“The work that
Lai and Associates did on that day was,
I think, flawless.
There was not one mistake.”
When Durham Region’s Taran Sambi and Sonia Salamone needed to show off the region’s massive appeal to real estate developers, they knew the task called for a big event to shine a light on the region’s immense development potential.
The problem? Covid-19 made it impossible to host a showstopper event that truly communicated the amazing opportunities available to developers in Durham’s eight municipalities (Pickering, Ajax, Brock, Clarington, Oshawa, Scugog, Uxbridge, and Whitby). Or so they thought.
The solution? Durham Region put out a request for proposal to agencies to create its first virtual Durham Region Realty and Developer Event to appeal to site selection companies. Taran and Sonia wanted the virtual event to pack the punch of an in-person one, but pivot to the strengths of a remote meeting on Microsoft Teams.
“One of the main purposes of this event was to be visible to that realtor community and to let them know what kind of opportunities we have,” Taran says, “What kind of facilities do we have here? It’s not just about real estate, it’s about how the regional government is working with those local municipal governments in harmony and how [they’re] supporting these investments.”
Lai and Associates were the only company able to meet the brief.
“We wanted someone who could lead the project and do all the coordination – because we have eight offices,” Taran says, “We don’t have production experience running virtual events, so we had to find a third party.”
Looking for a company or agency that’s not only able to act as a communications consultancy but is also expert at executing technical aspects of a large remote meeting isn’t easy. Taran gave several companies the chance to win the project.
“We sent out a request for proposal with several components,” Taran says,
“And Lai and Associates were the only ones that came back addressing most of those components.”
Included in the services provided by Lai and Associates was a fair amount of consulting and training on the use of the technology, as presenting and switching between live speakers was all done remotely.
A few hiccups in the first dry run of the event were quickly addressed by the team at Lai and Associates after receiving feedback from their Durham Region partners.
“They quickly accepted feedback and then immediately switched gears,” says Taran, “They were always open to my call(s) … and discussing the material.”
Taran’s team was impressed with the level of work Lai and Associates were able to pull off on the day.
“The work that Lai and Associates did on that day was, I think, flawless. There was not one mistake,” Taran says, “One person said it was the best event he attended in 2021.”
Need help executing your next conference or town hall? Get in touch with Lai and Associates for a consultation. We provide technical assistance and communication consultation for all kinds of virtual events.
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