“At a time when our company was just beginning to come back to the office but still very distributed, we wanted to provide a highly engaging event that blended in-person and virtual engagement. The combination of Xyvid's unique platform, creative mindset and collaborative approach really helped deliver an awesome experience that will set the standard for us to follow going forward.”
Digital transformation is one of the most important business trends in history. It's the science of understanding how technology can maximize an organization's potential. AHEAD Inc., based in Chicago IL, powers digital transformations for the most successful organizations in the world through a combination of engineering and education.
AHEAD has always had an employee-centric culture. A day long, company wide annual kickoff meeting has been an important part of that. Jan 2023's kickoff had a special component - the unveiling of a new company vision statement, the result of a multi-year effort of introspection by about 50 members of leadership.
Tremendous company growth and the Covid pandemic posed challenges to bringing the company together in a way that felt as intimate and relational as in the past. Fully virtual events the previous few years felt stiff and lacking in energy. AHEAD really wanted to raise the bar on the experience for all.
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Broadcast location: Moonlight Studios near AHEAD HQ in Chicago
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"I'll just say that everyone's hybrid event approach is different. What I liked about the team was that for us, this is obviously new. And we kind of had an idea of what we wanted to do. But it was really great to work with the team and really define that together, understanding the capabilities of the system, but also really hearing us and what was most important.
"We looked at other providers, one of which I worked with for years before. That was something that wasn't clicking. They wanted us to fit into their hybrid event model versus what we wanted to do. I think that was truly eye opening from the onset... that we were really able to work together to define what that looked like for us." (Anita Moore)
There is no formula for creating great experiences. Each case is unique.
AHEAD's 2023 kickoff saw a video wall on stage that allowed remote viewing parties to say hello to the live studio audience. It saw thoughtful video submissions by employees on how they intended to make an impact moving forward played on the video wall and in remote browsers. It saw program breaks wherein remote attendees took stylized selfies that wound up prominently displayed in both the virtual and live rooms, all to the sounds of a Spotify playlist generated from employee requests. These things had the effect of unifying the experience regardless of location. It really was a great demonstration of how excellent messaging and imaginative presentation can be combined in an artful way to create an outcome greater than the sum of its parts.
Finally, the kickoff was also a demonstration of the power of collaboration. AHEAD wanted to sleep well at night as it focused on its primary concern - wowing its employees. While a live event alone can be a handful, tacking on an entire virtual component can be daunting. Having a partner with a unique history in both the live and virtual spaces can go a long way toward allaying fears.