In times of organisational change, the scribing wall can be the perfect place to come together to capture ideas and define your new direction.
CHALLENGE
When Google merged existing departments to create new Google Cloud Connect teams in Europe and Asia, a brand new strategy needed shaping and sharing.
“We were really excited to have formed these new regional teams, but we didn’t have a strong strategic statement or vision to share with them,” says Megan Stack, Executive Communications Manager. “We had the idea of hosting a series of ‘write it together’ conferences, where the teams could contribute their thoughts on the direction of GCC, and we could embark on a journey to find answers together.”
She planned two parallel events - in Dublin and Macau - where audiences of around 400 would engage in the task of defining what GCC, in its new form, would be. These events needed to be immersive, innovative, interactive and true to Google’s unique culture. They also needed to be distinct from each other, and able to capture the content that emerged so it could be shared across the organisation.
SOLUTION
“Scriberia’s team understood what I wanted straight away,” Megan says. “Emily [Scriberia’s live events producer] was brimming with ideas on how we could deliver an experience that was truly innovative and interactive. From the first phone call, I was absolutely confident she would be able to deliver something amazing.”
In Dublin, delegates were asked to complete the sentence: “I want to work in a GCC that…” They wrote their answers on pieces of paper, which they scrunched into 'snowballs’ and threw to GCC’s Vice-President, Anwar Akram, on stage.
As he read each idea, Scriberia’s visualisers set to work on their iPads - their illustrations live-projected onto a screen above the stage. Later, a Q&A session, and talks from other key stakeholders, were captured visually and projected, too.
The GCC Asia team was posed the same question in Macau, but they submitted their answers prior to the conference, using an app. The app analysed their answers and identified the key trends amongst them, which Scriberia illustrated ahead of the conference.
“I had to trust that Scriberia — a company I’d never worked with before — could deliver an amazing experience on a huge stage. They 100% delivered and the scribing added a ‘wow’ element. You don’t really understand the impact of scribing until you’re there, seeing the picture unfold.”
RESULT
“Scribing was the perfect metaphor for what we were trying to say,” says Megan. “The blank screen represented the start of the teams’ journey; a place where everybody’s ideas could come together to forge a direction for the future.
“I had to trust that Scriberia, a company I’d never worked with before, could deliver an amazing experience on a huge stage in front of 400 people, including important stakeholders. They 100% delivered and the scribing added a ‘wow’ element that encouraged interaction from the teams. You don’t really understand the impact of scribing until you’re there seeing the picture unfold.”
”Sam, who drew for us, did a fantastic job - not just because of his artistic skill, but because of his amazing ability to identify key quotes and important takeaways,” says Megan. “Despite having limited knowledge of our business, he instinctively knew which were the important insights and killer quotes. I found his talent remarkable.”
And, since the event, the work has continued to deliver on value. ”We’ve found so many uses for the work Scriberia did for us. For instance, right away, we pulled together all of the beautiful visual assets to create an interactive flyer to send to the wider teams. They were really well received - people loved them,” says Megan.
”Some of our executives have even changed their profile pictures on our internal comms system to Sam’s illustrated portraits. The content that was created at those events definitely lives on within the Google offices.”
