Two people are registered for the same event. One walks into a ballroom, picks up a badge at the check-in table, follows a sign to the general session and sits down with a printed program. The other opens a laptop at the kitchen table and clicks a link.
They have the same agenda and the same speakers. Their mornings look nothing alike.
That gap is the main planning problem with hybrid events, and print closes a good part of it. Our advice is to treat the printed side as two jobs with one look: a kit that reaches remote attendees before the event, and signs and materials for the people in the room.
The remote attendee has nothing in hand
Everything about the in-person event tells people they’re somewhere. The room is branded, there’s a lanyard around every neck and a program on every chair.
The remote attendee gets a browser tab, and it sits next to their email. Nothing on the desk says this day is different from any other day of video calls. It’s easy to drift off to other work by the second session.
A box in the mail changes that. It puts the event on the desk before the first speaker starts, and it tells the person at home that somebody planned for them.
What goes in an attendee kit
Keep it useful. A good kit usually has:
- The agenda or program, printed, with session times and login details
- A short note from the host or the event team
- One or two branded items they’ll use that day, like a notebook, a pen or a mug
- Anything a session calls for, such as a workbook, a worksheet or a product sample
That last item does the most work. When a speaker says “turn to page four,” the people at home can turn to page four along with the room.
Plan for the kit to arrive a few days before the event. An early arrival leaves room for a slow package or a wrong address, and nobody is opening a box halfway through the keynote.
We handle kitting and fulfillment at our plant in Fenton, Missouri, so the printed pieces and the packed kits come out of the same building. The branded items can come through our promotional products service.
What the room needs
Walk the path an attendee takes from the front door to their seat, and list what they should see along the way.
At the entrance, that’s a banner that tells them they’re in the right place. In the hallways, it’s directional signs to registration, the session rooms and the restrooms. Check-in needs name badges, and the tables need tent cards and printed programs.
Then there’s the stage. A stage sign or backdrop is the one printed piece both audiences see, because it’s in the camera shot all day. Give it the same attention you’d give the cover of the program.
We print signs and banners on our wide format equipment. Hanging them and the stands they go in are handled by your venue or event crew, so get sizes and hardware details from them before you order.
Keep both sides matched
The remote attendee opens a box on Monday and sees the stage on a screen on Thursday. Those two things should look like the same event, with the same colors and the same type.
That’s easier when one set of design files goes to one printer. Split the kit, the signs and the branded items across three vendors and you’re managing three proofs, three schedules and three versions of your blue.
We print and pack all of it under one roof. We don’t sub it out, so one team is looking at the whole job.
Work backward from the event date
The kit sets the schedule, because it has to be in the mail well before anything goes to the venue. Start at the event and count back:
- Event day. Signs, badges and programs are already at the venue before setup starts.
- Kits arrive. Aim for a few days ahead of the event.
- Ship date. This depends on how far the kits are traveling, so ask your printer how much time to allow.
- Assembly. Kits get packed once every printed piece and branded item is in hand.
- Final list and addresses. Remote attendees’ mailing addresses are locked before assembly begins. Set a registration cutoff for the kit and say so on the signup page.
- Design and proofs. Approve the kit pieces and the signs together so they match.
Late registrations are the usual snag. Decide early what a remote attendee gets if they sign up after the cutoff, even if it’s only a PDF of the program.
Start with two numbers
Before you design anything, write down the event date and the headcount in each group: how many in the room and how many at home. Those two numbers set the quantities and the schedule, and that’s the right moment to bring in your printer.
We’re independently owned, and the owners are personally available to clients. Call us at (636) 343-1167 or request a quote.
