Preparation

The organisation

From seven to more than 200, and back

Kehitys is built to grow when an assignment requires it and shrink when it is done. The core is seven people with specialist expertise in complex project management, show calling, technology, stage, artist management, guest flow and digital development. Around them are specialists we have worked with for years, and during an assignment they are part of our team, with the same brief, the same running order and the same line of contact.

For Publicis 100 the team grew from seven people to 79 on the event day. Together with Grand Hôtel and Publicis’ own teams, more than 200 people worked on the same day. The evening after, Kehitys was back to seven.

What it meant for Publicis

The guest platform

One system for the entire event

Most events run on a string of different systems: a sign-up form, an email tool, a paper guest list at the door, cloakroom tickets, tills at the bar and a photographer who emails a link a week later. Publicis 100 ran on a single system, and Kehitys built it from scratch.

An invitation that became a relationship

All 1,028 guests received a personal invitation with their own link. The link was not just a sign-up. It was the guest’s way into the whole anniversary, from June to the day after. That is where guests accepted, listed allergies and gave photo consent. That is where the programme arrived as speakers were announced, along with practical information before the day, the pass, the room assignment, the drink tickets and finally their own photo gallery. Guests never had to look for anything. Everything was already in the link.

All communication through one channel

Just over 5,000 emails in 17 versions went out from Publicis’ own sender, tailored to where each guest was in the process. Those who had accepted got the programme, those who had not replied got another chance, and those invited only to the evening got their own invitation. During the evening, communication with 549 guests was coordinated through a total of 1,913 messages and push notifications: which room to go to, when a drink was on offer and who had won.

The guards’ system and the bar’s till

The same platform was the staff’s working tool. Guards checked guests in with the QR code on their pass, with name search as backup. At peak, 166 guests came in within fifteen minutes. The bar worked as a cashless till. Guests chose a drink and the bartender scanned the pass with an iPad. No cash or cards were handled and no transactions went through Grand. Every drink was recorded: 1,952 drinks at six bars. That gave Publicis its own independent figure to check against the invoice. Unused tickets went back into the pool, so Publicis paid for what was actually served.

Real-time control

Because everything was in one system, the evening could be steered while it was happening. At 17.09 every guest received their room assignment at once. When the bar got too crowded, Bar 6 was opened. Two rounds of “A drink on Publicis” went out to more than 450 guests each, within minutes. The partners were visible directly in the bar menu.

Insights that would otherwise have been lost

The platform showed the response rate in time, and follow-up by each account manager meant that 181 of 441 invited clients eventually accepted. Publicis now knows who accepted, who attended, who took part in the competitions and who stayed into the evening, per client and per account manager. Data on arrivals, bar pressure and drink choices remains as a basis for the next event.

Competitions in the same link

Two competitions ran in the guest platform. In the TUI quiz, guests answered questions in their link, with TUI gift cards as the prize. In the Mini MBA competition, Mark Ritson donated a place on his course. 258 guests took part, and the winners were shown simultaneously in the platform and on the stage screens.

The platform is owned and maintained by Kehitys. It is built to be used again.

Set design

The thinking, and how it was approved

The scenography was planned room by room, in the order the guest encounters them. Everything was free-standing and adapted to a listed building.

Working with Grand

A historic house. A purpose-built solution.

Everything was planned closely with Grand Hôtel. A lot had to be turned and repackaged to fit both the building’s constraints and Publicis’ goals.

Kehitys held five planning meetings with Grand and went through every part of the day: flows, capacity per room, food and drink, technology, cloakroom and the changeover.

Some of the questions solved together: where 550 chairs would go during the changeover, how the raisable floor could be operated without guests in the room, how the cloakroom would hold both day and evening guests, and how the upper floor would receive guests during the walking dinner.

Speakers and DJs

Content on stage, energy on the floor

The speakers were chosen to give the day weight, and they were announced one at a time. Each new name became its own news moment, with emails and reminders that built anticipation up to 25 September.

The speakers

Mark Ritson, Dr. Jana Werner and Andrew Tindall: three voices marketers around the world listen to, on brands, organisation and creative effectiveness.

“I love Sweden, I love Publicis.”

Publicis on stage

Between the speakers, Publicis’ own leaders took the stage. Each international speaker was paired with a counterpart from the group, and the conversation afterwards connected the content to Publicis’ clients.

Publicis owned the relationship with the speakers. Kehitys secured their technical and graphic needs: headset and clicker, prompter, video in the presentations and a shared presentation template.

The evening’s line-up

The line-up was curated to give the party cultural credibility and connect Stockholm with Paris, where Publicis was founded.