Unilever's Digital Commerce Summits

Unilever's Digital Commerce Summits

The brief

Unilever wanted an event that would bring their global digital commerce team together, to recognise their hard work, invest in their growth, celebrate their successes, and inspire them to look towards the future with excitement and optimism. The added challenge was that this was first conceived in 2020, when Covid had put plans for an in-person event in Shanghai on hold, and teams were under greater pressure than ever before, being asked to do more with less while responding to rapid changes within the business. 

This turned into an ongoing event series - in 2023 we ran the event for the fourth time.

The solution

We flipped the event to a hybrid event, spanning four days and multiple time zones. A diverse cast of over 50 speakers delivered sessions on AI, transformational leadership, sustainability, performance marketing and entrepreneurship. For a team shouldering the burden of rapid growth, providing a strong self-care element as part of the programme was vital. From self-shiatsu to sleep, from breath work to mindfulness, we sourced experts who lit up the screen and provided practical tips to implement immediately.

Our role

Forgather co-created and project managed this event from start to finish - partnering with Unilever across the content, speaker lineup, design and branding, marketing, logistics and production. Not content with the usual Zoom offering, we created our own TV studio in the heart of Shoreditch (whilst adhering to Covid guidelines), to create a broadcast quality production that kept the remote audience engaged.

“Cracking event, very inspiring. Who knew a virtual event could be done so well!”

“Unique one of a kind event. I felt like I was watching a tv show with high quality content on eCommerce combined with cool sessions on how to take care of yourself.”

Proud moments

  • Achieving rave reviews: 85% of attendees gave the event a 5* rating, and a net promoter score of +86.

  • Managing the complex choreography of filmed interviews, live studio content and fully virtual panels from 8am to 8pm for four consecutive days.

  • Conquering customs challenges to ship books to 200 guests around the world, written by our speakers, as a pre-event gift.

  • Taking virtual event quality to a new level - with a bespoke platform, TV-broadcast production quality, daily video messages to keep attendees engaged and audience participation via Pigeonhole.

  • The success of our collaboration has meant we have gone on to work with Unilever on many other virtual, hybrid and in person events, across digital commerce, health & beauty, nutrition and the value channel.

Praise

“Forgather was the perfect event partner for our eCommerce growth Summit. From instantly being able to understand the brief and form a proposal that stood out from the crowd to the delivery of the event, which was just faultless from start to finish.

The team are passionate, hardworking and are always thinking of the small details that make an event so special. They sourced an incredible line up of external speakers for us covering a wide span of topics from yoga to future retailer trends and worked side by side with our team to deliver one of the best events we have held. I couldn’t recommend the team enough and we can’t wait to work with them on our next event!”

Claire Hennah, Beauty & Wellbeing Chief Customer Officer & Digital Commerce Officer, Unilever

Target Global: Growth Forum & Investor Day

Target Global’s Growth Forum & Investor Day

The brief

Target Global, a leading European Venture Capitalist, firm wanted to elevate their annual Investor Day, and turn it into a two-day tech event bringing together founders, investors and industry influencers. This was an opportunity to create attention for Target Global, expand their network and unite their communities once more as we returned to live events in a post-Covid world. 

The solution

We created a hybrid event, which was part tech conference, part pitch day and part celebration. We live-streamed the content so that guests from all over the world could join in.

Hosted at BAFTA, day one featured deep-dive sessions on topics including quick commerce, EdTech, SPACs and FinTech, with speakers including The RT Hon Philip Hammond, Mikko Salovaara, CFO of Revolut, and Arik Shtilman, CEO of Rapyd. We heard from Target Global’s portfolio in pitch style ‘Meet the Founders’ sessions. Brains were whirring with new ideas by the end of the day, which ended at Somerset House for ice skating, cocktails and canapés. 

Day two started with a VIP breakfast at HIDE, followed by the Investor Day back at BAFTA. We closed on a high with plenty of tequila and 360 degree views of London, at the Treehouse Hotel. 

