UBCON

ETA helps Unleashed Brands “Level Up” Annual Franchisee Conference

Every year, all of Unleashed Brands’ youth enrichment platforms – comprising nearly a thousand franchisees – come together for one big conference. It’s a unique opportunity for different teams to meet, access new learning opportunities, network—and have fun.

INTERNAL MEETINGS AND TRAINING

EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

750 ATTENDEES

Looking to Level Up

Although Unleashed Brands was happy with past event partners, they knew it was time to take things to the next level. In fact, that was the year’s theme: Level Up.

“UBCON is an incredibly unique experience,” shared Unleashed Brands Managing Director Whitney Navarro. “We set out to create a conference unlike any other experience or an event that connects people, that provides learning experiences, but also really pushes the boundaries on fun and networking.”

As a full-service event partner, we jumped at the chance to throw our hat in the ring. “This is the type of event that we love to produce,” explained ETA Managing Director Jeff Robertson. “It challenges us. It allows us to engage with our creative team, our technical team and our production team.” So, we upped the ante from day one. Our team provided Whitney and her team an overview video that previewed the gathering’s look and feel, helping her visualize exactly how the event would unfold and evoke emotion according to their goals.

Creative first, from start to finish

The ETA team worked tirelessly to craft an experience that would engage all of the senses. “We wanted conference participants to feel like they owned the building,” explained ETA Director of Production Bruce Lankford. “Unleashed is a mix of brands under one umbrella, but we were able to build all these themes and graphics to make them feel like one cohesive piece. Everything from writing to music to visuals and video–you name it, we did it.”

Once ETA started working on the project, our deliberate approach became evident in every event element. “You could tell a lot of thought had gone into the way that everything was cohesive from the creation of the logo to how it was applied throughout the conference, branded PowerPoints, the list goes on and on,” Whitney pointed out.

And when it comes to the wow factor, we’re relentless. The Unleashed team knew they wanted to incorporate spoken word into the opening experience, so Bruce reached out to a friend (who also happened to be a Grammy-award winning writer) to help him assemble the right team of resources. “We put together this amazing performance that included both spoken word and great music – all original – projected across a 120-ft LED screen,” Bruce explained.

Full-service partnership

Throughout the planning process, we held regular large group and individual meetings, as well as a weekly touchpoint call with the Unleashed teams. Bruce made himself available by phone on a daily basis. Thanks to all the clear communication, by the time the event rolled around, everyone felt supported and ready to go.

A key challenge for the event was that it took place across two properties, with the main stage in one hotel and individual sessions at another. While the Unleashed team initially worried about having enough coverage across both sites, in the end, ETA had it covered. “There were times where I would be walking between the two hotels and I’d see an ETA member ready to help,” Whitney observed. “I would be over at the Sheraton one minute and the next minute back at the Hilton, and there were team members in both places. So it really felt like we were getting the full experience of a very large production team.”