The First Hybrid Event In exVo

Sandy Hammer, co-founder and CMO of Allseated, shares her thoughts on Allseated’s first hybrid event in exVo.

By now you have likely heard the buzz about Allseated’s latest innovation, exVo.

exVo is a live expo, meeting, conference, or event with a fully-integrated and parallel virtual dimension. exVo is a live expo, meeting, conference, or event with a fully-integrated and parallel virtual dimension. exVo is the next generation of Expos, Meetings, and Events, tailor-made for today’s reality with both in-person and virtual attendance. It’s an incredibly immersive experience unlike anything out there, or anyone’s ever been part of before.

I’m beyond excited to tell you all about our first hybrid event to run in the exVo. The first event using Allseated exVo took place in Stuttgart, Germany at the Ludwigsburg property.

It was such an incredible experience, I’m not even sure where to begin! Although, what really stands out, is just how similar virtual and live events can be when you look at the overall experience of the planning process, during event work, and after event feeling.

This event was hybrid because it also had live participants. To run this event as a hybrid event, we at Allseated created the exact same event space in our studio as a 3D model. Once the model was built, we re-created the booths from the original plans of the live event into the exVo. We hosted a mirrored event with a live feed from the workshops into the exVo so people who were either live or virtual – it did not matter — all received the same experience. 

Our 3D world within exVo allowed for 70 exhibitors to give in-person and virtual the same look and feel. This allowed for a cross over of the two worlds, continuing the brand and story from both sides.

Hundreds of people arrived in the exVo for this event,  not really knowing what to expect until they found themselves walking and talking, having an engaging immersive experience. Something they had never felt before this hybrid event!

From the Producers and Planning Side: 

The night before the event, every exhibitor came into the exVo to make sure that their videos and PDF downloads were working and walked the show virtually, just as they would for a live event walkthrough. The exhibitors came early to the exVo on the day of the event to get ready and stand in front of their booths to be ready for the attendees, just as they would for a live event. 

During the event, the virtual side felt very much the same as in person! People were coming and going, we “ran around” talk to the exhibitors, making sure they were okay, working the floor as we would a real event. By the end of the evening, all I can say is that my legs and feet ached, my body felt exhausted, and all I could wonder is, how is this possible? 

The event felt so real. We lost the reality of where we were and felt so immersed, so a part of everything, and even experienced the low energy after the event just as we would after a live event.

Having been in VR for a few years already, the virtual world is not new to me. This was different yet familiar. exVo has a part of us that we know and understand. This is what is so cool about a hybrid event — it’s not something to be scared of, it’s something to embrace!

If you would like to learn more about exVo, please join us for an upcoming demo session.