An annual transformation seminar, on the dancefloor
Groupe OstrelInvented name
An international group takes stock of its transformation programme every year. That year, it had to celebrate how far it had come and connect subsidiaries spread far apart. We kept to a single metaphor, dancing, from the welcome desk to the coffee-corner signs.
- Sector
- Industrial services, international group
- Size
- A few thousand employees, subsidiaries in several countries
- Format
- Two days, in English
- In the room
- Senior leaders and key managers from the subsidiaries: a few dozen people of several nationalities. The seminar ran in English.
Context
- This is the annual meeting of a multi-year transformation programme that is reaching its target.
- The aim: celebrate the road travelled, review the year and prepare the next stage.
- The subsidiaries are spread across several countries, and they need to connect.
The challenge
Turn an annual review into a festive, multicultural moment where teams from different countries recognise each other.
The design
Key ideas
Staging held from start to finish
Each team table carries the name of a dance band, on a sign with a giant letter. A photo wall spells out the event’s name, one letter per sheet.
A welcome in steps
The welcome signs set out a path: hang up your coat, pick up your badge, share your favourite song to dance to, give your team a gift from your country.
A check-in question on every table
“If your mood today were a song or a dance, which one would it be?”
Kiosks, and a corner for each subsidiary
Themed kiosks on the programme’s main business lines, with arrow signs. And a corner for each subsidiary, with one board per entity.
Practical signs in the same tone
Coffee, bags, charging, lost and found, wifi: everything speaks the same visual language.
How the time was used
- Open
- Explore
- Decide
- Celebrate
Across the two days
Open
The welcome steps
Coat, badge, favourite song, a gift from your country.
Open
The check-in question
At every table, today’s mood as a song or a dance.
Open
Opening by leadership
The opening speech, recorded.
Explore
Business kiosks
The programme’s main lines, with arrow signs.
Explore
Subsidiary corners
One board per entity.
Celebrate
Close
A summary poem, generated for the occasion.
The seminar in miniature
A welcome in steps
On arrival, signs suggest a path: hang up your coat, pick up your badge, share your favourite song to dance to, give your team a gift from your country. Within minutes, the gifts make the diversity of the subsidiaries in the room visible.
- Coat
- Badge
- My song
- A gift from home
One table, one band
Each team table is named after a band you can dance to, on a sign with a giant letter. On every table, an inclusion question: “If your mood today were a song or a dance, which would it be?” A light way to get people from several countries talking, in a shared language.
My mood as a song: …
Or as a dance: …
Opening by leadership
Leadership opens the annual gathering of a transformation programme reaching the end of its target: celebrate how far it has come, take stock of the year, prepare the next stage. The speech is recorded, then transcribed and summarised, with a French version.
Business kiosks
Themed kiosks present the programme’s main business lines. Arrow signs guide people from one to the next. Even the coffee, luggage, charging, lost property and wifi signs speak the same visual language.
Subsidiary corners
One corner per subsidiary, with one board per entity: each has its own place in the room, and people move from one to the next. For teams spread across several countries, it is a chance to put a face to the people they work with.
The photo wall
On the terrace, a photo wall spells out the event’s name, one letter per sheet. Everyone comes to have their picture taken, alone or with their team: the staging carries on into the memories people take home.
Closing on the dancefloor
The seminar ends with a summary poem, generated for the occasion from what was said. The dance metaphor is held to the very end: an annual review becomes a festive, multicultural moment.
The materials, redrawn
The team table signs
- Table 1Néon Okapi
- Table 2Les Paillettes
- Table 3Comète Velours
- Table 4Funk Lagune
- Table 5Boogie Miroir
- Table 6Swing Orbital
Four steps at the door
Hey! Welcome!
Four steps onto the dancefloor
- 1 Hang up your coat
- 2 Pick up your badge
- 3 Share your favourite song to dance to
- 4 Give your team a gift from your country
On every table
“If your mood today were a song or a dance, which one would it be?”
Deliverables and follow-up
- Transcripts and summaries of the talks, in several formats, including a French version.
- A summary poem for the close.
AI and digital tools
Transcription of speeches and sharing sessions, formatting and translation, and a creative text for the close.
What we take away
- A single metaphor, carried from the welcome desk to the wifi sign, turns an annual review into a festive, multicultural moment.
- The gift from your country makes the diversity of the subsidiaries visible.
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