Improving an Annual Symposium with an Interactive Conference App

2019 Global Pension Symposium - Tokyo, Japan

	296 Attendees		87.8% Attendance rate		46 Speakers
	12 Sponsors		211 Surveys collected

Challenge 

Pensions & Investments’ Annual Global Pension Symposium is a regular presence in Japan, having been hosted there for thirteen times. And so is the partnership between the global media brand and MCI Japan, who has supported the event as its secretariat since 2015. Given this long-term collaboration, both need to outdo themselves each year, improving the conference and ensuring that the delegates and sponsoring partners have a valuable, educational and enjoyable experience. 

Solution 

For the 2019’s Annual Symposium, MCI Japan brought its expertise in on-site management, sponsors’ logistic support, registration, signage, audio-visual and entertainment to deliver the conference – a platform through which delegates could gain access to the foremost pension investment knowledge and share best practices on innovative strategies.  

On top of that, MCI Japan contacted MCI’s global partner Magency to arrange an on-site app. ‘Sparkup’ is an app that satisfies the audience’s need for interactivity by making them part of the conversation. The app increased participation’s levels during sessions and allowed delegates to actively ask questions and share ideas in real-time and anonymously via their smartphones, a nice addition for the most reserved. On the other hand, through live polling and Q&As, speakers could easily ask for the attendees’ opinion, identify trends in the replies and pick up on an idea instantly.  

Overall, the app received positive feedback by users as an easy-to-use platform that made delegates feel more involved in the Symposium’s educational programme, resulting in an enhanced live experience.  

As an extra entertaining moment for Pensions & Investments’ guests, MCI Japan hosted a tasting of fine Japanese whiskey during the evening receptions, keeping engagement levels high even beyond the conference’s programme. 

“MCI has provided exceptional service working with Pensions & Investments on our Global Pension Symposium for the past five years. Each year, we work with them as an extension of our team to improve the experience. They provide valuable feedback and are very responsive to all of our requests. They bring new ideas each year for review to keep the program fresh and ensure that our delegates and sponsoring partners have a positive experience. We appreciate our partnership with MCI in creating a successful conference experience”.

– Nikki Pirrello, Associate Group Publisher, Pensions & investments