A conference reimagined
Anna Valley played a vital role in the transformation of TM Forum ’ s three-day conference to a digital festival of collaboration
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The Digital Transformation World Series event this year reimagines what it means to have a digital event .”
This is the bold claim made by the CEO of TM Forum , Nik Willetts , after replacing the organisation ’ s three-day conference with a six-week long “ festival of collaboration .” And he ’ s got the stats to back it up ; the event , described as a CNN approach to a virtual conference , is breaking both attendance and engagement records .
The world ’ s telecoms networks run on services and equipment provided by TM Forum ’ s members . The organisation is an alliance of 850 + global companies working together to break down barriers between digital service providers , technology suppliers , consultancies and systems integrators . Their membership stretches across 180 countries and includes the world ’ s top 10 network and communications providers such as AT & T , China Mobile , Deutsche Telekom , Verizon and Vodafone ; and large suppliers and integrators like Ericsson , Microsoft , Nokia and Oracle Communications . Once a year , these members come together at their flagship event , “ Digital Transformation World ,” but this year ’ s show couldn ’ t go ahead in its original format for obvious reasons .
“ The event is known for being where the industry comes together for a really honest conversation , for learning , up-skilling and debating what needs to happen in the industry . When it comes to re-imagining that for a digital format , that of course presents a lot of challenges ,” says Willetts . “ Our first objective had to be to achieve what we deliver in the physical world , which is to provide a platform for collaboration . Then we have commercial objectives to be able to fund and make the event work and deliver the kind of production values we ’ re looking for , so we had to make sure we had a viable commercial offering for our sponsors . We also have about 140 companies collaborating on Catalyst [ proof of concept ] projects , and we had to find ways of bringing something that you would see and touch in the physical world to the digital world .”
Unlike many other organisations facing this situation , TM Forum hasn ’ t simply replaced the event with an online replica — with the help of event agency , Common Ground Creative , and audiovisual solutions provider , Anna Valley , they have reimagined the whole project from the ground up .
TM Forum ’ s Digital Transformation World Series is now taking place over a whopping six weeks and has been redesigned as a magazine-style current affairs TV show that spans several time zones . Hosted by two anchors from a dynamic set featuring LED backdrops , live and pre-recorded video feeds and a mix of content delivered in bitesized chunks , this virtual conference is
“ WE HAD TO FIND WAYS OF BRINGING SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD SEE AND TOUCH IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD TO THE DIGITAL WORLD .”