What are you doing currently with hybrid events , run through the Glisser platform ? We ’ ve got lots happening at the moment . In September , we staged the London outing of our Women into Leadership conference series , which allowed delegates the opportunity to attend in-person or online . The hybrid series , which runs until May 2022 will also be held in Manchester , Cardiff , Birmingham and Edinburgh , giving delegates from multiple UK regions the chance to come in-person if they ’ ve been a virtual viewer previously . Each event examines how female leaders , at any grade , can enhance their skills to become the leader they aspire to be . We also recently hosted our hybrid BAME into Leadership conference . Both events were very challenging and
“ PREPARATION IS KEY . THE MANTRA THAT IF YOU ‘ FAIL TO PREPARE YOU MUST PREPARE TO FAIL ’ IS SO TRUE WITH HYBRID PLANNING .”
Five minutes with …
Oliver Corrigan , D & I events manager at training , media and events business , Dods Group discusses the challenges of running hybrid .
exciting and offered incredible learning experiences .
How did you facilitate hybrid networking at the Women into Leadership conference ? The women in the room were given opportunities to physically network and meet each other . This was streamed to the online viewer to encourage them to join-in and interact by meeting one another via the chat functionality . When it came to individual education sessions however , both the online and in-person audiences were asked to submit questions through the Glisser platform and app so that we could ensure both sets of delegates were having the same interactive experience .
What other challenges have you had to overcome when navigating your hybrid events journey ? It ’ s more a question of what hasn ’ t been a challenge ! The most important aspect for me was to make sure that we offered two very seamless experiences in-person and online , and that the content people were experiencing in the room was fully replicated for digital viewers . That meant working closely with our AV partner to ensure we had the best camera angles and set design to provide a high-quality and engaging stream of what was happening on-stage during the event . Production values really matter for hybrid to be successful .
What about aspects of hybrid that have gone better than you expected ? To be honest , the mantra of ‘ build it and they will come ’ really rang true for us . There ’ s always that fear that people won ’ t turn-up in-person if there ’ s a virtual alternative but we saw really good numbers of delegates in the room at both our Women into Leadership and BAME into Leadership conferences and it was so great to see a return to the excitement that live brings .
What advice would you give to other event professionals embarking on their own hybrid journeys ? Preparation is key . The mantra that if you ‘ fail to prepare you must prepare to fail ’ is so true with hybrid planning . Our conferences have multiple streams and different breakout elements so there ’ s a lot of moving parts . You can ’ t ever underestimate the amount of detail that goes into ensuring each moving part is effective and engaging for both the online and in-person audience experience . So , see each hybrid event as a learning process and embrace the excitement of a new dawn for planning meetings and conferences .
Oliver Corrigan was speaking with Glisser ’ s chief evangelist , Vanessa Lovatt during Event Tech Live .