How to create a unique and memorable experience for a business conference
Is it possible to change the approach of a business conference? We did it, by creating an original storytelling to link the different topics of the event together with the inclusion of music, dance and theatre performances into the conference programme. The result was indeed inspiring, for an event that has inspiration as its main goal: ESA Space for Inspiration!
Customer’s request
ESA Space for Inspiration is the flagship event of ESA Human and Robotics Exploration (HRE) Directorate and especially for its Business in Space Growth Network. The third edition was held after a 4-year forced hiatus caused by the Pandemic. The organisation of the event itself started very late precisely because of the political and social situation in Europe to date. But the creator of this conference, Bernhard Hufenbach, Team Lead for Commercialisation and Innovation of the HRE directorate, had very clear ideas on what type of event he wanted to arrange for this year: he wanted to create something unique and memorable for its participants: space and non-space actors from both public and private organisations and institutions. In order to achieve this goal, he decided to involve for the first time, in the planning phase of the event, a consulting agency, ours. To Remedia he asked to create the narrative of the event and to propose some novelties in the conduct of the event itself. As an additional request: event should be designed as a hybrid one.
Our solution
The kick-off of the activity occurred on the 6th of May 2022. The event was planned on the 11th and 12 of July in the ESA ESTEC establishment, in the wonderful High Bay context of the Erasmus Innovation Centre.
Remedia started its activity by interviewing 16 ESA stakeholders of the conference to gather their expectation on the topics to be included in the programme and suggestions on original ideas for the arrangement of the event.
On the 1st of June 2022, three weeks after the kick off, on the basis of the inputs gathered, Remedia made a proposal both for the format and the narrative of the event. In detail Remedia proposes:
Starting from this document, ESA Space for Inspiration committee team together with ReMedia worked to define the very final narrative, contents, programme and schedule of the event. Since the time constraint, ReMedia provided support, after ESA official request, also with the video production, management of the artists to be taken on board, and of two key speakers of the conference, together with the logistics arrangement for all of them.
For two of the videos to be produced, ReMedia organised, shot, and edited, in 9 working days, 16 interviews with young people coming from more than 13 European countries.
Remedia also searched for images and videos already available to be edited and used during the conference.
The final version of the storyline was the result of a great teamwork and, in the words of the moderator, Lisa Burke, that used it, “the narrative was perfectly designed with superb creatives”.
During the event the two ReMedia professionals that worked on the storyline also provided on-site support as media and artistic directors.
But the most important result of this activity was the feedback gathered from the conference audience at the very end of it, and in the days after its closure: for most of them the third edition of the ESA Space for Inspiration conference was “the most lovely, inspiring event they have ever taken part in” also for the people who were remotely connected to it.
If you are searching for ideas to profoundly inspire and renovate your event, contact us!