The Hexagon Sales Kick Off 2025, known as SKO25 is a 3-day event, with 2 rehearsal days and an installation/technical day. The event’s purpose is to bring together 800 sales staff from the client’s global offices, align their commercial strategy, and, as one global business, set their sights on an exciting future.
We have been involved with the event for a number of years and have helped grow the event from 250 delegates in 2019 to 800 delegates in 2025. Our role is to design an exciting event, a narrative that delivers impactful content, to work with the stakeholders and help craft their presentations. Consideration for guests whose native language is not English was hugely important and helped to shape the way we delivered the content. Working with the Dublin CCD, we designed the set and technical audio-visual solutions to work in the environment, blending the technical with the creative to execute a flawless show.
This year we created a TV channel theme, where we made every presentation a ‘programme’ with its own unique identity, scenic imagery, stage props, opening VT, music and content graphics. Each program was cleverly tailored to the style and skills of each presenter, giving them the tools and comfort they required to deliver a great performance. Coaching and choreographing first time presenters to seasoned talent helped give confidence and style to all on stage. Sessions were linked with ‘commercials’ that delivered light-hearted and funny content made by the regional offices. The audience engaged with live polling and questions via the event app. During the game show, the energy levels rose, as the audience shouted out the answers to the contestants on stage.
A professional presenter created the ‘tone’ and humour, while delivering summaries and insights. As well as hosting one of the sessions, she engaged with the audience and at one point even had them dancing in the aisles. Each programme had the strength to stand on its own identity, but we chose to push the event boundaries and make lots of programmes to make a complete TV channel and a really exciting event.
Pulling this off required four months of dedicated pre-production, including strong creative design, and seamless execution as well as writing scripts for professional and C-suite talent. To blend the technical with the creative and to execute a growing show, while working with the previous years budget. The stage choreography was meticulous, coping with the numerous amounts of presenters and scene changes. It brought together production leadership from all disciplines, including the client and their stakeholders. With clearly defined roles and responsibilities, we worked as one team.
The TV channel theme gave us the ability to shape an event to the specific styles of each presenter, in a way that delivered their message to an attentive audience for 3 days.
We played 54 videos, 22 produced by us, over 300 onscreen sequences and pre-sets and over 450 lines in the show running order. 18 operational crew, plus logistics and runners, countless stage and scenic changes, endless lighting and audio cues.
With environmental impact in mind, we designed the set with very little waste going to landfill, while larger scenic components were recycled. Furniture, props and AV equipment were used from hire stocks and therefore re-purposed.
The result of this event has already seen a highly energised business, excited and driving forward into 2025. The client has experienced a huge influx of motivational comments from the audience, and they are now saying that the is their best “Sales Kick Off meeting” ever.
The client has said
“We couldn’t have come close to this level of success without you all – true partners with the creative juices and patience too. I am really proud of what we achieved together this year and can’t wait to do it all again”
-Hexagon ALI, B2B Revenue Marketing Leader | Global Demand Generation | ABM | Brand | Digital Marketing | Events
“Fantastic to work with you and your team Gavin as always. Will be a challenge to top this one next year but I know we will try:)”
– Hexagon ALI, President
“Great event Gavin – thanks for your leadership and “herding the cats” to deliver a fantastic 2025 kickoff”
– Hexagon ALI, Senior Vice President
“Hexagon SKO 2025 in Dublin was amazing! Thanks for organizing the event for us!”
– Senior Solutions Consultant at Hexagon