Our role

Forgather built the event website and managed the live stream solution, developed the agenda, recruited top tier speakers, managed the design and branding, produced five epic CEO spotlight videos and found the perfect London venues. 

We managed six different venues across the two-day event, and brought in three production companies to help us deliver the best experience for all, whether in person or via livestream. With a truly global audience, this meant including live translations for some of our remote participants. We also sweated over the data to provide personalised itineraries for registered attendees - with two events with different access criteria this was an important challenge to overcome. 

Proud moments

  • Collaborating as true partners with Target Global. We put skin in the game and allocated part of our fee to a ‘success bonus’ based on delivery of certain key results. 

  • Achieving a Net Promoter Score of 87 - with almost all 5* reviews from attendees.

  • Sourcing, embroidering, and packaging up 200 beautiful cashmere scarves - with only a week until the event. 

  • Encouraging reluctant attendees onto the rink at Somerset House which we’d hired exclusively. The nerves disappeared quickly and the smiling faces in the photos said it all. 

Praise

“Forgather was instrumental in delivering our annual investor meeting. They took care of all the details of the event logistics, from helping us with content, comms and speaker management to taking care of the venue; pushing us at the right times in the run up and managing the event days seamlessly so we could focus on our core business. Thank you so much for helping us to turn our vision into a successful event, and taking all of our stress away. We couldn’t wish for better partners to work with.”
- Pedro Barros, Head of Investor Relations, Target Global

“Thank you for not only an excellent event today but also for your unfailing support and expertise at every turn. Julian, John, and I thoroughly enjoyed the day. It was frankly faultless and your talent and knowledge was striking.”
- Sallyanne Heywood, Communications Consultant, wefox 

“Really fantastic event. Amazing speakers, great line-up and length, food was excellent, venue was excellent, even swag was excellent. Really well done everyone!”
- Eyal Malinger, Investment Director, Beringea

Belong by Peakon

Belong by Peakon

The brief

Peakon was 4 and their CEO Phil turned 40, and they were keen to celebrate, unite their community and establish their reputation as a global enterprise HR SaaS vendor on the journey to acquisition.

The solution 

We co-created Belong, a full day event centred around the employee experience, attended by 500 customers and prospects. Peakon would bring the audience, but needed our steady hand to steer them through an intense sprint to the event. 

Our role

With time of the essence, Forgather secured the venue, and set project plans in motion including advising on production and creative. We developed the event flow, sourcing keynote speakers to share big ideas like global happiness, storytelling with data, and the power of sound, all anchored down with actionable insights from customers including CapGemini, Monzo, easyJet and Pret. 

We wrangled two production companies to build four stages and run multiple tracks across the afternoon. We kept session owners to task, managed the venue and motivated twelve Peakon teams to be in the right place at the right time and not let sessions start a minute late. 

We enjoyed bringing the brand to life, creating eye catching stands with personal touches including a pop-up speaker bookshop, customer connection points and a hospitality area boasting more plants than your grandad’s greenhouse.   

Proud moments

  • Forging a supportive partnership with the Peakon team and riding the waves of rapid scaling and international expansion.

  • Setting the scene with TED veterans and industry experts. 100% of guests said they felt inspired to try something new in their organisation the next day, and 89% of attendees said they wanted to get more involved in the community.

  • Coordinating a surprise sing-along as the whole team jumped on stage to celebrate Phil’s birthday.

  • Supporting sustainable growth by getting green fingered – 350 plants onsite, all of which have been lovingly re-homed by the Peakon community.

