Best Event at the 2022 UK Agency Awards: UKSV are Shortlisted!

UKSV ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT OUR EVENT – HP CONFERENCE 2022 FOR BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM – IS IN THE RUNNING FOR A PRESTIGIOUS ACCOLADE.

The winner will be announced on the 22^nd of September 2022 at The Montcalm Marble Arch, London. We’ll have everything crossed until then!

UKSV and Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) have worked together since 2015, executing large-scale events.

The annual 3-day internal communications event is pivotal to BI, with an important role in announcing their business strategy for the year ahead. The 2022 event was even more momentous than usual, with particular emphasis on thanking staff for their resilience and commitment during COVID-19, as well promoting how to reconnect with customers post-pandemic.

As BI’s trusted events agency, UKSV were tasked with:

• Actively involving and engaging attendees from across BI’s UK-based team
• Informing their staff and sales team about new products, policies and approaches
• Inspiring and enthusing them to drive the business forward over the coming year.

DUE TO CONSTANTLY CHANGING COVID-19 GUIDANCE, UKSV DEVELOPED THREE POTENTIAL SCENARIOS.

UKSV prepared an online, hybrid and in-person event plan for BI.

Initially, nobody could be sure which would happen – it would be entirely dependent on the COVID restrictions at the time – so all three scenarios were outlined and ready to deploy.

The final decision on the format was made just a few weeks before it went live

UKSV decided that the hybrid option – presenters live in the venue, addressing an online audience – would the safest strategy, given the influence of the pandemic at that time.

UKSV WEREN’T GOING TO LET COVID-19 TONE DOWN THE EVENT – SO, WE CREATED AN ONLINE GATHERING LIKE NO OTHER.

This was going to be an event that the BI team would actively want to attend online, rather than just passively watch.

Our team got to work and created a full TV studio, to produce an event reminiscent of BBC’s ‘The One Show’ – unveiling a variety of content including:

• Live and pre-recorded interviews
• Studio guests
• Outside locations
• Interactive Q & As
• Ever-changing backdrops and visuals.

UKSV created the feel of a TV environment with regular shots of the studio, including the backstage environment, encouraging online viewers to feel part of the event.  Everything was produced to broadcast-quality and live streamed using the MS Teams virtual event platform.

Of course, public speaking is a skill in itself – and not many can claim to be experts in a TV format! However, we were right on hand to make sure all the guest speakers could feel confident.

We provided speaker coaching, performance lessons, ICT training… even training on how to read autocues and work with the right camera at the right time.  Alex Jones and Matt Baker themselves would have been proud!

UKSV HAD TO OVERCOME SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES IN THE PREPARATION AND DELIVERY OF THE EVENT.

COVID-19 presented us with a myriad of issues we needed to navigate.

The event took place at the stunning Celtic Manor in Wales – but, due to strict COVID restrictions, BI required approval from the Welsh Government to go ahead. UKSV successfully negotiated this.

In addition, COVID dictated that only 30 people were allowed on set. To manage this, UKSV designed a rota system to ensure staff were kept safe, as well as team ‘bubbles’, mandatory daily lateral flow tests and masks in the studio, as well as back-up staff on stand-by should a COVID outbreak occur.

That wasn’t all.

Professional boxer and celebrity sports personality, Joe Calzaghe, was the keynote speaker – due to attend in-person. UKSV had even created a bespoke boxing ring as an integral prop for his presentation.

Just a few days before the event, we learned that Joe wouldn’t be able to make it. Unfortunately, he’d contracted COVID-19.

Fortunately, Joe was well enough to dial in live from Dubai – so, we quickly adapted, enabling him to still be an essential part of the programme. We even managed to incorporate the ‘ring’!

QUALITATIVE FEEDBACK FROM ATTENDEES WAS OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE, WITH OVER 80% SCORING THE EVENT 4 OR 5/5 OVERALL.

Responses included:

• “Having live presentations from the stage rather than through Teams was positive, gave more impact”
• “I thought the presenters were given an excellent stage/background to deliver and to communicate from…this made a huge difference”
• “I thought there was a great balance of information and participation”
• “Loved the TV studio setting – informative but fun too!”
• “My team are buzzing and ready to smash it!”.

Streaming the live event to the UK-wide audience helped expand the client’s reach in a cost-effective way. Over 450 UK delegates attended the hybrid event – a 30% increase against the last in-person event.

Judy Cornwell, Head of Training at BI said:

“We’ve used the services of UKSV over the last seven years now. During that time, they’ve provided us with some fantastic live events for our teams across the UK. The one this year was absolutely no exception – apart from it being hybrid! Even during the extremely challenging times… they developed an engaging, fully interactive, and fun event that completely met and exceeded our expectations!”

We couldn’t be happier with BI’s feedback on the event. Now we’ll wait to see if it’s award-winning, too!

AT UKSV, WE BELIEVE THAT ALL EVENTS SHOULD BE CAPTIVATING, AND IT IS OUR MISSION TO MAKE YOURS TRULY UNFORGETTABLE.

Keep your eyes peeled (and your ears tuned) for our upcoming podcast discussing what the journey back to live events has looked like in more detail.

We are:

• An award-winning events agency
• Specialists in live, virtual and hybrid events
• Experts in every stage of events management, from concept to delivery
• Well-established, with over 150 years collective industry experience.

So, why not talk to us about what you have planned for your next event? We can help you to make sure it’s the best yet!