BEST EVENT BY AN AGENCY
Brandfuel – Arm DevSummit
When Brandfuel was asked to produce Arm’s first virtual summit bringing together hardware engineers and software developers from around the world, it needed a vision that would cut through the digital fatigue that was so evident during the pandemic.
The leading semiconductor and software design company aimed to attract 10,000 developers to its DevSummit, and it wanted to ensure that they engaged, collaborated and created a community of like minds. The event Brandfuel delivered attracted 19,550 registrations, smashing Arm’s target.
The 2021 Arm DevSummit was the most complex virtual event Brandfuel had undertaken. Every aspect was bespoke, from the platform experience and integration, to the content we produced for keynotes, the Developers’ Den arcade, and the networking zones.
Our solution was to design a complete futuristic 3D city from scratch, with Arm’s headquarters at its heart. With over 130 sessions to attend, delivered across multiple time zones in five languages, developers were able to catch up with content they missed.
Arm TV, our bespoke broadcasting channel hosted in Silicon Valley, was the summit’s beating heart, streaming live and recorded content throughout the three-day event. All the sessions were also available on-demand on our Tech Hub for several weeks.
Brands at Work – Becton Dickinson
Having first engaged Brands at Work in spring 2020 to design and deliver its inperson Sales Kick Off, the MDS team (MDS) decided to move the meeting online in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. As this was to be their first ever virtual event, initially there was some resistance, with some client stakeholders unsure as to how interactive the experience could be. At Brands at Work, we saw this as the perfect challenge!
Objectives:
- Share the MDS vision & mission
- Build team spirit – bring the team on the MDS journey
- Share FY20 successes and strategy and goals for FY21
- Bring in the voice of associates and customers/patients
- Build knowledge and skills around our solutions
- Share best practice and provide learning opportunities
- Empower associates in decision making
Desired outcome: To create a workforce of sales associates who had understood the impact they could make by ‘taking control’ of their mindsets and behaviours around decision making, to better contribute to MDS’ vision and mission
DRPG – 1 Year To Go
Creative communications agency DRPG are the Official Promotional Events Service Providers for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, and were tasked with delivering the One Year To Go celebrations in Birmingham’s Centenary Square from an event production point-of-view. DRPG had to ensure the event highlighted core values as outlined by Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, COVID-19 restrictions were followed, with a focus on sustainability throughout the event.
DRPG worked with multiple national governing bodies of various sports that occur in the games and really got the people of Birmingham inspired to get into a sport that they might not have thought of, and proud that their city was home to the Commonwealth Games this year. It also set the precedent of what’s to come regarding the promotion of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, with positive feedback received in regard to organisation and achieving the missions they set out. Coverage across news sites such as the BBC and ITV was also achieved.
First Event – Cardano Summit 2021
A 48-hour hybrid event. 142,000 online attendees from 180 countries. 13,500 in-person attendees at watch parties in New York, Miami, Wyoming, Berlin, Tokyo, Cape Town, London and +40 community hubs. 73 hours of content. 208 speakers in 137 sessions. End-to-end delivered in just seven weeks. Billed as the biggest-ever blockchain event, Cardano Summit excited fans, bringing together a global developer community driving the technology’s transformative potential underpinning cryptocurrency.
First Events has worked with blockchain experts Input Output (IOHK) for >4 years delivering in-person and virtual events up to 10,000 people. The ambitious Summit enabled IOHK to extend their reach 14-fold – vital for maintaining Cardano as sought-after cryptocurrency.
We wowed delegates, combining virtual and in-person interaction and incentivised networking, acting as a catalyst for future collaboration. Speakers included political figures, media, tech and business leaders with exclusive announcements on sustainability, regulation and blockchain adoption.
The Cardano Foundation described the Summit as “giving a voice to our community”. As one fan described, “the fact they created this (virtual) world for the community speaks to how much we are valued as contributors to the ecosystem.” The event exceeded expectations. People showing interest in IOHK, Cardano, and projects has skyrocketed, and no wonder.
FUEL – PayPal More Ways to Dream
More Ways To Dream was an engaging and entertaining employee experience that inspired 30,000 employees to achieve their dreams and make the world a better place. This global virtual celebration was augmented by the design and delivery of bespoke activity boxes to each employee around the globe.