Praise

“Very impressive planning and execution of the event - everything from the speakers to the food to the timeline was on point! Awesome job!” - Attendee

“Loved the keynote speakers... some amazing content that inspired. Liked the opportunity to chat to others. Loved the Elevate plants you gave out. Overall the event was a real success and those who organised it should be extremely proud!” - Attendee

“It's been a pleasure to work together on our events and hopefully that can continue in the new world.”
- Phil Chambers, CEO, Peakon

Ometria: Lifecycle

Moving Lifecycle up a gear

The brief

Ometria - the customer marketing platform for retail - wanted support taking their Lifecycle conference to the next level. Needing a partner who understood both the commercial and content demands of growing the event for a discerning retail audience, Ometria chose us.

The solution

Over 300 retailers congregated to share, learn, and debate how to better earn the loyalty of their customers. The event boasted an industry-leading speaker lineup including eve Sleep, MADE.com and Forrester. We co-curated a full day of talks, panels, break-out sessions and community discussions shaping content that covered personalisation, the power of storytelling and customer marketing in a post GDPR world and ensured that onsite logistics were silky smooth.

Our role

Forgather was in the project management driving seat - wrestling with the budget, tackling sponsorship sales and management, building the agenda, and ensuring that all elements of the event planning and production were on track. This freed up Ometria to focus on driving ticket sales in the year they switched to a paid-for business model.

Proud moments

  • Delivering content with actionable insights. 100% of the audience said they learned something new that they could apply to their own roles.

  • Increasing ticket revenues by 193% and sponsorship revenues by 20%

  • Creating a bargain, ‘living’ stage set filled with 150 plants provided as sponsorship-in-kind from Patch, to complement swish Scandi-chairs borrowed from MADE.com

  • Using WATCHOUT multi-display software to bring the event brand to life in synchronized animations throughout the day.

Praise

“A welcome space to engage and share ideas, knowledge and experiences. Taking away a deeper understanding of current thinking that is relevant to our business.” - Alex Grandtisch, The Natural Shoe Store

“A great breadth of very current and relevant CRM insights by leading ecommerce speakers at leading ecommerce companies with helpful and actionable takeaways” - Kelly Wan, Lovecrafts 

“Unlike many other events, Lifecycle retains a core focus that is centred around experience and insight from real professionals”  -  Jack Cooper, Andertons Music

EMIS Group

Bringing the future of healthcare alive for investors

The brief

EMIS Group, the UK leader in connected healthcare software and services approached Forgather to design and deliver the most important event in their calendar, Capital Markets Day.  This event was designed to give investors an update on the EMIS Group’s strategy and direction, and to showcase its latest technologies. The objective - to gain investor confidence. With the London Stock Exchange the chosen venue, we needed a radical plan to convey how EMIS was reinventing the patient journey and showcase the technology driving this change.

The solution

Forgather transformed the LSE with a clean and contemporary fit-out. We custom built a gallery wall to present medical case studies, designed six demonstration pods and installed a massive LED video wall for films and PPT, opening out the event space into one interlinked environment. Investors heard from EMIS on their technology roadmap and viewed technology demonstrations to learn about advances in patient access, data analytics, AI assisted consultations and federated searches.

Proud moments

  • Transforming the staid London Stock Exchange into a welcoming 3D immersive environment with a refreshed EMIS brand.

  • Navigating a complicated build schedule and troubleshooting along the way– silent drilling, ensuring we didn’t blow the power and delivering on time.

  • Fulfilling the tech dreams of EMIS’s CTO with a 7m video wall complete with a complex technical set up.

  • Seeing investors cluster three-deep for demos and stay far longer than expected to complete the full circuit of demos powered by passionate medical professionals. 

Praise

“Belinda and Hannah, your excellent preparation, and calm demeanours, really allowed us to focus on the task on hand which was delivering the message. Feedback has been very positive.”

Andy Thorburn, Group CEO 

SVC2UK: Good Growth Summit

Connecting and inspiring women leaders

The brief

We partnered with SVC2UK to run the Good Growth Summit - an invitation-only event designed to connect and inspire women founders and business leaders from the US and UK. Over the course of an action-packed morning, we aimed to provide inspiration and guidance in equal measure, for women scaling their businesses. This was a cause dear to our hearts, and SVC2UK was an organisation we’d loved supporting in various incarnations for many years previously.

