TRIMM Hosts ICOM Global Network's First Virtual World Meeting
TRIMM Hosts ICOM Global Network's First Virtual World Meeting
CONNECTING THE NEW WORLD - After weathering the uncertainties of the past 16 months, the global network of marketing communication agencies ICOM confidently embarks on a new world of endless possibilities, with its first virtual World Meeting themed "Back to the Future". The meeting is organized from the Netherlands and TRIMM is the host for the two-day event.
ICOM is a leading global network of independent agencies providing advertising, marketing communications, media, digital and related services in more than 60 countries. For the two-day event, which begins on June 22, the network is expecting more than 350 participants, the largest number ever for its annual World Meeting.
“This meeting is so important to our agencies. It's about reconnecting members who have been separated for so many months and inspiring them to move forward and focus on what lies ahead after months of operating in crisis mode”, says ICOM Board Chairman and CEO-Morrison Bob Morrison – Atlanta US.
The virtual meeting is organized by the full-service agency TRIMM based in Enschede. Amsterdam-based Fitzroy was responsible for the branding of the meeting. To meet the needs of ICOM, TRIMM created a worldwide online event platform. The platform merges traditional and digital communication, and integrates multiple tracks, speakers, rooms, and locations to bring a complete guest experience to visitor's screen. This means that the online ICOM event will be (almost) equal to a real experience.
"Setting up a 'regular' ICOM event is a challenge in itself," says Rogier Florijn, co-owner of TRIMM. “Doing this without a physical meeting is a completely new concept. But as a digital and creative agency, we have faced similar challenges for our clients over the past year and are confident that we’ll meet the needs ICOM’s global digital event.”
“We want our members to find great content, learn something new, hear from speakers they wouldn't normally have access to, and be able to immediately apply some lessons they've learned or ideas they've heard into their own businesses,” Morrison points out.
While virtual conferencing does not provide the much-appreciated informal networking experience ICOM members look forward to, an online event offers other benefits such as: The greater availability of exceptional speakers and the ability to make more and varied content available to more participants. To give a new meaning to the 10-minute conversation in the hallway, where friends can catch up, TRIMM created virtual 'hallways' between the meetings.
In creating the branding for the meeting, Fitzroy wanted to convey the idea that while everyone is back at work, it's not business as usual. It's more business unusual and the only constant factor now is change, a state of flux, floating between past, present, and an unknown future. As the world opens, represented by a shape-shifting bubble, the continuous movement symbolizes fluidity, flexibility and finding flux in a brave new world.
The meeting will be opened by Prime Minister Kaja Kallas of Estonia, who will talk about how a country can emerge from such an unprecedented crisis while actively focusing on local reforms and reforms in the European Union. She will discuss how to prioritize and satisfy so many diverse and demanding stakeholders, as well as how Estonia can become a brand itself.
Other keynoters are futurist and trend watcher Richard van Hooijdonk, who discusses the acceleration of smartification and the question of whether everyone will be prepared for it. Sir Martin Sorrell, Executive Chairman of S4 Capital, and founder of WPP Plc, the world's largest advertising and PR group, will be interviewed by Advertising Age Assistant Managing Editor Jeanine Poggi on the latest industry trends and changes. Brent Hodgins, managing director of Mirren Business Development, will outline new trends that will impact the agency business in the coming year: challenges, growth opportunities and their effect on agencies' new business efforts.
"There's something for everyone," according to ICOM Executive Director Emma Keenan. "It's our most inclusive meeting ever." There are sessions that specifically focus on information important for different roles within a multidisciplinary agency - creatives, social media experts, senior management, strategic planners, data analytics teams, digital tech specialists, agency owners - and other sessions that focus on specialized activities and services such as lead generation and SEO.
Another benefit of an online meeting is the ability to present content that directly benefits all agency staff. This and other experiences with this meeting already convinced ICOM that every meeting in the future will have a virtual component.
"You won't get very far with technology alone," says Florijn of TRIMM. “The key to event success is the ability to bring the unified experience to both boardrooms and kitchen tables. A team of digital event producers complement the technical solutions and support clients with marketing, event design, lead generation, content and lead follow-up, making any event - big or small - an experience to remember."
About ICOM
ICOM is one of the world's largest and most geographically diverse networks of independent advertising and marketing communications agencies, with more than 80 affiliated agencies across 60+ countries. The annual gross income is more than 500 million dollars.
About TRIMM
TRIMM is a digital-tech company based in Amsterdam and Enschede. The company has organized more than 50 online events in the past year. TRIMM created a global online event platform for ICOM, which is accessible 24/7, on any device and anywhere in the world, even if there is a minimal internet connection.