An omnichannel experience at WiT: in-person at MBS, joined by a virtual panelist on the new drop-down LED panel, and attendees on the Virtual Meeting Place digital platform.
WiT Experience Singapore 2021, held 19-20 October, was the first industry conference to offer a unified hybrid experience to delegates, giving a glimpse into the future of events.
The physical event was staged at the Grand Sands Ballroom at Marina Bay Sands while its virtual twin was held on the venue’s newly-launched Virtual Meeting Place, which uses the Integrated Resorts’ iconic architecture as the visual interface.
WiT “moved into” the Virtual Meeting Place on 14 October, following the launch of the new product, and the team, which is part of Northstar Travel Group in Asia, customised the platform to reflect its branding and theme in a matter of days.
One of the major highlights of the repurposed Grand Sands Ballroom: giant drop-down LED panels for virtual speakers.On 19 October, when the conference opened, more than 200 physical delegates experienced the repurposed Grand Sands Ballroom with its jaw-dropping drop-down LED panels for virtual speakers and live streaming technology while hundreds more explored the virtual replica of Marina Bay Sands.
More than 70 speakers, a blend of virtual and physical, took part in the annual travel technology conference that has been held in Singapore for the past 16 years and 2021 marked its return to its most significant physical format since the pandemic struck 20 months ago.
For the Asia Pacific travel industry, WiT Experience Singapore 2021 marked the first and biggest reunion of the community which has been badly battered by Covid-19 and remains largely stuck while the rest of the world has opened up in recent months.
WiT was also the first travel industry conference to stage a pilot hybrid event in October last year when up to 50 physical delegates were allowed in Singapore, and that was held at the Marina Bay Sands’ HybridBroadcast Studio.
WiT founder, Yeoh Siew Hoon at the opening ceremony at the Grand Sands Ballroom at Marina Bay Sands.“We appreciate the technology and tools that Marina Bay Sands, our venue partner of the past 10 years, has introduced into their MICE offerings, which enable us to experiment and showcase what events in this new world could look like,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder, WiT.
“Last year, we showed what we could do with the HybridBroadcast Studio which offers organisers the ability to hold high level, intimate physical gatherings with a hybrid component.
“This year, we got to experiment with the Virtual Meeting Place – we were the first industry conference to use it, so it was such a thrill. My team and I had fun learning how to use the new tools and how to design and customise the platform to suit our own needs. The possibilities, frankly, are endless but given that we had four days to move in, I think we have barely scratched the surface of what that platform can offer events like ours.
“For our speakers and delegates, those giant drop-down LED panels were definitely a talking point. I think I heard a guffaw when it first appeared to house our first speaker and after that, a couple of speakers had fun jesting about it – how it was so great to “hang out” with WiT and “wow, I’m really taking part in a panel discussion”. It lent humour and levity at a time when the Asia Pacific travel industry is engaged in the biggest battle of its life to reopen.”
As the first venue in the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences & exhibitions) industry to launch such a virtual platform globally, Marina Bay Sands says it is set to transform the integrated hybrid experience, effectively connecting both online and offline audiences.
The 'Virtual Home' of WiT Experience Singapore 2021 was set on a digital replica of Marina Bay Sands.The experience-driven platform brings together the expertise and creativity of the award-winning venue and three Singaporean organisations that are powerhouses in their respective sectors – brand activation agency Pico Art International, virtual event platform GEVME and 3D and interactive solutions provider Sixtrees Viz Comms.
“Hybrid events is the mainstay of the industry but the omnichannel meeting experience will be the future. With more clients placing a premium on creating a shared user experience, we are taking the next step forward to offer them a singular, integrated customer journey,” said Ong Wee Min, vice president of Conventions and Exhibitions, Marina Bay Sands.
“The future of meetings in an endemic world will focus on delivering a 365-day, 24/7 user journey – one that offers delegates a seamless experience transitioning between physical and virtual events as well as providing on-demand content akin to that of online streaming entertainment platforms. An extension of the physical venue, the Virtual Meeting Place empowers our clients to capitalise on the O2O2O (Offline-to-Online-to-Offline) opportunities that this platform offers – reinventing the delivery and consumption of information while optimising customer experiences.”
“At GEVME, we always enjoy partnering with WiT on their events. They have always been willing to explore and adopt new technology that amplifies the experience of their community. We could not have thought of a better partner than WiT to host the first event on the newly-launched Virtual Meeting Place developed in collaboration with Marina Bay Sands,” said GEVME’s CEO Veemal Gungadin.
The unveiling of the Virtual Meeting Place follows the launch Marina Bay Sands’ four state-of-the-art Hybrid Broadcast Studios in 2020 that can cater to events of up to 1,300 pax. This industry-leading concept has enabled event planners to reimagine the multitude of event design possibilities that blend and unify both the virtual and physical worlds in a compelling setting.
Beyond the hologram functionalities and Mixed Reality capabilities, event planners can look forward to upcoming enhancements to the Hybrid Broadcast Studios such as a fully-fledged Extended Reality (XR) hybrid events solution that aims to truly redefine meeting experiences.