The solution

The event blended a combination of keynote speakers – including Google.org’s Jacquelline Fuller and the Malala Fund’s Shiza Shahid – with carefully choreographed roundtable sessions to provide both top level inspiration and real, practical help. Roundtable topics ranged from accessing funding to effective boards, allowing for a deep dive into the issues in an intimate group.

Proud moments

  • Bringing the ecosystem of organisations supporting female founders together – demonstrating the power of the London network.

  • Creating the Moments of Truth session. We challenged a panel of leading entrepreneurs to share make or break moments that really tested them – you could hear a pin drop.

  • Creating great social engagement - the event hashtag was trending globally on Twitter throughout the morning.

  • Welcoming our youngest ever participant and keeping her actively engaged throughout the day. You might spot her in the pics below…

Praise

“I just wanted to drop you a line to say a huge thank you for all you did to make Friday's event such a huge success.  You have been absolutely brilliant to work with on this project and I truly value your creativity, your professionalism and your calmness throughout.  The moments of truth panel was created from an idea we had initially to invite entrepreneurs to talk about risk but the way you curated the questions and briefed the speakers gave it such impact and really resonated with our audience. Fabulous job”. – Janet Coyle, Director, SVC2UK

“Being in a room with so many female entrepreneurs at the Good Growth Summit, I realised how good it felt; and then I realised that that's how men feel much of the time in business, and yet women so rarely do”. – Tessa Cook, OLIO

 

CogX: AI Innovation Exchange & Awards

CogX: AI Innovation Exchange & Awards

The brief

Who do you call when you have a vision to create a ground-breaking AI conference and you only have three months to do it? Forgather stepped in to help CognitionX, a market intelligence platform for all things AI, bring together global thought leaders to debate the impact of AI on industry, government and society.

The solution

CogX was a two-day innovation exchange featuring three streams, 18 sessions, 44 exhibitors, 100+ speakers and an awards dinner to celebrate the most innovative contributors to AI, including DeepMind, UiPath and Tesla. 

Speakers included the likes of MC Srivas, Chief Data Architect for Uber, Lord Young, Former Employment Secretary, Matt Hancock, the Minister for Digital and Kathryn Parsons, Founder & CEO of Decoded. We even had contributions from a robot – Hanson Robotics’ Sophia joined us on stage to discuss the future of AI. Finishing touches included a gold mirror bar serving up quality barista coffee and a 2m LED neon CogX digi brain.

Our role

Partnering with the founders, we provided a full outsourced event management solution that stretched from managing the budget to advising on sponsorship contracts, developing the event brand across all onsite materials and AV production, to planning a memorable pre-event dinner at the Cheesegrater. We also took the expo startups and vendors in hand, supporting them to build and manage eye-catching stands. On the day, we scaled to a team of 60 people, whom we recruited, briefed and managed. This was an ambitious conference, which we pulled off in record time.

Proud moments: 

  • From a standing start, in just three months we collectively achieved over 1200 conference attendees, 250 awards dinner guests and 44 exhibitors.

  • Designing a buzzing expo area complete with 36 cutting edge AI companies in our startup alley and 8 market leading vendors including Accenture Analytics, IBM and The Alan Turing Institute.

  • Bringing to life the key insights from the sessions with a live graphic wall – a hand drawn visual representation of the current state of AI. An army of Insights Volunteers provided session highlights to our resident artist John Caswell, who delivered a pictorial executive briefing summary, which would later inform and inspire 18 post-event insight reports.

