If your meeting planning partner hasn’t run as many successful private equity investor meetings as we have, planning a hybrid annual general meeting can pose some challenges.
For example, your recent AGM may have fallen flat because of what we call ‘attention competition’ — a battle of screen time versus face time.
And that’s just one reason why the key (pun intended) to boosting the presence and performance of your next investor meeting goes well beyond airtight logistics and generous hospitality.
Beyond the keynotes, performance updates and other content, you are there to maintain and grow personal connections.
When you consider how to plan an annual general meeting, it’s crucial to not overlook the personal moments and fine details that foster connection. Taken together, these moments can create an environment that supports your firm’s strategic goals, while building market authority for future fundraising.
The true magic comes from working with a meeting planning partner with the experience to anticipate your needs and overcome the unforeseen challenges that lie ahead in every meeting’s agenda and show plan.
KEY INGREDIENTS
EVENT EXPERIENCE DESIGN + MANAGEMENT
HOTEL SOURCING + NEGOTIATION
TRAVEL LOGISTICS
BUDGETING + CONTRACTING
REGISTRATION
AV PRODUCTION
FOOD + BEVERAGE DESIGN
END-TO-END MEETING MANAGEMENT
KEY ACTIONS
Our familiarity with the nuances of private equity meetings springs from our established presence in this space and helped guide our client team through the unique challenges of planning their annual general meeting.
We’ve worked closely with this multi-billion-dollar private equity client for several years — but this investment conference would require a different approach.
Here’s what happened…
YEARS SINCE LAST MEETING PRE-COVID
%
JUMP IN LIVE REGISTRATIONS OVER FORECAST
%
JUMP IN VIRTUAL ATTENDEES OVER FORECAST
MEETING VENUES MANAGED
First, this was the firm’s first in-person annual general meeting in two years. Second, it was also effectively two back-to-back events, hosting investors from two key funds on two consecutive days.
Within these events were a series of advisory and board meetings, executive leadership meetings, as well as some (informal and overdue) culture building.
More significantly for our client, it would be their first annual general meeting held outside its San Francisco home base, in celebration of the firm’s new offices in the heart of Miami’s bustling Brickell waterfront financial district.
Making the Most of a ‘Good Problem to Have,’ when registrations for the in-person events surged 170% beyond our highest goals, we:
- Maintained “constant contact” with our client team, venue managers and service vendors to proactively identify and mitigate unexpected growth and necessary venue changes
- Proactively guided our client through deliverable dates with transparency about what would — and wouldn’t — be possible
- Managed housing in close contact with the HQ hotel to negotiate costs and attrition terms along the way
- Solved a capacity issue by building a “watch-party” environment for overflow attendees with a live stream from the main ballroom to alleviate the feeling of separation from the action
- Found creative ways to manage the 50+ pop-up meetings that needed scheduling as a byproduct of the attendance growth and opportunity for live connection
Minding Every Detail:
- Hosted dry runs — not once, but twice — to ensure everyone on our client team and production staff felt thoroughly prepared for guests, both live in the ballroom and in our virtual environment
- Dedicated a team to monitor online chats to help remote guests feel welcome, attended to and engaged
- Organized relaxed luncheons on the beach along Miami’s Biscayne Bay to ensure the in-person guests got fresh air and time to reenergize
- Creatively managed the clock, strategically directing traffic to keep attendees returning on time for afternoon keynotes and breakouts so that virtual guests weren’t left hanging
- Called all-hands-on-deck to get the attention our client needed after a key vendor fell short in the investor event app’s mobile experience
- Paid close attention to oft-overlooked factors, down to the quality, size and comfort of the investors’ seating and tables during the presentations
