Client: iShares

Venue: Powerscourt Hotel, Dublin

Running across three days in June, the Annual Global MD offsite event is the most important date in the iShares calendar, and until now it has always been held in the US.

This year iShares wanted to mix things up a little and moved the venue to ‘The Emerald Isle’.

Bringing together Company Directors from across the globe, it was imperative that the event was highly impactful and flawlessly run. The celebrated Powerscourt Hotel provided a stunning setting and an ‘Oscars’ style film theme was chosen for presentations and set designs.

The client wanted the tone of the conference to be fun and innovative. A casual dress code,  high degree of audience interaction, creative delivery and energetic and inspiring speakers all contributed to the exuberant atmosphere.

First Network worked closely with the client to plan the stage sets and to dress the venue, as well as focusing on the important technical logistics of screens and audio systems.

The Oscars theme was reflected in cut outs incorporating the iShares logo, and we rolled out the green carpet – in lieu of red – to reflect both the film award theme and the iShares brand.

Host presenters wore black tie and entered to lighting and music reminiscent of Hollywood’s Oscar night, which added a real buzz to the event.

We were especially proud of the bespoke, illuminated i-shaped lectern and which provided a striking (and practical!) centrepiece to the stage. The idea for the lectern evolved through discussions between the client and our project manager, Jasmine. Visual concepts were drawn up and agreed, then we sourced and briefed a local manufacturer to produce it.

We were really pleased with the result, and now have the ‘i-lectern’ in our warehouse ready to ship to the next iShares event.