Praise:

“With just 3 months to go before our event we needed an event production partner who could match our passion and ambition. Whilst we concentrated on the content and sales, Forgather provided all the key event delivery services - managing the planning, budgeting, graphics, onsite production, AV, live streaming and staffing of the conference, exhibition and awards evening.  It was the first event we’d produced of this scale, and with limited in-house resource we needed a partner who was not only an expert in event planning but a mind reader, tech specialist and experienced sounding board. Forgather stood with us shoulder to shoulder and it was a pleasure working with them on CogX”.

Tabitha Goldstaub, Co-Founder, CognitionX

“It was an awesome event. Great to hear so many industry leaders openly thinking about a complex topic, and I am glad to say I learnt a lot.”
MC Srivas, Chief Data Architect, Uber

“A sizzling combination of feeling plush, high budget and professional but like one big friendly open Meetup.”
Maxine Mackintosh, Co-Founder, One HealthTech; Data Science & Dementia PhD Student, UCL

“What an awesome gathering! You managed to bring so many different industry, technology and activists together and have positive discussions that generated ideas, vision and paths for an AI enabled future. It was a privilege to be a part of.”
Hugo Pinto, Innovation Officer & Innovation Services Leader, IBM EMEA

“I think that in years to come people will be proud to say, 'I was there’!”
Robbie Stamp, CEO, Bioss International; Chairman h2g2.com & Hitchhiker’s Foundation; Director, See Change Films; Owner, StampBros

Founders4Schools

Future Forward: a tough gig, with a big impact

The brief

Founders4Schools (F4S) builds smart connections between schools and the world of work. They’re on a mission to tackle the skills gap amongst the UK’s young people, by facilitating meaningful connections between students and startups, scaleups and big businesses.

Having supported F4S with many of their London gigs (award dos and inspirational events for students), we were ready for the challenge when they set their sights on cracking Newcastle and the Northeast.

The solution

We curated a stylish event on a budget. We gathered students, teachers and business leaders in a lofty arts venue described by Melvyn Bragg as “the very crucible of the Industrial Revolution”, complete with gorgeous lighting and high end production thanks to in-kind sponsorship from the Boiler Shop and the Clouston Group.

Our role

From a standing start 5 weeks out, to deliver an event which depended on high teacher attendance on a school night close to the end of term…this was one of our toughest asks ever. Undeterred, we hit the phones and squeezed all we could out of our networks, to deliver an audience of 120 educators, leaders and influencers from schools and universities, government and business including Virgin Money, Code Club, Tech North and Sage.

We also managed the event production – from flowers and furniture to the slideware – leaving F4S free to focus on delivering their rallying cry for support from educators and business leaders. 

 Proud moments:

  • Galvanising partnerships with Young Enterprise and Tech North to support the event by bringing their educator networks.

  • Achieving a strong showing from schools, delivered through a persistent contact strategy with multiple contacts from school secretaries to heads.

  • Getting tangible results - in under a year there was an incredible 992% increase in the number of students who met business leaders in the NE community and in Newcastle itself, which saw a 513% increase in Student Employer Encounters per 1000 students.

Praise:

“You guys did a superlative job - huge congratulations! So proud to have had such an amazing event following all the nail-biting!”

– Sherry Coutu, Founder & Chairman of the Board, Founders4Schools

 

A Prime Minister, a Dragon & a Money Saving Expert

A Prime Minister, a Dragon & a Money Saving Expert:

Tackling financial education & social mobility with Young Enterprise

The brief

Leading enterprise and financial education charity Young Enterprise wanted to change the narrative around youth unemployment and social mobility, grow their audience of corporate supporters, and position themselves as thought leaders in the space. Their CEO Sharon Davies challenged Forgather to help.

The solution

We launched a series of virtual ‘Enterprising Mindsets’ events to explore the role of mindset in supporting young people to build financial capability and entrepreneurial skills. Hosted on Hopin, the event series brought together entrepreneurs, corporate CEOs, senior education professionals and policy makers, to hear from top tier speakers including former prime minister Gordon Brown, money saving expert Martin Lewis OBE and entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den Panellist Sara Davies MBE. The sessions were moderated by Oli Barrett, Co-Founder of Turn on the Subtitles and creator of Tenner.

