Client: Total Kenya

Category: Corporate Event Management, Experiential Learning

Date: February 2019

Total came back to us for the second year running and asked us to manage the event, however they wanted it to be bigger and better than it was the previous year and yield event better results.

The client wanted us to manage the event in a different location within Nairobi. Because the event would be held annually, we needed to change certain aspects of it to ensure that it felt different and the dealers and staff looked forward to seeing what we had instore every year. Regarding strategic thrust, the client wanted us to focus on increasing performance, developing teamwork and cohesion. We were still working 250 people as we were the previous year.

A returning client is always good, but it is essential to create a different kind of experience and improve on what was done before otherwise you will have bored participants and you will lose a client. You also don’t want to change too much but leave some aspects of the previous event, so that it feels as if you are continuing a conversation with your participants and not starting one.

We started off by formulating a theme for our client. We sat down as a team and brainstormed on the various phrases we could use and after lots of back and forth, finally settled on one. Because the client wanted us to create an experience that focused on performance and developing teamwork and cohesion, we felt that “Pamoja Twende Mbele” adequately captured that. Pamoja denotes unity, togetherness and solidarity. While Twende Mbele implies moving forward and progress. Our ideology behind the phrase was that first (before performance) there must be togetherness and unity that is built on trust, only then can that unity forge movement forward that eventually yields performance.

 

Now that we had a theme, how were we going to improve the various aspects of the event?

For the conference we made the following improvements:

Redesigned Badges. We redesigned the badges giving them a more modern look and feel.

Improved Participant Feedback. We improved participant feedback of each of the sessions and the conference at large through an application that captured and posted user questions and comments. This reduced our need for the dealers to use a mic to ask questions, shortened the Q&A session but also made it more targeted. Questions that received several votes indicated that most people thought that they were important and needed to be answered.

Convention Invites. We improved the invite process. This time as opposed to having one person invite the dealers, we had all the department heads that interact with the dealers participate. They briefly mentioned what they would be talking about during the convention and invited the dealers to attend.

Refreshed Content. There was lots of content that was developed for the 2019 convention. From an animated video that broke down the 2018 achievements that the network team achieved, improved speaker bumper videos, and refreshed gala award night content. For the exhibition stands we had large banners behind each stand that clearly communicated what the stand was for but also were visually appealing and inviting.

Registration and Check in. Stawi was responsible for registration, which this year was done digitally and check-in of the participants to the Convention and Hotel. This meant liaising with the hotel and creating a system that could register each participant within 3 minutes, the system we created was a success and there were no delays registering the 250+ people who were in attendance.

Gala Award Night. For the gala award night, we added several elements, refreshed animated content, pyrotechnics that went off in honor of the winners at each stage, a live band, participant engagement and a dancing floor that included both members of staff and dealers.

 

For the Experiential Learning and Training we made the following improvements:

Experiential Learning. Because of our new partnership with Catalyst Global – the worlds #1 Team Building Network in 2018 we were able to infuse new activities into the training program during the Convention. As the theme was performance, we decided to facilitate Need for Speed on one day. In Need 4 Speed teams explore, practice and understand best practices and process improvement in an engaging and practical context. Need 4 Speed clearly shows how processes can be improved if consistent methodology is applied and all team members take ownership of the changes and put them into action. It is a great platform to ignite discussion within a context of practical fun. The uber cool design and tactile nature of the car models are guaranteed to bring out the inner child in all who take part.

We conducted a training and debrief of need for speed focused on the importance of process in performance, the spirit of Kaizen and a dedication to increasing performance regardless of how well or how badly you might be doing.

The client was happy with the result and experience we created, noting a significant improvement from 2018. The dealers also felt that the sessions and event in general was were much better than last year. It was clear that they were getting to know one another much better and forging forward with renewed fervor and commitment.