IESE

Engaging global alumni with a hybrid event program

IESE is a world-leading, highly-ranked business school with campuses in Barcelona, Madrid, Munich, New York City and São Paulo. Its mission is to develop leaders who strive to have a deeply positive, lasting impact on people, companies, and society through professional excellence, integrity, and spirit of service.

Supporting alumni with truly global events

IESE Business School hosts a number of program-specific alumni reunions throughout the year alongside its annual Global Alumni Reunion (GAR). The GAR is a long-standing event that serves to celebrate IESE’s alumni communities, and recently welcomed over 1,200 in-person attendees to Barcelona.

Focusing on the topic of Elevated Entrepreneurship, alumni attended informative sessions hosted by global business leaders, wellness activities, lunches and dinners, a golf tournament, company visits, and other social activities.

IESE decided to host GAR as a hybrid event using the Cvent Attendee Hub. “We realized that the way people consume content and interact with different organizations, not just IESE but with our partners as well, has greatly changed from the way things used to be,” explains Gelvin Velasco, IESE´s Associate Director of Alumni & Institutional Development.

Gelvin adds that the attendee mix is split almost evenly between in-person and virtual. As such, they wanted to accommodate both audiences while providing engaging experiences for in-person and virtual attendees alike.  "Our events aren’t just competing against other business schools, but with all the events happening in the city, so we want to give as much flexibility as we can to our audience and reach as many as possible wherever they are in the world," he explains.

Supporting multiple event experiences with Attendee Hub

IESE used Cvent’s Attendee Hub as both a streaming platform and a mobile app. All sessions were live streamed to the platform, with live multi-lingual captioning, and were made available on-demand post-event. 

In-person attendees were invited to download the app, which featured the full multi-day agenda and enabled attendees to build their schedules and connect with their peers. Sessions were also available to stream in the app live and on-demand, while those watching live could engage in chats, Q&A, and polls.

“When we first used Attendee Hub, we were quite impressed with the features available,” shares Gelvin. “Over time, we’ve realized what’s important to us. We love the ability to stream video directly to mobile phones and add additional elements to engage with our audiences." 

He adds that the experience was extremely positive for users. “Attendee feedback indicates that logging in is seamless – you just need your name and email address, use a One-Time-Password, and you can go straight in,” he says.

Crafting a smooth, flexible registration process

IESE also used Cvent’s Registration platform and Payment Services to create an informative, fully branded website showcasing the event’s agenda, partners, and speakers, while also offering attendees a highly customized registration process.

The inherent flexibilty of the platform is a key driver of success for Gelvin. “One of the advantages of Cvent in comparison to other providers who pitched to us was the flexibility of the registration paths,” he explains. “We’re able to customize registration based on the needs of the event and of our sponsors and partners, which is a big deal for us.” 

He adds that the integrated functionality between the tools is extremely helpful for his team. “There’s also a seamless connection between registration and Cvent Payment Services," he says. "For our internal users, especially in IT, it’s really useful to have these processes happening within the same platform.”

Adapting quickly with reliable support

IESE made use of Cvent’s Event Build team, who offer tailored services in creating and modifying events and event websites, and received onsite support from a Cvent Project Manager. 

“We’ve had the same Event Builder since the very first event we ran with Cvent and have requested him every time since!" Gelvin shares. "He knows the school very well, understands our needs, and is very proactive in devising and recommending solutions for us, even before we need them." The professional services offered by Cvent is a significant benefit for Gelvin's team. "Not many companies are providing onsite support, so it’s a big help to have our own Project Manager available on the day and even before the day of the event to solve problems quickly and help us adapt with any last-minute changes,” he insists.

Gelvin summarizes his team's relationship with Cvent as one key aspect of IESE's successful GAR program. He says, “We know Cvent’s reputation; they have high standards and are used by big, multinational companies – and that’s where we want to be.”

PRODUCTS USED

GOALS

  • To unite an international alumni community at one event

APPROACH

  • Adopted Cvent and implemented customized, flexible registration paths
  • Used Attendee Hub to stream sessions virtually
  • Supported in-person attendees with the Attendee Hub mobile app
  • Utilized Cvent's Event Build and onsite Project Management teams

RESULTS

  • Welcomed 1,200+ in-person attendees
  • Seamless, multi-lingual session streaming

PRODUCTS USED

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