It’s that time that comes round every four years, when egg-chasing fans (that’s Rugby Union aficionados) come together in the world’s major cities for the World Cup, this year hosted across Japan.
As the prize for the competition we ran throughout the company in the run-up to Christmas 2018 (read more here), Hybrid sent lucky members of staff and their “plus-ones” to enjoy a match of their choice, complete with an all-expenses paid trip to Japan for a week.
Kuala Lumpur’s own Erma Razali (Digital Operations Manager) attended the clash between Wales & Georgia, which thanks to the power of the mighty Welsh pack, ended up at 43-14. There was a welcome in the valleys of the Rhonda, that night!
As predicted, England managed to beat Tonga on the opening Sunday (although not by a particularly impressive margin), in a Sapporo Dome match attended by Account Executive Laura Clarke & Media Sales Manager, Kit Connell, from the UK and Australia branches respectively.
Proving the old adage of it being a small world, Laura ran into some fellow Bristolians – and Bears fans to boot!
The amazing prize wasn’t just about rugby, however. All the Hybrid-ers spent a week away from their desks over in Japan, experiencing the unique sights, sounds, flavours and colours of the islands.
Did we mention the flavours? As ever for any first-time visitor to Japan, it was the food that won the day. If you’re in any way interested in good food, and think classical French cuisine is too heavy on the cream and butter, the clean-tasting healthy and delicious offerings from even the humblest street vendor in Japan will blow you away!
Of course, it wasn’t all about eating and watching enormous men thump each other. All the Hybrid prize winners managed to absorb a little local culture, from Tokyo’s Digital Art Magazine to Mount Fuji.
As Hybrid grows as a company both in size and reach, the challenge is on as the year progresses and the 2019 Christmas Prize Competition looms: how on earth can we top the amazing prizes on offer for staff this year?
Ideas floating around the offices thus far include participation in Richard Branson’s sub-orbital missions, sending the winners with Elon Musk on his first trip to Mars, and as a special first prize, a week’s hotel stay in Weston-Super Mare (with two weeks in Weston for the “wooden spoon” category).
Watch this space for more details from the Hybrid team as the 2019 Competition plans get released. Open to all staff, old-timers and noobs, everyone joins in to do the very best they can for the company, their partners and of course, our amazing clients.
