The COVID-19 pandemic shook the world irreversibly, including all forms of business-to-business communications, from cancelled trade shows to the disruptive rise of digital collaboration – leading to new questions. Now, everyone is looking for inspiration, best practices, and answers. So Vodafone Business, the communication company’s German B2B hub, challenged itself: Is it possible to host a digital event on these hot topics that offers a) the attractiveness of a traditional conference, b) the benchmark in digital user and content experience and c) the potential to attract even more prospective clients than ever before?

A new digital format was created that conveys the spirit of optimism of the time in terms of both content and technology. Emotions were to be preserved despite the digital form. A rousing online conference with keynotes and talks from a broad portfolio of innovative and visionary topics. And the corresponding personalities, who themselves were inspired by the format.

The target audience was Vodafone's B2B customers, but the digital format gave Vodafone the opportunity to expand this group to include a heterogeneous mix of different business and social stakeholders. This with the aim of creating new connections. Just the very basic interest of a telecommunications company.

Vodafone reinvented the conference format with eleVation DIGITAL DAYS 2021. 70 hours of mostly simultaneously translated content, that could be accessed live or as video-on-demand, put a contemporary focus on content and the brand on par with other thought leaders.

Execution. The topics of the three-day program were digital transformation, new work and sustainability, accompanied by best practices and inspiring personalities. "Inspiration Stage," "Business Stage," and "Technology Stage" stages were the venue for discussions, keynotes, and talks with different focal points and 195 speakers. The creative concept, the pioneering spirit and the professional execution created compelling and unique content. The technical complexity of high-tech TV studios, robust streaming and a dedicated digital event platform ensured a perfect flow. On the digital event platform, Speakers in 48 keynotes and 58 deep dives could be experienced live or as on-demand content after the event.

More than 15,000 people registered, 11,000 were returning users and at the best of times there were 7,000 people on the platform. This means a new benchmark for digital user and content experience combined with the appeal of traditional conferences and even more sustainable. The reason for this success were the creative concept, the pioneering spirit and the professional execution that created compelling and unique content not to be missed – with panelists from a like astronauts to v like virologists.