On August 6, 2020 Cvent officially launched its virtual event platform: Cvent Virtual Attendee Hub. Here is our 2020 Cvent Virtual Attendee Hub review.
So if you are considering Cvent for your virtual events, this is a must-read.
The verdict of our review
TL;DR A solid virtual event platform. Nothing remarkable. But solid. It is what you expect from Cvent. And you either like that or you don’t.
If you are looking for a platform to help you differentiate and break out of the same virtual events, then you need to look elsewhere. Our Cvent Virtual Attendee Hub review tells us this platform is not going to help you here. This platform has the agenda, sessions, and breakouts, but with basic engagement features. And seems to be lacking in networking capabilities.
What type of events is Cvent Virtual Attendee Hub suitable for?
We can see the platform being suitable for a range of events. According to Cvent, the platform has no limit on the number of concurrent attendees watching a video. There is a limit of 10 speakers for each session. And the lack of engagement and networking features will be a problem for some events.
The real advantage of Cvent has always been able to buy from one place. Which is great if that is the focus.
Cvent Virtual Attendee Hub review of features
The Cvent team describe the hub as a: Comprehensive virtual engagement solution includes everything organizations need to promote and deploy a fully branded virtual event experience that maximizes audience attendance, engagement, and event ROI
And having just launched the product, Cvent clearly has big plans for the platform.
So let’s dive into the feature sets:
Registration & branding
The registration flow is customizable, so you will have choices to make. The platform itself can be branded. And you even have the option of a published app on a store. Giving brands a seamless experience across devices.
The question with Cvent has always been, how much do you need to rely on their support team to get what you need done. Versus actually being able to create, edit and change things on your own.
Reception area
The reception area of the hub is a block-based main menu and top menu. This can be branded and gives the attendee a way to navigate around. This is similar in style to the way Cvent used block-based home screens for their event app.
One of the good things from a sponsor perspective here, is that your sponsors can be front and center. So you may choose to place your sponsors in the reception area.
The other interesting thing to note was the availability of web chat within the experience. It was powered by Drift, but none-the-less is a visual and useful way to support attendees.
Agenda, sessions, and live streaming
Mostly as you would expect. You can easily build an agenda, search and choose from the available sessions.
For live streaming, everything worked well. The quality of the stream was great. It seems that they are using Brightcove as the power behind the live streaming.
The Cvent Virtual Attendee Hub allows for live, simulive, or pre-recorded sessions. One thing to note is that two-way video sessions (powered by Zoom) have a limit of 500 participants.
Audience engagement
Clearly, Cvent has big plans here. The tool includes the ability to have Q&A features as well as chat and even upvoting. These features worked well and were solid. The upvoting is a really nice touch.
The piece that is missing, is the home feed. This may be customizable, but not putting the home feed front and center really limits the engagement of the audience.
What we saw from the platform was nothing that is not already present in a lot of other tools.
Networking
There does not seem to be a general way for attendees to actually meet and network. Nor is there any real mention of networking or interaction on the Cvent product web page. Something that might be an issue for some events.
The only way to network and meet other attendees was through a specific networking session on the agenda. Otherwise, there does not seem to be any way to meet or network with other attendees at all, which is a big shame.
Sponsors and exhibitors
Our Cvent Virtual Attendee Hub review found that the tool has opted for the page-based design to its sponsor pages/virtual booths. That is as opposed to 3D models of booths. So if 3D is important, you will need to head to other platforms.
Each page could display a banner, documents, show the booth reps. Plus you get the option to join the virtual booth. When you choose this, you launch into a Zoom meeting with those reps. And if you need a 1:1 or dedicated chat, you can even have a breakout.
What do online reviews say?
Due to the newness of the virtual platform, there are not many actual reviews.
Cvent across the board scores: 4.2 out of 5 (1,276 reviews) on G2.
Likes:
- Supplier procurement
- Multiple event management
- Mobile check-in
Dislikes:
- Social media promotion
- Budget management
- Lead generation and retrieval
Cvent Virtual Attendee Hub review top competitors
The main competitors with G2 ratings are:
Still, wondering where to get started with virtual?
- Focused on finding an overall virtual event platform? Check out our 2020 virtual event platform comparison guide.
- Trying to decide on a virtual conference platform? See our virtual conference platform guide.
- Planning for a hybrid future? Read our guide to hybrid event platform options for 2020.
Cvent, Cvent Virtual Attendee Hub, and any other mention of Cvent are registered and copyrighted to Cvent, Inc.
