Event
National sales meeting for a U.S. medical device sales company in San Diego, California
Challenges
The national sales meeting hosting 70 attendees was originally planned for January 2022. Due to the pandemic, the in-person event was postponed a few months later in May.
Solutions
In lieu of the postponement, the customer opted to add a virtual event (4-week compressed turnaround) in February to announce the company’s award winners in advance of the rescheduled May in-person event.
For the face-to-face event in May, the goal was to bring the team together for teambuilding, annual planning, and to celebrate in person for the first time in several years as a result of the pandemic.
Results
With a 4-week turnaround time, in February, MTA produced a virtual sales meeting and awards event announcing company winners with a creative flair designed by our team.
For the national sales meeting scheduled for May, the Hotel Intercontinental was intentionally selected given its convenient proximity to the walkable Seaport Village, the USS Midway Museum, trolley rides, and other local attractions.
The event kicked off with a reunion-themed welcome experience. Upon arrival, attendees received gift bags – with locally-sourced, eco-friendly San Diego-themed swag and snacks.
Guests enjoyed a rooftop welcome reception experience with conversational-style seating, fire pits, food stations, and a photobooth. To enhance the reunion theme, company t-shirts were created and a photo wall was designed capturing memories from the company’s 35-year history.
The hotel’s presidential suite served as the event’s hospitality suite and was utilized in various ways each day, offering a space for refreshment breaks, yoga classes, casual gatherings, and small meetings.
The event’s agenda also included a catamaran 2-hour excursion, where attendees had the opportunity to sail the San Diego Bay and enjoy city sightseeing along the coast. Teams participated in a CSR activity supporting a local school. Groups experienced “dine arounds” in Little Italy where teams were divided by regions for intimate group dinners at local, quaint Italian restaurants.
With any event, unexpected challenges can arise. That was the case when the company’s leader (the MC for the awards event), was unable to attend the event last minute due to an unforeseen circumstance; however, our team responded timely with an alternative, creative solutions.
- Because the leader was not able to fulfill his role as MC for the awards event, MTA assisted with preparing his replacement to ensure a smooth transition.
- To keep the leader engaged despite his absence, our MTA team surprised him with photos from the event that included a cardboard cutout of him “in attendance”.
- With the assistance of our team, he, in return, surprised his colleagues virtually with a Cinco de Mayo celebration on May 5th complete with festive refreshments. He was able to participate virtually in a very special, memorable way.
With pre-planning and pre-staging, MTA completely transformed the conference room in under 2 hours into a stellar, star-studded celebration experience – “Dancing with the Stars”. Guests were transported “under the stars”, where the room was adorned with ambient pin spot and neon lighting, and colorful uplighting designed by the MTA AV team; and the room was decorated with elegant table and room décor by candlelight. The night was topped off with award winner recognition and DJed music and dancing.
In summary, through trusted partnership, the MTA team delivered an exceptional themed event experience from ideation to execution as this national sales event truly encapsulated the goals and company culture for our returning customer.
