Hybrid meetings or team buildings: innovation comes to Strasbourg

Le Strasbourg Convention Bureau will not wait for the end of the health crisis to allow companies to bring their teams together and keep them motivated. Despite the context, companies need to keep their teams mobilised, launch new products, organise strategic meetings or more entertaining activities... With this in mind, Strasbourg-based agencies are competing in ingenuity to offer new and innovative alternatives through turnkey solutions.

• Already recognised by players such as France Télévisions Sports, Burstner and Roederer, the agency Harfang Events is based on the concept of"Company issue. A hybrid form of event designed to bring together employees, customers and other partners in an innovative, immersive format. Supported by a team of specialists, the company chooses a format (short film, debate, documentary, web-series, etc.) and a world (fiction, real-life events, fictional or non-fictional settings, etc.) according to its objectives and message. Harfang Evénements' expertise and technology do the rest, for support the organiser and its participants in this new formatand make the most of it in terms of communication and audience engagement.
• The agency Passe Muraille has teamed up with Nouvelle Cuisine to launch a digital events solution. Called TimelineThe new secure platform can be customised to match the colours of the event. The promise is simple: to organise digital events in just a few clicks, using a solution that intuitively covers all your needs. The Timeline solution has already been put to good use organising Motul's annual convention and the Sustainable Development Forum, with two plenary sessions and 11 round tables bringing together 50 speakers and some 900 online viewers.
• From his side, VIDELIO Events has put together a veritable toolbox for digital events. The platform has already won over the likes of Crédit Mutuel, the inaugural SENOTECH conference and SYSTEM U, and its range of tools (streaming, videoconferencing, studio, mapping, interactivity) is set to attract more references in the coming months.
• Another player favoured by references in the events sector, Wave Event Wave Event has installed a video-conferencing system for the Automobile Club de Strasbourg, and live streaming for the "Les improvisateurs" company. Stage, sound and lighting equipment, electrical distribution: Wave Event combines its expertise with top-of-the-range equipment to meet every need.
• As for SonimageThe intense activity over the last few months bears witness to an offering that is in phase with current demand from business customers. From the recording and live streaming of the Caritas Annual General Meeting in July 2020, to the TV set organised at the Sofitel Strasbourg Grande Ile a few days ago, the success of the solution has not waned.

Team building goes digital too

Alongside these innovative meetings and events, Strasbourg has also added the following to its catalogue team building into a new dimension. The members of the Convention Bureau are proposing new formats to keep the teams together and motivated:

• Insolit'Pro was one of the first to adapt to the new context and changing demand. With Insolit'Prod, the Strasbourg-based team building agency has developed a range of activities and virtual tours around Alsace and beyond. Over the months, and according to customer needs, Insolit'Pro has distinguished itself by developing unique concepts, such as a self-guided discovery tour of the Wine Route and the lakes of the Vosges, an offbeat digital team-building session for an end-of-year party, and an urban escape game concept 100% #coronaproof in Strasbourg and over 30 other towns and cities in France. The aim is to enable corporate clients to bring customers or employees together through original and immersive experiences, to maintain ties despite the distance.
• A quirky atmosphere at Eudaemonia with original team-building activities that can also be accessed remotely. Whether you're learning magic and illusion using everyday objects, competing against each other through challenges or "remote cocktail duels", or even a "lively news programme" based on company anecdotes, there's everything you need to stimulate and unite your teams.
• The Studios Mascaron have also launched an original new concept for companies: with Studio Mobile, employees are invited to take part in an American-style dubbing workshop, based on a selection of films and cartoons.
• The fun format can also be found in the remote team building offers designed by the specialist Otherman. Whether it's a remote Murder Party, a 'Tele-Quiz', the Collective Painting Fresco or the 'Multi-Challenge' concept, Autreman has succeeded in intelligently transposing the game mechanics to adapt them to videoconferencing, and getting the teams to emulate each other despite the distance.

" The need for companies to launch products, share objectives with their teams and hold statutory meetings has not disappeared with the crisis".says Mireille Dartus, Director of the Strasbourg Convention Bureau. " Professionals have no choice but to switch to virtual 100%. We all adapted to videoconferencing tools a year ago. There are a number of advantages to this: you can reach a wider audience than at what we now call 'face-to-face' events, and you can also, in a way, meet more frequently and more flexibly, with less up-front planning. But with hindsight, this creates weariness. So it's crucial that events professionals come up with alternative solutions that are secure in terms of the information exchanged. This is another area where the innovative solutions proposed by the Strasbourg industry have added value to offer.adds Mireille Dartus. This added value should continue to raise the profile of the Strasbourg region, while other innovations will soon be unveiled in the hotel sector and at the Palais des Congrès. Stay tuned.