Ensuring the Story Is Told... and Sold

A client corporation held an annual series of events for its top producers, but the events had increasingly lost the essence of their purpose. Despite best intentions, the events were increasingly viewed by internal and external audiences as an excuse for excess, both financial and behavioral. The events had lost their subtle story line, and as a result, the client CEO wanted a complete “rethink” to alter the event’s purpose and perception.

The Challenge: A client corporation held an annual series of events for its top producers, but the events had increasingly lost the essence of their purpose. Despite best intentions, the events were increasingly viewed by internal and external audiences as an excuse for excess, both financial and behavioral. The events had lost their subtle story line, and as a result, the client CEO wanted a complete “rethink” to alter the event’s purpose and perception.

Coulter Events’ Response: Together with client leadership, Coulter Events started by developing a sophisticated understanding of the client’s culture and corporate story. And a compelling story it was. It was the story of a company and a product that was helping to enhance people’s lives in innovative ways. Unfortunately, that story was being slowly lost because of the importance top producers placed on the sell as opposed to the outcomes the company’s products were helping to deliver. A complete restructuring was in order to integrate a strong component of storytelling and metaphor into the framework of the events. The events needed to convey excitement and luster, all while ensuring that the top producers “take away” included an unmistakable message of the importance of the work they were doing. The events were recast and repositioned not as an array of “lost weekends” but instead as a focused series of activities with a strong storytelling center.

The Result: The recast events were a hit, both with the company CEO and the top producers. The integration of message and metaphor was embraced by the participants and fueled an overall experience that clearly conveyed the value the company placed on the top producers. As important, it allowed the company and its products to be positioned in a way that provided both inspiration and deeper understanding of its role and value in the marketplace.