Designing a human-centered corporate sales kickoff for tech teams
Even as tech companies reshape work through cloud computing and AI, their leaders recognize the power of in-person experiences. One global brand with a 15th anniversary approaching rethought its typical “all-hands” events. Traditionally separated by audience (engineers and sales), they wanted to design one combined event, reflective of the brand’s purpose, identity and values to unify the audiences.
Planning a compelling corporate sales kickoff
During the discovery phase, audience insights inspired the uniquely ownable story and memorable moments for the combined event.
Core goals - Use role diversity as a strength to deepen emotional connections
- Provide an emphasis on performance, expertise and shared purpose to motivate people across the enterprise
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Audience tracks Combining events required event planners to care for two distinct audiences with tracks aligned to their preferences. - Engineers: Hands-on educational content and small group connection enlivened an internal developer conference
- Sales: Excitement, emotional content and a sense of competition fueled a dynamic sales kickoff
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Global workforce Most team members were traveling to Las Vegas from outside the U.S., so event design and communications needed to serve an international workforce. - Attendees received a “Guide to Vegas” with navigational and safety tips
- Accessible registration and event staff acknowledged time zone differences
- Food and beverage choices were inspired by cuisine from employees’ home countries
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Event environment A bright, inclusive space for people to convene, collaborate and share ideas created meaningful facetime and motivated the global, remote teams. |
![Corporate sales meeting decor modeled after Central Park]()
Cultivating organic interaction at a corporate event
Using New York City’s Central Park as a model, a natural environment welcomed attendees to the event venue. They discovered park-like places to eat meals together, enjoy casual conversations and games, and share their responses to curated questions. Thoughtfully branded elements reinforced values and encouraged contributions.
- Rooted in purpose: The hands-on activation provided question prompts throughout the event. Attendees hung up their responses and watched as the tree blossomed.
- Detailed for diversity: Faux foliage from attendees’ home regions showcased the brand’s global reach.
- Connected authentically: In addition to virtual updates via the event app, a daily newspaper delivered fresh, relevant content in an analog format.
Meeting a corporate event challenge
Before the strategic event design process kicked off, leaders worried about serving the diverse audience types attending the same event. By fostering a sense of community, engineers and sales leaders joined in a shared pursuit of excellence.