Blended is back, baby—and it never should’ve left! In this episode, Tess and Keith get fired up (in the best way) about the return of hybrid events—er, blended audiences—and why now is the time for planners to get strategic, not nostalgic.

With international travel down, stricter border controls in place, and the U.S. becoming less accessible for global attendees, we're once again seeing the critical need for virtual options. But this time around, the tech is better, the audiences are smarter, and the excuses are tired.

Here’s what we dig into:

• Real-world shifts affecting international attendance (visa delays and new travel fees)
• Why blended audiences deserve more than just lip service
• The case for strategy-first thinking when choosing your tech stack
• Budget-friendly ways to actually create engagement across virtual and in-person audiences
• Why your mobile app should be more than just a digital agenda
• Must-have features for today’s blended events—from streaming to networking tools to community platforms
• Hot take alert: Calling out planners who ditched virtual too soon

Plus, we share some of our go-to tools for supporting blended experiences (check the links below 👇), and why long-term planning matters more than ever in the face of event industry disruption.

Key Takeaway:

Blended isn’t a backup plan—it’s the new baseline. Whether it’s 80/20 in-person to virtual or vice versa, your event strategy should reflect reality: audiences need options.

Tools, Apps, and an Episode We Mention:

• Zoom
• Circle
• Mighty Networks
• Swapcard
• The Coming Event Tech Apocolypse

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