SmartCitiesWorld is a world-leading platform for sharing ideas and case studies to solve urban challenges that enable us to live in more resilient, sustainable, safe, and prosperous environments.
We partnered with SmartCitiesWorld to deliver their first Cities Climate Action Summit in April, aimed to bring together city leaders, environmental experts, and stakeholders to discuss actionable strategies for combating climate change in urban areas.
The Cities Climate Action Summit aimed to unite city leaders, environmental experts, and stakeholders for discussions on combating climate change in urban areas. With a hybrid approach, the event spanned across 3 days with online and in-person sessions, facilitating engagement and knowledge exchange on a global scale.
To successfully execute the event, the organizers sought a reliable and cost-effective event tech solution, that could ensure seamless management and enhance attendee engagement.
The Challenges
Planning the Cities Climate Action Summit brought forth several challenges. Effective budget allocation necessitated seeking a cost-effective event tech platform without compromising on quality. Balancing the dynamics of a hybrid event, catering to virtual and in-person attendees, demanded a platform with seamless functionality.
Additionally, ensuring a professional, credible, and inclusive user experience, for all attendees, was essential to establish credibility and impress senior attendees from city, local, and national governments.
The Objectives
The Summit’s core objectives were clear and ambitious:
- Create a Global Platform: Establish an inclusive environment where city leaders, experts, and stakeholders worldwide can convene and share ground-breaking insights on sustainable urban development.
- Foster Connections: Facilitate meaningful networking opportunities for attendees across both virtual and physical spaces, enabling collaboration and idea exchange.
- Enhance Engagement: Employ real-time polling, interactive sessions, and virtual networking tools to drive high levels of engagement, making discussions impactful and actionable.
- Intuitive User Experience: Provide an intuitive and seamless user interface that transcends geographical boundaries, catering to both tech-savvy and non-technical participants.
The Solution
Smart Cities World successfully integrated gther’s RSVP and VX platforms into their marketing strategy for an event. By combining existing registration data with new sign-ups from the RSVP tool, they streamlined the event experience and achieved seamless integration. The RSVP site’s customisation aligned with Smart Cities World’s brand and captured detailed delegate information, aiding in attracting sponsors and attendees. The real-time data from the gther platform enabled Smart Cities World to adapt their marketing approach as needed.
The VX platform played a crucial role, facilitating both virtual and in-person event days with high attendance levels. Rich content, including sponsor video rooms and downloadable resources, enhanced engagement beyond broadcast sessions. Sponsors benefited from reports showing detailed insights into delegate interactions with their content. Attendees networked through various means, and data was collected through surveys and polls. The VX platform maintained high stability and uptime.
The event’s live broadcasts were seamlessly integrated into the VX platform, attracting substantial cumulative watch time. The post-event engagement strategy proved effective, keeping the platform open to continue interacting with the audience and even bringing in new participants. The granular data captured throughout the event informed future marketing plans and set high standards for upcoming editions. The success of this event lays the foundation for increased sponsor retention, attendee engagement, and the attraction of global experts for future events.
Finding the right hybrid event platform
gther’s VX platform emerged as the solution for the Cities Climate Action Summit, owing to the following factors:
- Cost-Effective Excellence: Despite budget constraints, gther offered a comprehensive set of tools without compromising on quality, aligning perfectly with SmartCitiesWorld’s needs.
- Hybrid Event Compatibility: VX’s seamless management of online and in-person event components ensured a holistic experience for attendees across the globe.
- User-Friendly Interface: VX’s intuitive interface simplified participant access and navigation, allowing attendees to focus on content rather than platform intricacies.
- Dedicated Support: gther’s team, provided hands-on assistance and expert guidance throughout the setup process, ensuring a smooth and tailored execution.
The Benefits
The utilisation of gther’s VX platform yielded remarkable benefits for the Cities Climate Action Summit:
- Elevated Engagement: Real-time polling and virtual networking tools enriched interaction, making discussions dynamic and insightful.
- Professional Image: VX’s polished appearance impressed senior attendees, establishing credibility, and reinforcing the event’s significance.
- Data-Driven Insights: VX’s post-event report offered comprehensive data, aiding in evaluating performance, refining strategies, and engaging sponsors.
- Global Reach: VX’s accessibility via various devices enabled participation from a diverse global audience, expanding the Summit’s impact.
- Seamless Experience: Attendees lauded VX’s user-friendly interface and hassle-free navigation, enhancing overall participant satisfaction.
- Expert Support: The Gther team provided dedicated support and guidance during the event setup, helping the organisers achieve their desired platform configuration.
What’s Next?
Building on the triumph of the Cities Climate Action Summit, SmartCitiesWorld sets its sights on future accomplishments:
- Summit Continuation: Plans are underway to host the summit again, leveraging VX’s capabilities to drive impactful discussions and global collaboration.
- Enhanced Hybrid Experience: SmartCitiesWorld aims to integrate VX with gther’s event app, amplifying the hybrid experience and further engaging attendees.
- Strategic Timing: The summit will be timed to coincide with London Climate Action Week, capitalizing on synergies and augmenting the event’s influence.
- An always on community: Building on from CCAS, creating a community for members to network, learn and grow.
In conclusion, the Smart Cities World Climate Action Summit’s success underscored gther’s event platform, as a transformative set of tools for redefining event experiences, cultivating engagement, and facilitating profound dialogues on critical global challenges.
