Take one of the big 4 professional services firms, 700 independent, demanding, entrepreneurial partners from 5 firms across Europe, and give them 2 days to establish an inspiring vision for the future.

The event, held in Dusseldorf in May 08, had to inspire partners with the potential of collective strengths and co-operation. It was also a unique opportunity for partners to really get to know each other and benefit from their in-depth market knowledge.

The idea was to leverage strong client relationships, mirror their client's regional footprints, and take advantage of the increased scale and scope of capabilities. The event also provided excellent opportunities for talent recruitment and retention.

The brief

The brief for the event was clear and straightforward: to establish an inspiring vision, to share knowledge of each firm, create ambassadors, build networks, and generate core communication messages for delegates to take back to 17k staff.

However as egi:live MD Tony Evans explains: 'underneath these straightforward objectives was the desire to give partners a licence to deliver - to think broadly and boldly outside the confines of their own firm.'

The pre-selected venue was The Hilton, Dusseldorf, which provided a central location with many delegates able to reach it within 3 hours drive-time.

egi:live has worked with many of the audience before – delivering EMEA partner events across Europe. Evans comments: 'our long-standing relationship with Deloitte means we understand this audience and the Deloitte culture, style and brand. Within that we needed to develop something stand-out and edgy to signal the importance of this gathering.'

The solution

The event needed powerful creative direction, high quality, provocative contributions and, above all, the space and time for dialogue. Evans explains: 'the temptation on these occasions is to have a packed agenda. We felt strongly that for the launch to succeed we had to create the space for partners to have collaborative conversations about how they were going to deliver their Deloitte vision together. The meaningful legacy of the event would be in the cross-fertilisation of ideas between partners and in the links, networks and relationships that came out of these conversations.'

"......the partners had time to network and talk with each other…….the combination of freedom to meet who you want to meet - and very, very tailored messages, I think that's power, that's high quality, fantastic organisation, sincere congratulations to those who put it together, well done... wonderful."

Ludo De Keulenaer - Global Managing Partner, Brand.

The Knowledge Exchange

egi:live created 'The Knowledge Exchange' as the heart of the event. Each firm was given their own personalised space to show off key initiatives and best practices across their firms - ranging from the search for talent to the focus on mergers and acquisitions or the financial services market.

Within the agenda there was significant time for delegates to spend in The Knowledge Exchange, where ambassadors for firms and initiatives also kicked off informal debates around Speaker's Corners. Evans explains: 'It feels like a risk because you can't control the outcomes. But it's a risk worth taking because it provides the potential for people to take the core idea behind the event and to develop it in new and unpredictable ways – and that's at the heart of any innovation.'

The firms included The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Central Europe – some 15 firms from the Baltic to the Balkans - who operate as one member. Some of the bigger firms already have a major presence and influence within Europe - 'However', comments Evans 'all the firms had an equal opportunity within The Knowledge Exchange. egi:live worked with representatives in each participating firm to ensure that their 'space' had impact and created a talking point.

Food was served around the Exchange, supporting the sense of an imaginative, expansive event where delegates were allowed discovery time to share their best assets – their knowledge, ideas and intellectual capital.

The agenda

Aside from big slices of time in the Knowledge Exchange, the agenda included significant plenary sessions: a directional scene setter, external perspectives, mostly from major Deloitte clients from key sectors and the opportunity for Q & A's with the local CEO's. The guest speaker was Dave Stewart. Innovative musician best known for being one half of The Eurythmics, Stewart is now a leading figure in the field of future thinking and has recently been appointed as Chief Disruption Officer for Nokia Entertainment. His combination of visionary and innovative thinking, creativity and responsibility gave Stewart a unique position as an agent provocateur within the mix. As well as a thought-provoking speech, Dave Stewart delighted and surprised delegates by getting them all to contribute to an event anthem which he then set to music and performed as part of a longer set while jamming with the band.

Other opportunities to network, to create relationships and build the social glue included a spectacular evening of entertainment on the Rhein.

The creative

Bob Dylan's description of Stewart as 'lightning in a bottle' inspired visuals based around the elements and the weather – a powerful, universal force that can be both destructive and beneficial and which knows no boundaries. For the event as a whole egi:live brought together the elemental weather metaphor and the sense of pooling knowledge and sharing ideas under the umbrella theme of 'Brainstorm.' An iconic image of lightning runs across the design of all the event communications, from the initial web invite through to post event materials.

The vision and main initiatives were communicated by high quality video modules shot on High Definition. These will also be used for onward communication.

To make the most of the potential of the plenary sessions and the Q&A sessions egi:live recommended the use of an authoritative MC with a high local profile – Klaus Peter Siegloch, Head of ZDF Studio in Washington.

Evans comments: 'The word here is quality - quality of thinking, of structure, of design, of delivery, of detail. When you are expecting delegates to break the mould and do something different or better, to really extend themselves, you have to show the way in the quality of everything that is said and seen and everything the delegates experience for the time they are with you. It's about creating the expectation, taking things to another level – to do that you need an environment where the exceptional is the norm.'

"We had a fantastic meeting, ………very well produced, very innovative, and absolutely top quality in terms of visuals, videos, sound, the way it was organised, ...we would definitely work with your company again..."

Jan Dalhuisen - Vice Chairman, Executive Board of the Deloitte Netherlands

Working together

Behind the event the enabling technology, kit, logistics and project management were inevitably impressive. But delivery of an event that pushes boundaries and takes risks requires a positive and trusting relationship between agency and client.

Evans comments: 'Our client gave us the leeway to give them our best possible advice – and then they listened to it. Within clear practical parameters and objectives we had the freedom to develop a coherent and thought-through solution.'

egi:live's long and successful track record of working with Deloitte in Europe helped. Evans explains 'We know what's possible and appropriate and what's not, and how to shape the communication to suit local cultures, requirements and structures. Although in this case the focus throughout was on the common ground around firms and territories rather than differences.'

On their side the key client did an exceptional job in onwards communication, in harnessing the leadership committee feedback and in getting swift sign off.

Results and feedback

The turnout of over 80% of the 900 partners was seen as the initial measure of success as attendance was voluntary, and the event was held on a Friday and Saturday.

'This event for Deloitte brings together everything we do best' explains Evans. 'People working at this level don't need motivating as such. What they do need is a structured opportunity for debate and dialogue and the sharing of knowledge, contacts and ideas. If you can throw in some provocation and insight – especially if it comes from an unexpected quarter – then so much the better. The energy is already there – it's a question of the right environment to release it. We think we have provided that.'

egi:live aim to achieve 'best practice' in all aspects of their business, and as part of this improvement programme ask their clients to complete a 'Client Satisfaction' questionnaire. This includes a performance measurement at all stages of the event, and invites general comments on how egi:live could improve their service. On this event egi:live achieved over 90% of 'Excellent/Very Satisfied' and the key client would recommend them because of their "creativity, support and absolute professionalism".

egi:live operates from Windsor, UK. They specialise in live, experiential communication bringing together high value people to build high value understanding (vision, strategy, insight and empowerment) and high value relationships (networking and collaboration based around customers, talent, innovation and operational excellence].