Client Profile

• World leader in electronic design automation (EDA) technologies and engineering services providing leading edge electronic design solutions for IC and systems design

Event Overview

• Hilton Austin, Austin, Texas
• 950+ attendees; largest attendance ever
• Ninth year that TPG has managed this program for client
• General Session meetings, track sessions, executive meetings and even a ping-pong tournament!
• Kickoff designed to bring global sales and technical teams together, provide state of the company address for 2006, share strategies for 2007, provide global attendees networking opportunities

TPG Management and Program Execution

• Negotiated and contracted with the Hilton in Austin, Texas and realized savings for the client by securing favorable room rates, complimentary meeting space, suites at group rate, complimentary welcome refreshments and more.
• Responsible for all preplanning and onsite aspects of this 5-day program including: registration and web development; creative look and feel; air ticketing for U.S., Canadian and some AsiaPac attendees; oversaw all meeting needs, F&B and off-site events; coordinated production crew requirements including lodging, F&B and set ups.
• Securing adequate meeting space is always a challenge for this large program. This meeting is space-intensive due to the number and types of sessions and this year there was the added challenge of needing space for 25 ping-pong tables! We used all the space at the Hilton and also used the convention center across the street for overflow breakouts.
• The client likes to have an activity that fosters social interaction among all attendees regardless of home base and this year they decided to hold a ping-pong tournament. More than 200 people signed up during preregistration and we determined that 25 ping-pong tables would be needed. Renting 25 tables in Austin was extremely expensive so we researched and discovered that purchasing tables would save the client money. Therefore, we purchased the tables and, after the event, donated them to local charities on behalf of the company. In addition to creating goodwill with the area residents and helping the local charities, we were able to save the client almost $13,000. The tournament was a highlight of the Kickoff. The two finalists, from AsiaPac and Japan, competed for the championship on stage at the final night celebration dinner creating incredible regional team spirit.
• Provided speaker support to keynote speakers.
• A new twist on the General Session was the construction of a rotating stage. The production team envisioned this and made it happen; feedback from attendees was extremely positive as it added new energy to the meeting.
• TPG confirmed and monitored daily set-ups for General Sessions and all track sessions.
• Attendees were assigned a combination of "mandatory," "regional" and "elective" meetings. TPG developed a customized script or program to automate the assignment process. The script created complete "event" records in the database, which provided detail for each meeting—type, date, time, location and meeting name. This information was written to the registration database and personalized meeting agendas were provided to each attendee at check in.
• Air ticketing handled quickly and efficiently.
• The registration process is refined every year to deliver more information and streamline preplanning and onsite execution. In addition to the option to register for the ping-pong tournament, we also asked each attendee for their entrée choice for the final night dinner—fish, beef or vegetarian. No easy task for 950+ people but it was seamless onsite and this special touch was appreciated by the attendees.
• Provided client with a customized "dashboard" of online reports so registration activity was easy to follow; statistics pages offered demographic breakdowns, elective session selections and a menu of a variety of downloadable Excel files; data and reports were web accessible 24/7.
• Recommended off-site venues for evening event and managed the event.