Radisson Hotels - Case Study

CASE STUDY

BØRSEN BROADCASTS DIGITAL BRIEFINGS WITH RADISSON COLLECTION IN DENMARK Broadcasting events provide businesses with a convenient alternative for communicating with audiences while face-to-face events remain restricted due to Covid-19. But event organisers need to ensure that the virtual environment, production quality, content and overall look and feel reflects their brand values and gives participants a similar high-end experience they would get if they attended in person. This was the challenge that faced Børsen, Denmark’s leading business and finance newspaper, when it needed to switch from face-to-face to digital events.

Børsen hosts high-level breakfast briefings for its Børsen Executive Club members eight times a year. The thought-leadership events, hosted by Niels Lunde, editor-in-chief at Børsen, aim to provide members – high-level decision makers, C-Level executives and aspiring leaders – with exclusive inspiration and insights.

LOCATION MATTERS Since 2019, the Børsen Executive Club events have been hosted at Radisson Collection Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. “The physical environment has always been incredibly important to us,” says Stine Bjerre Herdel, Business Director, Communication & Content. “We want our guests to feel important and special and the Royal provides the exclusive service, look and feel we require.”

When the pandemic hit and Børsen was unable to host the events in person, it was important to continue offering these valuable briefings for members. The brand switched to a virtual format, which could have easily been broadcast from Børsen’s own offices, but Bjerre Herdel says they were keen to keep the same sense of exclusivity.

“Meeting at Radisson Collection is part of our club identity and the Radisson Collection Royal Hotel, Copenhagen has become our ‘clubhouse’. We didn’t want to move as that would have taken away from the exclusive feel we have worked hard to cultivate,” she comments. Even though members were not attending in person, hosting the virtual events at the same hotel was important for brand association, positioning and consistency.

AIMING HIGH: CREATING THE SAME EXCEPTIONAL EVENT EXPERIENCE THROUGH DIGITAL In February 2021, Børsen partnered with the Radisson Collection Royal Hotel, Copenhagen to broadcast an Exchange Executive Club morning meeting to virtual attendees.

“When we started planning for the event, we initially hoped that we would be able to host the event physically as in-person events were allowed under government rules at the time. However, we decided that it would not send the right signals for us as a brand. Also, many companies had banned employees from attending events, and it was important to us to make sure the meeting was inclusive and accessible to all members,” explains Bjerre Herdel. The government restrictions subsequently changed so choosing to host the event digitally had been the right decision.

The meetings follow the same format and are always held between 8.30-9.30am so business leaders can come along, be inspired, and then get on with their day at work. An influential person is invited to speak for 20 minutes, then Niels Lunde interviews them and facilitates a Q&A with the audience.

A GREAT ON-SITE AND ONLINE EXPERIENCE For the February event, the speaker was Kim Kristensen, currently the Master of Ceremonies of the Danish Queen’s Royal Household, author of Follow Me – Leading from the Front, and former Colonel in the Danish army. In collaboration with an AV partner, a technical solution was provided to film and broadcast the event live to the virtual audience.

The team at Børsen were able to facilitate interaction by offering audience members the opportunity to ask questions through a chat function, which Lunde monitored and selected questions to ask Kristensen.

To ensure sufficient space for physical distancing, the stage was set up in the hotel’s largest ballroom, with only the speakers present. The team at the Radisson Collection Royal Hotel, Copenhagen worked closely with Børsen to deliver an excellent experience for those on-site. Everyone involved, from the event planning team to the speakers, were ensured peace of mind, knowing that the hotel has rigorous health and safety protocols in place.

“When we work with Radisson, we know we are guaranteed the highest levels of professionalism.

Everything is always in order and looks great, which is important for our audience. The team care about the nitty gritty as much as we do and get involved in every little detail,” says Stine. “The Radisson Collection Royal Hotel, Copenhagen has been incredibly flexible, which has been very important to us over the last year, and the service levels are excellent. The team is always responsive, helpful and a pleasure to work with.”

NEW OPPORTUNITIES UNCOVERED Bjerre Herdel says the virtual events were well received among members. “People were enthusiastic about the content and we had good feedback. The benefits of going digital is that it has enabled us to open the events out to a wider audience and given us new avenues to try and grow our membership – one of the breakfast briefings we hosted last year was broadcast to 700 people. It has also given us the opportunity to gather lots of material that we can share in different ways.”

She adds that hybrid formats with both in-person and virtual audiences will provide new opportunities in future. “When restrictions are lifted, we’re looking forward to going back to live and in-person events, however we don’t want to completely let go of digital as it has its benefits.”

Radisson Collection Royal Hotel, Copenhagen Hammerichsgade 1, 1611 Copenhagen V, Denmark radissonhotels.com/collection