Big Conversation Singapore

Context

Mintel’s Big Conversations are one of the cornerstones of their marketing efforts, providing a key platform to showcase Mintel’s value as a market research partner to leading FMCG companies worldwide. The Singapore event is one of the flagship events that kickstarted a series of roadshows globally.  

Big Conversation 2019 was held at the Singapore National Gallery with the theme of ‘Powering the Mind.’ The theme is grounded in a thought piece by Mintel’s team of analysts and it speaks to how consumer trends in self-care, specifically the areas of Work, Rest and Play will develop.  

With that in mind, our design elements were inspired by healing crystals, as they maintain good health and wellness.

Location

There were three locations we considered to hold the event.

1. Art Science Museum, which was considered because of its interesting architecture and theme around integrating art and science
2. Huone Singapore, a thematic meeting space that facilitates discussion
3. National Gallery, because of the building’s heritage

Source: National Gallery Singapore

After conducting site visits and considering budgets, National Gallery Singapore's Supreme Court Terrace was picked for the reasons of natural lighting and structure. Since our theme was Powering the Mind, the sunlight shining from the roof glass gave a feeling of healing. Moreover, we liked that the structure of the venue would allow participants to move from area to area smoothly and it also inspired us to push the boundaries of the event.  

The Flow

Mintel’s Big Conversations typically included two presentations and a short interaction section. However, this time we featured one presentation, one-panel discussion, a brainstorming session and an interaction section.

When participants entered the venue, they would be greeted by the presentation area, with sufficient sunlight. Although this is not a typical presentation space, we made use of the steps to create a stage that also featured design elements throughout both the presentation and panel discussion.

For the next segment, the audience separated into smaller groups for a brainstorming and ideation session. Here, they moved into a separate area that we purposefully designed with lots of greenery to stimulate the flow of ideas.

For the last interactive session, the audience was once again ushered into a separate room to create movement and energy in the event. Here, the area was divided into three sub-areas with separate setup for Work, Rest and Play. Each sub-area was visibly marked out by boards designed in line with the thought piece for easy recognition, and featured products identified as innovative in each sub-theme. Participants were encouraged to interact with the space by tasting, testing and trying products. The purpose was to give participants a whole sensory experience involving vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch.

Last but not least, we ended off Big Conversation with food for the participants to enjoy. Throughout the session, the participants would move seamlessly from one space to the other without backtracking or crossing paths in large groups. The event was planned in a way that large groups of people could move around without any confusion.

Results

Mintel Big Conversation 2019 saw an attendance of 90%. The list of invited clients was carefully picked to ensure that they were the key target audience, meaning that these were precisely the clients that were essential to the business.

We achieved a feedback score of 4.7 over 5and video testimonials from clients with positive feedback about the event.

Revenue ROI was also 3x what was spent on the event and further solidification of existing client relationships.

A press release was published further discussing the rising demand and focus on mental health and performance, which in retrospect was timely to help clients prepare for pandemic-related demands in the FMCG space.

My Role

I worked with the marketing executive from pre-show to post-show, which includes designing all the visuals, event planning, event management, being the photographer on the event day, and creating follow-up digital assets. Ensuring a cohesive design and atmosphere that generates a positive user experience was my main role.