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A successful digital opening ceremony


A few days ago, Vitalis Events coordinated the official opening ceremony of new company headquarters, in Canton de Vaud, Switzerland. Needless to say, this opening ceremony had to be quite different, due to constraints imposed by the COVID-19 situation. Together with our technical partners, we organized a live webcast so that all the employees and company stakeholders could take part in the event.

The company is a successful biopharmaceutical company specializing in drug discovery and development in several fields.

Digital events, such as webcasts, are fast becoming the norm, as companies need to follow strict rules during the pandemic. As a medical and pharmaceutical research company, this was all the more obvious for them. On the plus side, the digitalization of the event meant less travel and use of environmental resources by employees, and more people were able to virtually “attend” the event and share it with others.

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For the live event, all sanitary measures were put in place of course, with hydro alcoholic gel and social distancing guidelines. There was sufficient space between seats, and speakers’ desks. We made sure that every speaker had their own disinfected microphone, whereas usually these would be passed between them. But not during these times. The devil is in the details.

On the technical side of things, we had three autonomous cameras, which could be entirely controlled by the technical management during the whole webcast. Large flat screens were installed around the main stage area, so that videos could be played during the ceremony. These videos included a detailed virtual visit of the new headquarters for everyone to see remotely. Interestingly, it also included an uplifting interview of a patient who had actually received treatments developed by the company, explaining his story, up to his full recovery and love of cycling and other sports. This video was then followed by a live talk between the CEO of the company and the doctor who treated this patient during several years in a local hospital.

Several executive vice presidents were also present at the inauguration site, and they took care of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. To provide the official touch to the event, the local syndic (mayor) and the Head of the Economic, Innovation and Sport Department of the Canton de Vaud both delivered very positive speeches. Indeed, the new headquarters will have a positive impact in terms of jobs and prospects of improved health for the entire community.

We are extremely pleased that this event went so smoothly, both technically and in terms of planning and logistics. Our client was delighted with the result, and we look forward to a continuing business relationship with them. It demonstrates that Vitalis Events continues to deliver great events, including state-of-the-art webcasts and digital events that are very much in demand right now, with distinguished guests and speakers. As in this example, such events can convey a lot of information and emotions, they can be entertaining as well, and provide fantastic opportunities for communication.

Please let us know what your needs are, what your ideal mix of live and digital event might be, and we will plan it and implement it carefully with you!