Since school days to agency days and finally to the client side, I have encountered countless challenging projects and events which I had been able to overcome, somehow. Once, I even survived a human stampede while giving away free T-shirts at a mega regional event. Each time I’m convinced that nothing could be worse, something else comes along to add a fresh new dimension. The latest is World Expo 2010.
It all started with an email. Before I knew it, I was assigned to the team that’s tasked to drive Datacraft’s participation in Cisco’s partnership programme for Expo – which our CEO, Bill Padfield, had just signed on. The original plan was for our China team to take ownership, while the regional office will support with additional resources and connections to other countries and regions. I took it up thinking that a supporting role can’t be too difficult. I was so wrong.
Everyone was clueless, to say the least. We were officially at Ground Zero. It didn’t matter who was to be the lead and who the followers, we just had to pick up from where we were and move on. The most difficult part for me has got to be my loneliness throughout this journey. Before I hired an assistant, my closest teammate was 2,500 miles away.
If you haven’t heard from the horses’ mouth why Cisco is investing millions of dollars to develop S+CC, it’s very hard for you to understand why we even bother to get involved. If you haven’t seen the solution showcase at the Cisco Pavilion, you’ll not know how powerful it can be to change mindsets.
How do I sell an experience?
Before I knew it, I had become a travel agency, PR agency, events company, production house, alliance manager and a Digital City solution marketing manager all rolled into one. Like everyone else on the Expo team, this doesn’t mean that our day job can stop.
Fast forward to event date
The Expo team was all dressed up for our first media briefing and client event, in coordinated dark coloured suits. We gathered at the hotel lobby. Everything was so surreal, I swear. But after seven months of hard work, it’s finally show time!
I assured my spokespeople and management team that “everything will be under control, so relax and have fun”. But in reality, I had my heart in my mouth.
- It’s the first time I was holding an event in China – an unfamiliar ground.
- It’s the first time I work with the China team and the key team members have been with the company for only a few months. Can I trust them to run a good show?
- The events company in China was appointed based on recommendation and gut feel. Will they be able to deliver as instructed and promised?
- There was no way we can get a rehearsal conducted prior to the event. All presenters and supporting staff would be seeing the venue for the first time and we had only 30mins to setup and settle down before the event started. Will we have enough time to get ready?
- We have been warned by Cisco Pavilion’s operations team that our event is unlikely to commence until 11am when our event is scheduled to start at 10am. No one could guarantee the acutal outcome due due to the morning crowd at the entrance [refer to picture below]. What if we cannot start on time?
- All five spokespeople were only officially briefed the night before and some were meeting each other for the first time. Although briefing documents were circulated a few days earlier, will they be able to absorb and deliver all the key messages in a concerted manner?
- We have non-mandarin speaking spokespeople addressing local media. Will the interpreter be able to appreciate and translate the content accurately on the spot?
- How many clients will be turning up? Too many? Too little?
- Will all the media turn up as confirmed?
You can just imagine the amount of stress I was under but, seeing is believing – While all my concerns were valid, they were unfounded. I was blessed with a dream team comprising of Cisco’s Expo team, Datacraft China team and the agencies that we worked with. Everything went as planned as I ticked items off my checklist, one at a time. What more can I ask for? If I were to rate the event, it’s 9.5 out of 10.
Through this rare opportunity, I’ve gained a lot of domain knowledge and experience, in addition to the new friends I’ve made along the way. If you ask me, I have plenty to thank this love-hate relationship for.
The day concluded with a client dinner hosted by Datacraft. At the end of which, Bill said to us, “I had high expectations and you exceeded them all. Thank you for the great work.”
My first thought was “Phew! I can finally have a restful sleep tonight.” Needless to say, I was knackered. So I took the next 3 days off to recover from Expo fatigue.
5 more events to go. Will they be even more impressive? Can they?
Szu Lin is responsible for Media Relations, Brand Management, Sales Campaigns and joint marketing activities with Cisco. She has been instrumental in raising the profile of Datacraft through PR, and most recently, played a leading role in our participation in World Expo.
