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Cardano Summit 2022

Conference Virtual

No. of delegates: 50,000+

Location: Live from Lausanne Switzerland, with viewing parties and virtual attendees all over the world

Industry: Blockchain / Cryptocurrency

Event objectives:

For their annual global summit, Cardano Foundation wanted to bring their world wide community together for a record smashing experience. With the main stage for this summit hosted in Lausanne, Switzerland (the first time this main stage event was to be hosted outside of the US), Cardano were keen to include a virtual element to the proceedings, creating the largest amount of community-led events than ever before. 

The overarching tone for this event was set by the core hashtag, #BuildingOnCardano. This summit, the pillar of the Cardano event calendar, was designed to bring people together to discuss the future of Cardano, as they tackled the topic of utilising blockchain for good. As such, the community of this event was the cornerstone of the summit, celebrated and highlighted throughout every stage of the event planning process. 

Before the event: 

With just 4 months to deliver an event of this scale, a lead time that normally spans an entire year, we went above and beyond to ensure that this event met all client goals. Pulling together a team of 36 core First Event professionals, each with their own area of expertise, this event required us to deliver on all elements of our event experience: incentive, conference, exhibition, private party, hybrid and creative.  

 

 

Conference:

With multiple seminars, workshops and speaker sessions taking place across the weekend, we coordinated the conference element of this event. This was also the first time the event included community awards, voted for by the Cardano community on their blockchain. Attendees were able to go into the system and count the votes themselves, allowing for a transparent voting process that the community could put their trust in. 

Exhibition:

We mapped out the exhibition and element of the summit, creating the Cardano Market, a unique take on the conference format seen at other conferences. This exhibition area was created from glowing, neon huts sculpted from neon lights and live moss. 

Incentive / Travel management

Similar to our processes for incentive events, we organised all travel arrangements for those attending the event in Lausanne. This involved coordinating the flights, accommodation and travel of all in person attendees coming to Lausanne for the weekend. 

Private parties:

Across the welcome party, pre-event drinks reception, and VIP experiences, we coordinated and executed all private party elements to the summit. On Saturday, our host transported their VIPs for a luxurious dinner and an exclusive experience in Geneva, close to Lausanne. This was in addition to the gala dinner and awards ceremony on Sunday night, followed by the closing party on Monday night. 

Hybrid:

In order to unite this global community in one shared experience, our hybrid and virtual department created a slick and seamless experience for all attendees. Not only were we responsible for the AV of the conference, awards and parties themselves, we also coordinated the 51 remote watching parties. In order to build on the existing data within the Cardano community, we created bespoke links and APIs between the various systems. We also developed an APP, facilitated a QR code scavenger hunt throughout the physical and virtual venue, and created a game where attendees competed to win an NFT.

Virtual:

Very rarely do we work on events that require us to utilise the full range of our expertise in one go. Across the main event in Lausanne, the fringe parties and the virtual elements, every member of our team was required to add their skills and expertise to crafting this unique and ambitious experience for the Cardano community. 

Event overview:

The experience we created with the Cardano Foundation made this summit THE event to attend in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sphere. 

In total, the Cardano Summit brought together 1,700 attendees at the main stage event in Switzerland, as well as 30,000 virtual attendees via the 51 community-led events hosted in locations all over the world. With viewers still watching the content on demand now.

From the moment they arrived in Lausanne, attendees were greeted by the Cardano foundation. The registration process was slick and streamlined, allowing guests to focus on making the most of the summit itself. The two auditoriums where the seminars and workshops were hosted were fully accessible, and across the garden level attendees could network, connect, and sample the high quality catering that spanned all 3 meals of the day. 

The welcome dinner was also free, and the limited ticketing made the event an in demand experience that got attendees talking from the get go. Overlooking Lake Geneva, attendees of this dinner enjoyed canapes and drinks as they prepared for a weekend of festivities and celebration. 

Virtual attendees could move through the virtual conference centre through their avatars around a live replica building, interacting with other virtual attendees, creating a global community for those dialling in from all over the world. All the content captured during the workshops and seminars was made available on demand for attendees too. Transcending the need to be in the same physical space, this event offered a sense of community on so many different levels.

 

 

 

To close the summit, attendees took over a club in downtown Lausanne, which was decorated with the natural motifs and branding which are iconic to the Cardano Foundation identity. Everyone had a fantastic night, continuing the theme of the same entertainment so it became more of a community feel within the actual event itself. 

 

Results:

As a result of the expertise and experience brought by our team, the Cardano Summit of 2022 exceeded the expectations of this client. With the prediction of around 10k virtual attendees taking part through the virtual world, we ended up with an online attendance of over 30k. This was also the largest gathering of the Cardano community in one place. At previous events, the largest in person attendance was nearly 1k tickets. This record was outsold by a further 700 tickets, with tickets for the gala dinner and the welcome party selling out altogether. 

The feedback we received from the attendees was outstanding, and the feedback captured across the online platforms has been nothing but positive. With the largest number of concurrent community events (40 last year, 51 this year), the success of the delegate experience and their engagement, we created an event that was synonymous with the spirit of the Cardano Community. 

Take a look at the work of our creative departments during this event, including event marketing, branding, design, website and app development, here. Or go back in time and explore the Cardano Summit 2021 here.