. Twitter
is a fast medium – communication in real time.
News on websites can be automatically disseminated via Twitter.
37
GLOSSARY
WER KENNT WEN:
The German network is constantly competing
with VZ-Netzwerk over the first ranks in the IVW
Statistics (187 million visits, 3/2010). Ca. eight million members have registered with the network,
which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RTL Interactive. Membership works by invitation only. The
network aims to visualize networks between
friends, acquaintances, families and co-workers,
and to reunite people in the virtual world.
WIKI: ABBREVIATION FOR WIKIPEDIA (ONLINE
ENCYCLOPAEDIA).
It is the most popular and successful online encyclopaedia whose entries are written by users. The
idea is based on the assumption of the “wisdom
of the masses”, a group of people knows more
than an individual person. The group monitors
the entries for correctness, since there is usually
an expert who can add knowledge and provide
references. The software used by Wikipedia can
also be used for business- and event wikis. An author team describes the most important aspects
and answers frequently asked questions.
XING: THE LISTED COMPANY OPERATES THE
LEADING GERMAN-SPEAKING BUSINESS NETWORK.
In total, there are 16 language versions, with Germany, Spain and Turkey being the core markets.
A total of nearly nine million registered members
present themselves with their job profile. At the
moment, the company tries to integrate more
applications to enable users to interact with each
other and use the platform more regularly.
38
CONTACT
WOLFGANG ALTENSTRASSER
Director
VOK DAMS Events GmbH
Katernberger Straße 54
42115 Wuppertal
Germany
P +49 202 38 907-202
F +49 202 38 907-199
[email protected]
www.vokdams-ilm.de
www.facebook.com/vokdams www.twitter.com/vokdams
© 2014 VOK DAMS Institut für Live-Marketing