Having cancelled their live London Executive Summit due to COVID-19, world-leading executive coaching organisation Vistage sought an innovative and fully digital solution enabling them to re-conceptualise and deliver this flagship event. To help bring the new digital format to life, technical solutions specialist White Light (WL) utilised its award-winning SmartStage studio in Wimbledon.

Formed over 60 years ago and comprising of 24,000 members from SMEs around the globe, Vistage annually connects more than 200 CEOs, MDs and senior business leaders for their live summit. Following cancellation of the London event, Vistage required an advanced technological solution to deliver a series of expert-led coaching workshops to their audience, conducted safely online via a professional platform. Hiring WL’s SmartStage facility enabled the live presenters to access a safely isolated location and work together from a social distance, while connecting with other remote presenters participating from the USA.

James Thurlow, WL’s Venue Technical Manager explains: “We embedded the stream within a purpose-built microsite, which not only assisted in branding the event but also enabled other functionality such as peer-to-peer chat and the submission of audience questions.  We relayed these questions back to presenters in real-time, giving the feeling of ‘live interaction’.  The website also gave us the ability to display event insights such as information on the agenda, keynote speakers and sponsors, as well as linking through to the client’s social media channels.  We added further variety to the transmission by employing a multi-cam set up in the studio and changed the city backdrops throughout the event.”

The Executive Summit drew a peak

audience of up to 486 delegates from 14 different countries, including South

Africa, Australia and the United States, all viewing the stream concurrently. The

technology greatly enhanced the experience for all participants, allowing for

natural visibility and engagement between the co-hosts, keynote speakers and

peer network, within a connected space.  Sally

Wells, Vistage Chair for London comments: “This was my first experience of

using SmartStage and I found the WL team hugely supportive throughout the whole

process. The studio set-up provided a safe location where I could host our four

live presenters from the required social distance and connect with other

members of our expert panel remotely. Our studio time and costs were minimised,

as the event went live without any need for pre-rehearsals and the solution

enabled swift changes in our virtual backdrops and other content. Being able to

naturally engage with the people I was addressing and interpret their body

language and reactions, made it feel as close to a real-world event as

possible.”

For more information, please contact Jonjo Glynn or James Thurlow on +44(0)20 8254 4800 or email Virtual@WhiteLight.Ltd.uk.

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