United: In passion and perseverance
Our client is a global pharmaceutical company with over 4,000 employees, specialising in several therapy areas in 150 countries. They approached us to design and elevate their annual European leadership conference, marking the close of a successful year and setting the tone for the next.
The objectives were clear:
- Reflect on the year prior and celebrate key achievements.
- Recognise and award top contributors.
- Create a sense of excitement, pride and fun.
- Showcase creativity and innovation.
- Introduce their new iconic office space in Paris.
With an audience of senior leaders from 22 countries, including country general managers, sales leaders, and directors, the event needed to be impactful, inclusive, and showcase the new head office location.
A carefully managed, client-focused event delivered through strong partnership and expert coordination.
Having managed this event for the past two years, we leveraged our deep understanding of the client’s needs and industry-specific nuances. A dedicated pharma project director, along with French-speaking team members, ensured a seamless execution and communication throughout.
We worked in partnership with the client, introducing weekly update meetings with the project teams, detailed project plans, and weekly calls covering logistics, creative direction, and travel coordination. The event was held in the client’s Paris office, a striking newly opened space. The venue posed unique challenges as a non-traditional conference setting, including safety restrictions as one of Paris’ tallest buildings and the need for external catering.
A vibrant conference event identity was developed by our in-house creative team, aligning with the client’s key messaging and objectives. This conference brand, titled ‘United: In passion and perseverance’, was brought to life with motion graphics across all venues, stunning print, and a conference kick-off video.
To align with the client’s ESG commitments, we prioritised public transport, providing metro passes and route maps. Train travel was preferred over flights, and we sourced local production and entertainment partners where possible. Ensuring inclusivity, we managed a seamless and welcoming experience for all attendees.
We utilised Monday.com for project management, a dedicated event app for delegate engagement and comms, and enhanced AV solutions including projection mapping, branded digital screens, and lighting to bring the space to life.
The XSEM team are always a pleasure to work with, displaying composure throughout and constantly looking for the best solution. The final product looked truly amazing and we are very much looking forward to working with them on this event in the future
The event unfolded across multiple venues in the city of Paris. The client’s office space was transformed with immersive branding, showcasing company milestones with tailored messaging and a vibrant look and feel. A warm, celebratory atmosphere was set with a high-energy welcome dinner featuring live entertainment on the 45th floor of the central Paris venue, with live music provided by a band from the local area.
Following the opening activities, attendees transitioned to a hotel venue for a structured plenary session and 25 targeted breakout discussions, focusing on franchise and therapy areas. Delegates were divided into groups for intimate country-focused dinners across several Parisian restaurants, with the logistics all managed expertly by our on-site teams.
The event culminated with a glittering awards dinner on the final evening, which saw our team transform an iconic dry-hire venue, Terminal 7, into an impressive, gold-themed event space including awards, external catering, live entertainment, and a 7 piece band and DJ who celebrated with the crowd into the early hours!
90% of attendees downloaded the event app
The event app played a crucial role in engagement, offering live Q&A, a photo stream, and interactive features – more than 90% of attendees downloaded and actively used it.
The event gained overwhelmingly positive feedback from both attendees and stakeholders, so much so that we are already in the planning stages of next year’s event. Attendees commented on the excellent organisation of the event, as well as the atmosphere created and quality of the content.
The client commented ‘XSEM have made our yearly key event a solid and professional milestone and judging from the participants’ feedback, it has been “unforgettable” from a content and experience perspective’.
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