Our role

As event partner, Forgather supported across all core event disciplines: from identifying and briefing speakers and designing question flow, to powering up audience generation and providing a full production solution - managing our virtual event platform and live streaming partner.

Proud moments

  • As well as sparking a spirited debate, the events generated a report of recommendations to be shared with the government, about how mindset and skill development can be developed to support the current and future workforce.  

  • We loved being able to galvanise meaningful interactions even in the virtual world. After the session with Martin Lewis, 10 guests created an action group to look at how financial education is taught in primary schools.

  • It was important to involve young people in the debate. Young Enterprise alumni lent their voices to the conversation across panel discussions and hosted virtual roundtable discussions. 

Praise

“We've received brilliant feedback, on the pace, interactivity and chaptering of the event. Some feat given the digital format and much of it down Forgather’s organisation and planning. Forgather are world class at what they do and we're extremely proud to partner with them.”
– Sharon Davies, CEO, Young Enterprise  

“Really interesting event highlighting a really important issue. Good to highlight too, how vital it is that multiple players need to play their part.” – Hannah Prevett, News UK

“Thank you for inviting me to join such an interesting session...it has been very thought provoking.” – Jane Hubbuck, Department for Education

“Thank you, thought provoking and sparking so many ideas about Finance Education in the Citizenship curriculum.” – Kirsty White, Association for Citizenship Teaching

Gala in Your Parlour

Gala in Your Parlour

A virtual charity action dinner for the John King Brain Tumour Foundation

The brief

When trustee of the John King Brain Tumour Foundation and Verizon CEO, Ronan Dunne, came to one of our virtual lockdown dinners it became the inspiration for a new way to fundraise.

In October 2020, The John King Brain Tumour Foundation was looking to raise money for vital equipment at St George’s Hospital. With in-person gatherings on pause, we needed a new way to connect people, lift spirits and support a great cause.

The solution

Gala in Your Parlour, the charity’s first-ever virtual auction dinner was born. Exquisite food was delivered to doorsteps from Michelin-starred John Williams MBE, restaurateur and celebrity chef Brian Turner CBE and ‘the king of popups’ Jimmy Garcia. Over 100 people from around the world logged on to enjoy a four-course meal together in small groups, from the comfort of their own homes. There were also live auctions, musical interludes, a cocktail masterclass and celebrity guest appearances from the likes of Harry Hill and Gloria Hunniford.

Our role

Forgather provided consultation on the event agenda and logistics, and paired the charity up with our go-to catering provider. We also identified and stress-tested the virtual event platform, looked after speakers and managed the event and tech production, alongside the live auction technology providers. 

Proud moments:

  • Helping the charity to raise £72,000, to buy a much-needed surgical microscope for St George’s Hospital.

  • Providing guests the full experience of a night out, in a virtual setting – delicious food, wine, entertainment and conversation with old and new friends.

  • Identifying the right event technology for the job – we used burgeoning startup Airmeet’s technology, which allowed the best combination of main stage broadcast content, intimate conversations between guests, and table hopping to allow for serendipitous connections.

Praise

“With 2020 curtailing our usual fundraising efforts, we needed a new way to bring people together, and raise vital funds for a new surgical microscope for St George’s Hospital. We were introduced to Forgather, who worked with us to find the right technology to run a virtual live auction dinner to replace our usual live banquet fundraiser.

Forgather managed the production on the night and also connected us with their catering partner Jimmy Garcia Catering, to ship gourmet meals around the country to all of our guests. The feedback we’ve had from guests has been brilliant, and we are delighted to have raised over £72,000 at what became known as #GalaInYourParlour! This event was a real labour of love from many collaborators, and we are grateful to Forgather for their contribution in making the event a success!”

 - Laura King, Chair, John King Brain Tumour Foundation