NetApp

  • Produced in less than 7 weeks by integrated GPJ and client teams
  • Tripled initial registration target
  • 70% of registrants accessed within 4 hours of launch
  • 3.5 hour live broadcast and 80+ on-demand sessions

With help from experiential partner George P. Johnson, cloud storage company NetApp had three INSIGHT user conference events scheduled in London, Paris and Berlin for 2020.

INSIGHT London was held on February 4th, but in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, NetApp cancelled its two March in-person events. NetApp needed to quickly transition its cancelled EMEA INSIGHTS to a combined virtual experience.

The timeline was tight; the NetApp INSIGHT digital event was scheduled for April 23, leaving just weeks for GPJ to help design, develop and produce a digital-only event that would deliver business and technical information to NetApp’s strategically important install base.

NetApp understood shifting to digital meant a different experience for Paris and Berlin. GPJ recommended a free 3.5 hour “live” broadcast for attendees that would then direct attendees to a platform of 80+ on-demand technical sessions. The broadcast featured multiple simulated-live segments stitched together with live transitions.

Multiple stay-in-place orders meant every piece of content – live and recorded – had to originate from the homes of each contributor. To facilitate brand consistency, as well as ensure strength of narrative and broadcast quality, GPJ shipped branded backgrounds, lighting kits and cameras to key presenters’ homes, resulting in an optimal balance of professional tone with personal touches.

NetApp more than tripled its initial target with 10,000 registrants by April 23. Over 7,000 attendees accessed the system within the first four hours of the launch. GPJ developed multiple fail safes and contingencies for the live broadcast, but none of them needed to be used, as the broadcast rolled out flawlessly from 21 different live or recorded locations. One of NetApp’s German partners summed up the live broadcast experience best: “When I compare INSIGHT to what competitors are doing in the current situation, NetApp did so much better!“