The SDI Meetings & Incentives team prides itself on delivering flawless events – from motivating incentive programs to business-critical leadership gatherings and meetings. When a medical-sector client faced the pandemic-related cancellation of their in-person annual leadership & sales meeting, SDI built the right solution with them to host the five-day event virtually and effectively bring together the audience locked-down around the world.
Keep Business Moving Forward
Sales and leadership meetings deliver interactive, critical education and information to employees and stakeholders. Detailed and data-rich presentations and live conversations not only set the tone and direction for the year to come, but also provide teams with the tools to move the company forward towards its goals. Such intensive meetings are best held in person — allowing for direct interaction, networking and connections among leadership and employees — but when a global crisis stalls world-wide travel and prevents large gatherings, business must go on.
Our client came to us with a significant challenge: Five days of important and timely content to share across the team, a slate of expert speakers and a world-wide audience of 150 attendees from two different business functions – all to be delivered virtually in a way that engaged and inspired participants during and after the summit. In addition, the far-flung audience would miss its annual in-person awards ceremony and celebration, meaning this virtual event needed to step up to combat the isolation and challenges brought by the pandemic, reward the team for their achievements and inspire them for the year to come.
Practice Makes Perfect
Starting with a familiar and user-friendly virtual platform, planning, practice and technical expertise were key to a smooth and flawless week. Sessions were presented by speakers across the globe, and as with all complex conferences and meetings, content required managing before and during the event, including speaker details, presentation information, multimedia, handoffs and transitions, and of course all of the last-minute changes that are inevitable in live events. Walk-in slides, inspiring music to add energy to the event and transition materials between sessions kept the audience oriented and engaged. Extensive rehearsals with all speakers ensured concerns were addressed ahead of the live event. Our client enjoyed a seamless event and could stay focused on their business and employees during a critical time of growth.
Always looking for ways to make the next program even better, the post-event research showed attendees were overwhelmingly positive about the time they spent in the sessions. The client’s goal of delivering education with inspiration was no doubt achieved, and their business moved forward into the new year through this virtual solution as well as an eye toward once again gathering in person.
Business meetings are critical to the success of any organization, its leadership and its sales team. Valuable information needs to be conveyed in an engaging, professional manner, important personal connections need to be reinforced and success needs to be appropriately recognized – be it in person or virtually. Travel restrictions, global attendance, time out of the office and other challenges can impact these goals no matter the format. Working with a partner like SDI ensures that programs, whether virtual, in-person or hybrid, are delivered effectively with the expertise and quality focus our clients deserve.
About Us: SDI Meetings & Incentives is the global-yet-boutique meetings, incentives and special events partner driven by the basic truth that Experience Matters. Creating custom experiences to reward performance and fuel growth, SDI taps decades of expertise to deliver solutions managed from concept through execution by one tenured point of contact. We’ve produced programs around the world, for groups from 10 to thousands, combining the exact right elements to support our clients’ goals and to motivate and inspire their attendees. Find out more and contact us at ExperienceSDI.com.
