The Future is Open

Energy Technology Client Global Forum

OBJECTIVES

Our client, a global energy technology company, drives energy innovation for a balanced planet. Fully focused on accelerating worldwide decarbonisation through science and digital technologies. As well as improving efficiency and performance within the oil and gas industry through a digitally-led exploration and production (E&P) offering.

One of their key E&P solutions is a product known as SIS, or Software Integrated Systems.  Launched in 1992, this arm of the business has grown by 85% and now operates as a leader in the E&P software industry. As well as being the only product within the client’s wider offering that doesn’t deal with physical hardware.

Much of the client’s new business growth and overall success, can be attributed to the running of a regular Global Forum. Hosted by the client every two years, this network event allows our client to present updated product solutions to industry leaders, with the ultimate goal of securing acquisitions.

Following a successful response within a competitive pitch, Touch Experience were engaged to deliver a full-service Global Forum event. Covering logistics, production, creative and content to launch a new E&P digital product known as ‘DELFI’. This cognitive E&P environment is a collaborative technology that unites the E&P life cycle in the cloud. It’s open, secure, scalable, and fully-managed, seamlessly connecting people, data and leading software applications across exploration, development, drilling, production and midstream. All accessible via a flexible and personalized SaaS subscription model.

The client’s brief and objectives were clear: ‘Celebrate a sense of openness within our brand to reclaim this territory from competitive ownership. Make this new technology ‘feel’ like the dawning of a genuinely open, transparent, honest new era for the business. And make it magical. Creating a wow moment for attendees about the future of the industry.’

DELIVERY

‘DELFI – The future is open’.

Touch Experience delivered a Global Forum positioned strategically around an optimistic, inspiring, engaging view of what lay ahead for the Energy Technology sector within a fast-changing geo-political and legislative landscape.

‘The future is open’ focused on fast, efficient, multi-domain collaboration. Freeing the wider industry to evolve, innovate and make positive lasting impacts. Helping them to imagine a near future where bureaucratic cross-organisational barriers fall away. In turn creating an agile, transformational, united industry with ‘DELFI’ at its core. Where everyone contributes to the greater good, both for financial bottom lines, and the planet at large.

From the circular event branding, again alluding to the possibility of infinite knowledge sharing, to a bespoke digital app ensuring all attendees were always ‘in the loop’ with timings and updates; a spirit of openness, collaboration and relationship-building flowed through the entire list of key deliverables. Seamlessly connecting the international audience, ranging from CEOs and heads of Oil and Gas companies, Financial Directors, and even skilled engineers who would be using the software on a daily basis. Inspiring them all about the capabilities of‘DELFI’ and the possibilities of a truly open future.

Overview of delivered touchpoints:

Forum narrative, theme and creative across print and digital assets
Deployment of 60 event stands, including fully immersive 3D environments
Technical programmes across 10 event rooms with 120 presentations
Forum venue management (catering, additional meetings)
Gala dinner for 1200 guests
Executive dinner for 300 VIPs
Hostess and on-site team management
Transport
Security and crisis planning
Partner tours
Evening events
Catering
Entertainment
Print and Signage
Programme
Gifts and giveaways
Venue signage
Attendee management
Room block management
Attendee communication
Attendee technology
App
Badge solution

CHALLENGES

Industry and product complexity
Creating an impactful event full of ‘wow’ moments to inspire new business from over 1500 invited c-suite leaders and long-established energy companies required an enormous amount of learning from the Touch Experience team.

Energy technology and SIS systems are exceptionally complex. With the vast amount of attending industry experts regarded as some of the brightest engineering or business minds in the world. It was therefore no small task to create content for the event, three flagpole plenary shows, and over 120 separate presentations across 60 stands. All required to communicate genuine industry understanding and cut-through.

It’s a credit to the intelligence, adaptability and care of the Touch Experience team that this challenge was met face on. Ultimately delivering a believable, effective, expert-level SIS-focused forum and supporting content within a condensed time frame.

Timings
Alongside the extensive logistical planning, Touch Experience also had to develop narratives and content for three major plenary shows. These climactic moments created structure and flow (beginning, middle, end) to the entire Global Forum event.

Each of these shows, developed in tandem while planning and delivering a full event programme, had to bring unique narratives to life with ‘wow’ moments that were a vital element of the client’s brief.

From full classical orchestras (World Youth Orchestra), drone choreography displays, holographic content, live actors, dancers and original musical compositions, amongst many other bespoke creative elements. Ultimately pulling all this together within tight timelines and ensuring each of the three shows run to a clockwork schedule as part of a successful event. In total, the Touch Experience team spent 5,000 days on the project. The equivalent of 23 years of learning for one person.

Venue
The Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo was preselected and contracted by the client prior to Touch Experience winning the event pitch. We therefore had to adapt our creative and logistical delivery to suit the space, rather than scouting for our own recommended location and venue.
Not only is Monaco famously expensive, it is also a uniquely positioned principality, which created its own challenges when running a large-scale event, such as the need for six event hotels with over 4000 hotel room bookings. As well as further considerations around international travel, transport, logistics and legislation.

In addition, the exhibition space itself did not allow for any rigging points for overhead lighting or sound equipment.

A detail which required creative problem solving when hosting an event based around three major plenary productions. The venue was also full of irremovable pillars, meaning additional line of sight, space management and exhibition design solutions were required to be deployed.

Global Forum In Numbers

1226

Attendees

186

Crew members

4000+

Hotel nights

137

Voted Excellent for the after-party

Sponsor stands

1243

Event app downloads

“This was the best event I’ve experienced in the Oil and Gas industry!”

"We overachieved with the event exceeding all expectations.”

“Phenomenal. You made us look so good!”

“There is no doubt that we were truly ‘One’ team.”

“The messaging resonated very well with our customers. So much, that in 2020, we had to employ an extra 182 people to cope with the new business demand.”