In 2025, 40% of events will occur virtually or in a hybrid format. As virtual events rise in prominence, it is up to event planners and AV teams to deliver valuable content for attendees no matter where they are tuning in from. A few years ago, virtual events were much fewer and further between, but today, they are a permanent fixture in the event space.
As an AV team, AV-CANADA has experience with a number of virtual event hosting platforms. These platforms make it possible to engage attendees and deliver virtual content in creative ways, but they are not all built equally. Some are easier to use, others are easier to customize and some have restrictions or limitations that are important to note.
After diligently testing out different virtual event platforms, we have an arsenal of a few tools that we use depending on each client’s needs and priorities. From Zoom to Hubilo, and everything in between, we’ll always work with the tool that best fits our clients’ needs. Hubilo is a tool that allows us to build custom solutions when supporting virtual and hybrid events; this guide will showcase some of Hubilo’s features while comparing it to other top options on the market.
Hubilo’s Standout Features
Aside from Hubilo’s transparent pricing model and the fact that it can support large-scale virtual events with up to 100,000 attendees, there are other key features that make it a go-to for virtual events. Here are a few aspects of the platform that are transforming the virtual event space:
Branding Customization
When hosting an event, you’ll want attendees to know who is behind the experience. With branded registration pages, personalized emails and custom URLs, guests will never question who is responsible for providing networking opportunities, hosting valuable keynote sessions and more. If your event, like most, relies on dedicated sponsors for funding and support, Hubilo makes it easy to highlight and thank those organizations by incorporating screen banners throughout the event.
Although many event planners and business leaders are familiar with platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams for virtual interactions, those platforms fall short when it comes to branding. Without the ability to properly market sponsors, speakers and host organizations, these large hosting platforms limit an event’s reach and impact.
Streamlined User Experience
If an attendee is at a live event where the sound isn’t working, the screen is hard to see and disorganization is causing frustration, odds are they won’t be back. It’s the same for virtual events. Delivering an easy user experience from start to finish is imperative. From the pre-event registration portal all the way to the day of the event, Hubilo takes the guesswork off the table.
Prior to the event, planners can use Hubilo to classify attendees into certain categories or groups and assign event privileges or experiences based on those groups, further personalizing your virtual events and ensuring they are relevant and impactful for every single guest. This feature gives events a personal, thoughtful feel that will stick with attendees and draw them back year after year.
Insightful Analytics
At the end of every event, event planners and sponsors alike are eager to understand the impact of the event and they want hard data to do that. With Hubilo, capturing booth visits, downloads and session attendance isn’t just easy – it’s automatic. These analytical insights help event planners improve their next event while providing sponsors with an understanding of their return on investment.
Without detailed analytics, it’s hard to make improvements for future events. There are a few other platforms, like ON24 and Goldcast, that prioritize event analytics. However, many of Hubilo’s competitors in this space offer very basic attendee analytics without much actionable insight. Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Cvent might catch your eye, but if you’re looking to track metrics, these likely won’t meet your needs.
Marketing Platform Integration
When a client uses their own databases or CRM tools like HubSpot or Salesforce, it only takes a few steps to integrate Hubilo with their internal systems. These integrations make it possible to follow up on leads in sales systems, track attendee demographics and even collect feedback from guests.
Most virtual event platforms offer a long list of system integrations. Your favorite marketing tools will almost always be able to connect with these platforms, but the ease and quality of those connections can vary. For instance, Zoom offers integrations, but with few metrics tracked, that integration won’t be nearly as helpful as the integration with Hubilo. At AV-CANADA, we think about how each platform’s features come together in the end, and for that reason, we often use Hubilo to customize our virtual platforms for our clients.
AI Enablement
Thinking outside the box, Hubilo events are automatically equipped with AI features like virtual event management. After the key sessions, these AI event managers produce videos of the sessions that can be distributed to attendees or guests who weren’t able to attend live. Shorter videos can also be made for post-event marketing content – this is an effective way to drum up excitement about future events and secure registrations down the line. Hubilo is one of the only virtual event platforms on the market that offers advanced AI capabilities.
Understanding Hubilo’s Limitations
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to hosting virtual events. Hubilo is a fantastic tool for many virtual events, but it does have its own limitations to consider. Here’s what we have learned from working with Hubilo:
- The learning curve can be steep. When there is a platform that offers so many customization options and advanced tools, it’s a lot to digest. For busy event planners, it’s sometimes difficult to get all the benefits of Hubilo without taking the time to learn how it works. ON24 is a little bit simpler and great for smaller event teams. Because our team has so much experience with Hubilo, we help event planners navigate its landscape with ease.
- It’s not the cheapest on the market. If budget is the top priority for an event, Hubilo might not be the right tool. It’s not the lowest-cost option on the market, but the added value makes it worth it. Goldcast, for example, is more affordable, but it doesn’t offer all of the same capabilities. More service offerings and features will always increase the price, but we’ll help you find a solution that accommodates all of your requirements — from budget constraints to key features.
AV-CANADA Maximizes the Value of Virtual Events
When it comes to finding the right virtual event platform for your event, AV-CANADA will lead the way. We’re closely familiar with each platform’s customization options, pricing structure and notable limitations. Once we have an idea of your vision, we’ll match you with the right tool.
We pride ourselves in being able to take some of the pressure off of event planners by managing branding customizations, spearheading document uploads and file formatting and creating templates that make event planning simple. If the learning curve of an advanced tool feels intimidating, let us handle the legwork.
There are many tools available to event planners and AV teams when it comes to hosting virtual events, and in many cases, Hubilo will check all of the boxes. It’s a tool that doesn’t make its users choose between functionality, price, or the attendee experience. If you’re ready to uplevel virtual events in 2025, the AV-CANADA team can match you with the tool that will bring your vision to life.
