Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the client sought to transform its flagship biennial conference from a physical event to a digital one, with the aim of providing actionable insights for its stakeholders to prepare for the “new normal”, and reinforce its branding as a forward-thinking organisation. The eventual digital edition of the client’s Asian Insights Conference (AIC) brought together global thought-leaders such as former US Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore, and Singapore’s Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, to discuss pertinent issues facing us in a post-Covid world, such as food security, and technology as a force-for-good.

Background

Travel and social distancing restrictions imposed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic have profoundly changed the way societies function. Many are seeking direction on how to work towards a more resilient future in a post-pandemic world. These same travel and social distancing restrictions also meant that the format of business events and conferences, and the way they are planned and executed, needed to change. The client saw the opportunity to cement its thought-leadership position in the minds of key stakeholders by hosting its formerly physical flagship biennial conference, AIC, on a virtual platform, and worked with the agency to launch the first digital edition of AIC. The 2020 edition of AIC marked the event’s 10th anniversary by pulling together a distinguished group of policy-makers, business leaders and subject matter experts who shared their views on the most pressing issues facing us in a post-pandemic world.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

The challenge was to re-create the well-known physical conference in a purely virtual environment while ensuring a similarly engaging and immersive experience for the target audience. With a digital conference, there was also a need to navigate corporate firewalls and other technical limitations. Moreover, the user interface of the virtual platform had to strongly reinforce the client’s brand positioning, and the brand image of AIC 2020 as a hallmark flagship conference attracting the most senior C-suite executives and thought-leaders from around the globe. There were several benefits of going digital, including being able to reach out to a wider global target audience, and accommodate overseas speakers with packed schedules who might have turned down speaker invitations if required to travel. A digital event also facilitated faster turnaround and easy access to content and keynote recordings. This led to exclusive content being generated as an attractive ROI.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

A seamless delivery “Best-in-class” solutions were selected, and through a proprietary integrator, we customised and integrated these solutions to provide a seamless experience and a stable online environment for users. With the agency’s experience in show and web production, we created a uniquely differentiated experience which enabled us to stand out in an environment where webinars and videoconferencing have become the norm. Excellent UX The team adopted a user-first creative approach to enhance the user journey. Through an intuitive user experience that allowed for interactivity, we also minimised the potential for drop-outs due to technical or navigational issues. Variety of global thought-leaders The virtual environment meant that we could accommodate global speakers who previously might not have been able to travel for a physical conference due to conflicting schedules. This helped to expand the speaker slate into a truly global mix which provided a

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

Integration of technologies Different techniques and solutions were deployed to create a differentiated experience: • Set up a secured cloud infrastructure to ensure stability • Integrated with client’s registration platform • Deployed broadcast production setups to live-stream speakers on-site • Integrated various webcasting and live-streaming tools to allow remote speakers to participate with on-site speakers in panel discussions • Integrated a mix of pre-recorded and “live” sessions to circumvent scheduling conflicts and time-zone considerations • Made available simultaneous audio translations during all keynote sessions and translated navigational buttons for non-English attendees Recreating the physical environment virtually Attendees began with a 360-degree panoramic event lobby, which led them to (1) the Main Stage for live-streams and pre-recorded sessions, (2) the Learning Hub with exclusive content including the clients’ insights on economies and markets and ‘smart investing’ tips, and (3) the Networking Lounge where attendees could meet, mingle and text chat in

List the results (30% of vote)

Despite the short turnaround time of two months, the team delivered a virtual conference that was well-received by attendees. The blend of multiple technologies and technical know-how was an industry-first, and for many, a first-of-its-kind experience. The conference attracted over 2,300 unique attendees from 46 countries, 155% more than the previous physical conference. • 42 speakers and moderators • 13 live and pre-recorded sessions • 80+ media representatives • Almost 50% of the audience attended both days • Average of 750-800 unique attendees per session • Average dwell time was 2hrs, indicating that the subject matter was interesting • Average view time of 48min for video-on-demand • Total Media value of SGD 6 million (AVEs) We also gauged public sentiment on the event through various public session chats facilitated via the virtual platform, many of which indicated that attendees were very impressed and had mostly positive feedback.