b'Located in the heart of Montreal, Eventure Studios features state-of-the-artAV equipment and broadcasting technology for live, hybrid and virtual events.LONG LIVE HYBRID EVENTSA new trend for the new normalby Matthew BradfordT have served to bridge the team- Yet with the right planning and There was a moment in 2020 when the future of corporate meetings andbuilding gap. technologies, they can now give events was in flux. The need to stayThe size and scale of hybridplanners the freedom to create wow connected sent planners pivotingevents can vary. In general, they aremoments that would otherwise be towards virtual events that attempteddefined as any physical gatheringimpossible in a physical setting.to replicate the in-person experiencewhere digital technologies (e.g.,Imagine this, offers Merling. in an online environment. online streaming, mobile apps, virtualYoure at home watching a Once pandemic restrictionsreality, etc.) are implemented toconference on your computer, and begin to lift, one might assume theseinclude those who cannot be there init comes time for your company to in-person alternatives would fadeperson. Elements of a hybrid eventstream their Employee of the Year away. In reality, meeting and eventrange can range from live-streamedAward at the event. Suddenly, the planners are warming up to the ideapresentations, online networkingaward presenter on-screen calls your of making hybrid virtual / in-personforums, virtual photo booths or evenname and you hear a knock at the events the new norm.apps that enable physical attendees todoor. You open it to discover the Virtual event was the buzzwordmingle with virtual guests at their tablecompany arranged to hand-deliver for probably the first 12 months ofvia tablets or other mobile devices.your award at the moment it was the pandemic, but over the last sixAnd those are just the basics. Theannounced and broadcastmonths, weve seen hybrid eventshybrid event sector continues to growyour reaction. come to life, reports Steve Merling,and evolve, Merling says. EveryThese are more than just ideas, Chief Events Officer with the week, were seeing new technologiesMerling adds. Over the past year, Eventure Group.and innovations come out that enableEventure has collaborated with Hybrid events have trended evenhybrid or virtual events to be morecompanies across numerous stronger in 2021 as groups look tointeractive and immersive. industries to design similar reconnect teams that have beenspontaneous hybrid and virtual split due to the pandemic. And withCREATING AN EXPERIENCE events for their meeting attendees. a number of Canadian workers stillVirtual and hybrid events may haveIn another example, Merlings team hesitant to mingle in crowds, theseonce been seen as second-bestarranged to deliver freshly cooked virtual-meets-physical formats alternatives to traditional meetings.five-star meals to employees who 10 CORPORATE MEETINGS & EVENTS corporatemeetingsnetwork.ca'