This incredible event exceeded expectations and reached all of the objectives it set out to achieve. More Ways to Dream gathered PayPal employees from all over the world to come together to celebrate the work that was done throughout the year. Employees got to reunite and connect with their friends and counterparts across the 52 PayPal offices and engage with each other through an innovative and exciting programme and platform. This event inspired employees to make the world a better place, achieve their dreams and help others in doing the same. This event supported hundreds of artists, performers and local businesses across the world.
Republic Group Communication – BrandFestival
BrandFestival is one of the most important strategy conferences and regular professional summits in Central Europe. The event is fully organised by the advertising agency group Republic Group. They were founded in 1998 and their managing director is Tamás Barna, who has made Republic Group one of the key market players of the Hungarian creative industry. Tamás is the founder of BrandFestival, one of the most prestigious advertising and marketing summits, launched in 2001.
Nearly 700 outstanding managers and top communications managers visit the country from Europe and beyond year after year to attend BrandFestival as either speakers or listeners. Our key topics always address corporate strategies and communication challenges. Representatives of leading companies and the most influential thinkers in the world share their experience with the participants in strategy making, branding and sales processes.
BrandFestival is a club of decision makers, a platform where future-shaping managers gather to discuss key professional trends.
The program of BrandFestival in 2021 aims to present phenomena from behavioural science (behavioural economics/psychology) on a brand level, with the contribution of internationally recognised top speakers and domestic corporate managers, all this in an intercultural environment.
International top speakers passed the stage floor to one another at the 20th anniversary of BrandFestival, held on 28-29 October 2021 in ETELE Cinema. Digital gurus, behavioural science experts, creative content developers, trend setters. More than 100 speakers, many international professionals addressed the exciting issues and phenomena of brand experience enhancement and customer inclusion along the umbrella concept of behavioural science. The circle of speakers included, among others, professionals from The Walt Disney, Havas CX Helia, data- and technology-led advertising agency FCB/SIX & Performance Art (an agency that has won more than 100 international advertising awards), the data analyst of The Walt Disney Company (Disney+), an internationally recognised shopping psychologist and a behavioural economics expert. It was the first professional event in Hungary where the international team of TikTok appeared.
Rockitfish – Kaltura
Kaltura are a leading provider of live and on demand video SaaS solutions to thousands of organisations around the world. They wanted to bring 70 staff together from across the EMEA region to celebrate their IPO launch.
The event was staged across 2 days at Wotton House. Their theme was “Following your Dream” – encouraging attendees to think big, as well as celebrating their listing on the Nasdaq.
Day one started with the Kaltura Dream Hunt – a bespoke GPS based trail around the grounds of the venue. In the evening, we installed branded light panels and floating orbs around the room and branded KLTR (Kaltura’s Nasdaq symbol) globe table centres. The celebration kicked off with a Cocktail Workshop and a breath-taking demonstration by a champion cocktail flairer. The evening was hosted by a compere and magician and was headlined by Britain’s Got Talent Finalist, illusionist Marc Spellman. Guests could then take to the dancefloor or get hands on with and a wide range of games including the world’s biggest Pac Man! Day two focussed on the future with multiple presentations – and an early morning yoga session to get everyone in the right frame of mind for a day of business content.
Smyle – Life Unstoppable: ‘House of Surprises’
Samsung challenged Smyle to rethink how brands engage with press, partners and consumers and to re-invent Smyle’s previous ‘Life Unstoppable’ activation that they had built on Unreal Engine. Smyle wanted to add more IRL through video and storytelling, but still keep the gaming mechanics and interaction, and embarked on a journey to create a true ‘video game’.
‘The House of Surprises’ was an interactive, virtual experience, rooted in branded entertainment, showcasing Samsung’s connected devices and launched in 17 European countries.
Smyle blended entertainment, experiential marketing and e-commerce, challenging how audiences engage. ‘House of Surprises’ follows an eclectic family through the rooms in their vibrant home, showing Samsung devices unearthing the family’s inner creativity and passion.
Specially-created moments featured Gen Z Samsung product experts highlighting tech benefits, with the audience interacting, clicking icons, without interrupting Samsung experts, creating a more gamified mechanic. Click-to-buy buttons led seamlessly to local Samsung.com stores for purchase.
Tracked data fed into Samsung’s CRM system, giving a clear correlation between objectives and solution. The experience attracted 3,740 press and partners, with 60% watching the 45-minutes show, additionally, over 5,000 consumers, and 4,000+ consumer interactions with over 1,000 clicks to buy.
