Introduction
In December 2020 , Glisser concluded that the only way it would be able to truly walk in the shoes of its customers and understand their challenges , would be to do what its customers would soon all be doing - design , plan and stage a fullyfledged hybrid event .
The people behind the platform decided to test the limits of hybrid events and opted for a milt-hub format with a live , in-person audience in New York , a live , in-person audience in London and an online audience , experiencing the event via the Glisser system .
At the start of 2021 , Glisser partnered with etc . Venues as its official hybrid venue partner and secured its event spaces in both London and New York .
For its production partners , Glisser approached Encore in the UK and NMR Events in New York , to provide the audio visual
Hybrid Events Ignited
In July this year , Glisser put hybrid theory into action by staging Hybrid Events Ignited , a one-day multi-hub conference , which took place in New York , London and online . The company reveals what went into the planning and execution , plus lessons learned
and live streaming components of the event .
Encore and NMR Events worked hand-in-hand to collaborate both with one another and with the Glisser team , to ensure that a truly wow factor experience was created for all .
Research and programme design
During April and May 2021 , freelance conference producer Claire Tulloch spoke with 30 in-house planners and agencies in the UK and US to help shape the programme for what would become , Hybrid Events Ignited .
The over-arching feedback from the planner research was enthusiasm for finding out how hybrid could be delivered for different audiences and the need for an understanding of what everyone else was planning to do . There was a general fear of getting it wrong and a recognition that nobody had all the answers , so a test and trial approach would be needed .
There was also a lack of clarity about what the term hybrid actually meant .
The perceived challenges most frequently mentioned ( content and audience engagement ; networking ; cost and resource ; technology ) would be worked into our event programme , along with case studies of sizeable hybrid events , which had already taken place and the lessons learned .
Hybrid Events Ignited was then designed as a half-day event across the two time-zones , which would commence in the US at 9am and in the UK at 2pm . Seven 30-40 minute sessions across a five-hour programme would include panel discussions , a fireside chat and a case-study presentation .
Staging and production planning
In terms of staging , not only did Glisser want to ensure that the in-person panellists would be able to see one another , it also wanted to ensure that they would be able to see the panellists in the other physical venue .
In addition , Glisser wanted the in-person panellists in both venues to be able to see the online panellists . It also wanted to be able to show the in-person audiences to both the online viewers , and the in-person attendees in the opposite venue .
“ We felt this was an important part of connecting the audiences and creating a feeling of cohesion ,” Glisser ’ s chief evangelist , Vanessa Lovatt says . “ This was surprisingly challenging as it involved ensuring that