Outsourced Events (OE) was delighted to have been approached by Satellite Applications Catapult for support on an interesting competition called, Hack the Planet. We were asked to provide event management services, including a live stream on YouTube to mark the launch of Hack the Planet on Earth Day on 22 April 2021.
Running between 22 April and 14 October 2021, Hack the Planet was an entirely virtual international ideas competition for people from, or connected to, Commonwealth nations, run by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Satellite Applications Catapult . The competition was designed to stimulate discussion around the development of new concepts relating to the sustainability of the ocean, incorporating satellite data and technologies. Solutions presented needed to be aligned to one of the 10 action areas of the Commonwealth Blue Charter. Over the course of the five months, the Commonwealth Secretariat and Satellite Applications Catapult helped to shape and hone the submissions into a winning concept. A prize-pool of £20,000 plus over £85,000 worth of satellite data and cloud computing services was offered!
OEs was asked to manage all aspects of the delivery of the competition alongside Satellite Applications Catapult, Commonwealth Secretariat and the other partners and sponsors, including:
As with all our projects we were responsible for overseeing the project fully and created a project plan with agreed key milestones and timeline to execute the campaign. Our regular team calls and weekly progress reports (with RAG status) ensured that all stakeholders were aware of developments and could address any challenges swiftly. In addition, we created and managed a number of key process documents.
Charged with the delivery of the event website, we sourced and manged the landing page creation to promote the campaign. This included the Launchpad 6 system for submission which the OE team set up.
The OE team was also responsible for all liaison with entrants and query management. To achieve this we drafted and distributed a range of communication emails as well as the submission documentation and liaised on all aspects of the competition with entrants.
Based on Satellite Applications Catapult identification and introduction of candidates for the judging panel, OE was tasked with the completion of paperwork and liaison with judges to ensure a smooth experience for these senior industry figures. Additionally created the sponsorship and partner opportunity sales documents and sold sponsorship to identified parties.
To deliver a successful event we worked with a range of PR and media partners across the entire event, particularly at key stages of the competition. Additionally, we supported the media activity and promotion of the competition by managing the production of marketing collateral, comprising of HTML email templates, banner ads, email footers, social media banners, the sponsorship prospectus, website assets and social media assets for distribution by partners and through various marketing channels.
Hosted on 22 April, the launch event was delivered via YouTube Live. A sensational launch, the keynote speech was delivered by the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC. A key benefit of using YouTube to live stream was the provision of real-time analytics monitoring.
The launch event kick-started the knowledge exchange activities during the entry period, which ended on 28 June. OE also assumed responsibility for the delivery of this. As such, we developed a calendar of webinars and content deliverables/learning tools and supporting documentation by liaising with content creators/deliverers as well as competitors to ensure a successful and focussed programme of learning and upskilling.
The final pitch event was hosted in October 2021, with the OE team taking responsibility for its its organisation and planning. This included invitation management, all relevant assets and documentation, platform and technology management, technical production, liaison with key stakeholders, ‘winners celebration’ and liaison with PR for promotion of activities as well as outcomes.
Of course, no project is complete without a competition wrap up and hand over of assets. A full project report including key stats was provided to Satellite Catapult Applications following the pitching event in October.
Feedback from competition participants and delegates is great, with 4.7 stars out of 5 awarded.
Satellite Applications Catapult help organisations make use of, and benefit from, satellite technologies, and bring together multi-disciplinary teams to generate ideas and solutions in an open innovation environment.
To find out more about virtual, in-person or hybrid event organisation from Outsourced Events, speak to Denise Sharpe on +44 (0)330 460 6007 or email enquiries@outsourcedevents.com
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