Transforming SKO Event into a year-round content powerhouse
Would you spend months and possibly millions to organize an event and not give it proper coverage afterward? No? And yet, this is the case of most Sales Kick-Off events.
But what if we told you it doesn't have to be that way? And actually, your SKO event can be a great opportunity to create high-level content for your marketing campaigns for the entire year?
Did we catch your interest?
Great! Sit back, and dig into this short case study of how we transformed Trend Micro’s SKO into a content generating machine for their entire year of marketing campaigns and... give it the coverage it truly deserved.
We've been making video content from Trend Micro Sales Kickoff events since 2014. Each time, it meant two days of running and gunning with two cameras and then editing an event summary video with an incredibly quick turnaround—5 to 20 hours. Your standard SKO video package.
However, in 2023, Trend Micro asked us to come up with something entirely new. They wanted to freshen up the formula. We did some research and came up with a question:
Well, despite all the work and resources put into their SKOs, companies often view those events as purely internal, focused on their own employees. Most of the content coming out of those events is generic, usually summarizing the event post factum.
We’re talking about things like:
Additionally, most posts show up on personal profiles depicting the attendees’ gratitude for being able to participate in the event, while the official channels usually just post a summary of the SKO such as photo albums or summary videos.
To sum up, it's usually all non-interactive, and late.
This kind of content has a relatively short "shelf-life" and can be shared only during or just after the event. It does not have any potential for prolonged messaging.
It fails to engage their clients, their industry analysts, and their partners.
Kinda sucks for events you spend millions of dollars on, if you ask me. 😎
But with all of the most important people in the company gathering in one place and time... SKO content should do sooooo much more.
All of the company's C-suite would be right there, in one place, accessible to everyone. How often does that happen?
We wanted to create content that would be relevant for a long time. Filmed in one place and then used to engage their audience in campaigns, websites, or events throughout the year.
We proposed we would make them the first company to purposefully use their SKO as an external celebration of their brand:
Our plan was to take a complex approach to content creation and distribution. We would use the SKO as a marketing asset that would remain relevant for much longer than just a couple of weeks and a couple of social media posts.
We would plan for a 3-stage campaign (covering the time before, during and post-SKO) from the beginning and achieve these messaging goals by producing and distributing as much content as possible, every single day of the event.
An opening video is a crucial part of the event as it's the first official content attendees usually see, so it's an excellent opportunity to say something memorable... and get them in the mood.
This is especially crucial at Sales Kick-Offs, as you’ve got close to 2000 attendees, and you need them on the same page fast.
The video we created was designed to fit the tech setup of the conference and was played across three screens simultanously. Based on the audience's reaction - we feel like we did a good job with it!
A multicamera interview studio smack in the middle of SKO. It would be similar to a post-game interview, but here, it was supposed to host a post-presentation interview.
These interviews would be posted in full on YouTube and Trend website and then cut again into watchable social media snippets.
We envisioned a respected industry journalist interviewing Trend executives, leaders, partners, and other guests. They were able to guide the conversation in the direction the broader industry audience would be interested in, so the Talk Show was not just an internal fluff piece.
Although that small element wasn't implemented, we produced hours of high-quality, expert content relevant to industry analysts, partners, and end users. These videos were used as long-form content (podcasts) on the Trend Micro website, YouTube, LinkedIn, or even on future events.
As the name implies, we created 15-20-second snippets of the most important parts of a presentation. They were ready rather quickly after the keynote.
The idea was to prolong the viewers' interaction with the stage presentations and promote the speakers and the core message. These highlights were presented throughout the venue and on social media.
This was a broad spectrum of content intended much more for... fun.
We have prepared videos and photo slideshows of Trenders in various situations. They were shown reacting to stage presentations, meeting their old company friends, having fun partying and networking, or showing off all the new brand swag they got.
As it turned out, this was the bulk of the content produced.
The daily summaries were minute-long films that culminated the entire event day. Ready for breakfast the next day, the videos captured the best moments from the previous day, filled with laughter, emotions, fun, and the celebration of Trend Micro, all wrapped up in an energetic video.
In addition to the above, we have also delivered post-SKO content, which was created during the event but delivered later. One of those was an interactive photobook. It is an excellent way to preserve memories and serves as a splendid documentation of the event. Such a beautifully crafted keepsake adds a touch of class to the entire event and provides a delightful departure from sharing photos via a cloud folder.
Much more than just a dozen screens around the venue, the SKO TV was a method of strengthening key messages and showcasing Trenders being... Trenders. Everything 24/7 without waiting for the next day's summary video.
A big chunk of the content displayed was the same as the social media content, however, in larger quantities. As it was internal only, we could use images and messages we couldn't broadcast on social media channels. All of the content was created with being watched without sound in mind.
Streamed from our command and control room, we maintained a varied and interesting playlist... including updated schedules 🙂
The social media content was hand picked from all the things that were being shown through SKO TV. For the ease and speed of editing, both channels were using vertical video formats. A selection of interesting stage highlights promoting the speakers and the brand, the fun People & Culture content, as well as daily summary videos, covering the entirety of the event day, from the first presentation at 9 a.m., to the start of the midnight party.
To make this all work, we have planned for and executed over 70 pieces of video content. 90% of the content had to be delivered "almost live", that is within 2-3 hours - both for internal distribution, as well as official external social media channels.
It took a global team of creators working around the clock to pull this off. Apart from the video and photo crews, we had a robust procedure for delivering so much content in just three days.
All this creative and editing capacity was fully utilized to deliver timely and high-quality content.
We proposed a thorough social media strategy to give the content we create an additional boost.
The intense social coverage during the SKO lasted 4 days (from the arrival day till the last day of the event). Our main goals were to make a huge splash and build maximum visibility for Trend Micro's SKO content across all social media channels. We wanted to celebrate Trenders and their achievements, creating content-worthy moments for them. For the non-participants, we aimed to create a FOMO effect - and they were missing out! Finally, we wished to reach all media, as well as the company's clients and partners.
To do so, we have created content for Trend Micro’s social media team which they used for the organic and internal promotion through Trend Micro's owned social media channels and the LinkedIn profiles of executives and leadership, as well as employee advocacy where we created materials for employees to use and share about moments and occasions.
During this period we have utilized coverage of the keynotes, workshops, social occasions, and everything that happened on-site that was cleared for external promotion. We have supplemented this content with previous-day highlight reels and some content originally created for the SKO TV and the SKO Talk Show.
We think it was splendid.
The content we created was actively and eagerly shared by both the Trend Micro leadership, as well as their employees. Some particular pieces of content were shared dozens, or even hundreds of times. Throughout the three-day event, Trend Micro's global LinkedIn page published 10 posts that generated hundreds of interactions, each. The total reactions across all Trend Micro pages and executives' profiles exceeded 5000!
Transform your Sales Kick-Off (SKO) event into a content goldmine that tackles key pain points and drives event success year-round. Black Rabbit took Trend Micro’s SKO and turned it into a strategic content hub, capturing high-value moments to nurture hot leads, boost engagement, and keep attendees paying attention well beyond the event. This approach not only addresses audience pain points but also creates a lasting asset for ongoing brand visibility and marketing success.
Start a project with Black Rabbit. We can help with the whole thing. Strategy. Creative. Production. Let's talk!
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