Connect

When everything falls into place: ETA helps e2open Connect

E2open is a business-to-business provider of cloud-based, on-demand software for supply chains. Each year, the company hosts e2open Connect, a conference for existing and potential customers to network, learn about software improvements and hear from subject matter experts. Find out how ETA helped streamline planning and electrify production.

USER CONFERENCE

TECHNOLOGY

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Extending the team with ETA

ETA has partnered with e2open over the years to deliver a show-stopping event experience that uplifts the audience while educating and retaining customers. We prioritize collaboration and make sure we’re creating an enjoyable experience long before the actual event begins. “Working with ETA is as if I’m working with another e2open employee. There’s a complete level of collaboration and partnership and there really is no distinction,” explained Sara Wilkes, VP of Commercial Marketing at e2open.

“Certainly, when we’re onsite at events with the ETA team, there is a 100% commitment to making sure that everything is executed flawlessly and seamlessly and you are held to the exact same standards the e2open team is.”

Sara Wilkes, VP of Commercial Marketing at e2open

Setting the stage with haze

Our team approaches every event experience with one question: how do we take this space and turn it into a feeling? E2open Connect was no different. We decided to use haze at the opening and closing of each session to heighten the sense of anticipation. Unlike fog, which is heavy and rolls down, haze rises and expands while highlighting light beams. In contrast to traditional stage lighting, haze allowed attendees to see the actual beams of light cutting through the air, like a spotlight on a Hollywood red carpet. Haze made the lighting come alive, turning a regular meeting into a full-blown show to shape the mood of the event.

One theme, diverse environments

Once the e2open team had selected a theme, we set to work developing all of the environments and collateral to match. One challenge with this type of event is to ensure that the experience has a cohesive look and feel while honoring the variety of interactions and communication goals at play. For example, e2open Connect includes a mix of awards and corporate sessions. Our team worked to evoke the theme throughout both types of sessions while engineering distinct environments to fit the function.

For the awards session, our team leaned into the Gatsby and Roaring ’20s theme that the customer was inspired by. We played with amber and white lighting to give the room a warm, elegant vibe, and we used gold, dramatic Art Deco-inspired motion graphics on the large LED screens to complete the effect. 

On-call and ready to coach

Given the educational and promotional nature of e2open Connect, presentations are a big part of the show. But planning for an event starts long before actual presentation content is ready to go. We place a high priority on remaining flexible so that we can create an environment consistent with the year’s theme while pivoting as needed to make sure all presentations run smoothly and sync with other production elements.

Closer to the show, we offered presentation coaching as part of the rehearsal process, working alongside the Communications Director to stay in lockstep with needs and expectations.

Near real time video recaps

At e2open Connect, some of the creative elements we provided even happened in real time. During our planning conversations, the team expressed interest in finding a way to share the overall feeling of the conference with the entire audience. That way, every attendee could stay connected to everything that was happening, not just their individual experience.

In response to this request, we created a short video montage recapping the previous day’s activities. These videos were shown at the start of each new day to kick off that day’s activities on a high note. Delivering these videos meant that our team needed to capture presentation footage, conduct man-on-the-street type interviews, capture general B-roll footage and produce the video, all within a span of about 12 hours.