Karlee Ricks
Case Study
Expanded Educational Opportunities, Aggressive Marketing Lead to Impressive Growth for Impact Optimize In June 2018, Impact Networking hosted its first-ever business and technology summit, Impact Optimize. With just 100 paid attendees, the inaugural event proved to have huge potential in providing education and thought leadership to clients, prospects and community members.
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n 2019, Impact Optimize grew tenfold, hosting over 1,000 business leaders at Chicago’s iconic Navy Pier with keynote speakers, Robert Herjavec and Michael “MafiaBoy” Calce. And now, the team at Impact is already preparing for Impact Optimize 2020—set to be the biggest and best summit to-date—which will again take place at Navy Pier Aug. 13. Daniel Pink is confirmed to take the stage as the keynote speaker, and Konica Minolta has secured a Platinum-level sponsorship. Let’s take a look at how Impact Optimize grew in popularity and get a sneak peek at this year’s event.
show, Layton proposed that the best way to sell Impact’s IT solution was to host a summit focused on educating potential customers. Cucco agreed that this type of event would set Impact apart, while providing value for customers and prospects. Frank DeGeorge, Impact CTO and co-founder of Impact Optimize, came together with Layton to spearhead the event, gather sponsors and vendors, and fill the agenda with educational tracks.
How Has the Event’s Focus Evolved?
The first Impact Optimize was concentrated almost solely on security,
a discounted price, making it easier for multiple members from one company to attend. With a number of different agenda tracks in 2019, team members could walk away with a different understanding and strategy based on their roles in digital transformation. In 2020, the event will cover business and technology trends aimed at helping companies “Fuel the Future of Business” with seven defined tracks—Business Agility; Security & Compliance; Customer Experience; AI, Machine Learning & Automation; Operational Efficiency; IT & Cloud; and Culture & Strategy. The goal is to bring current customers, future customers and community members together to collaborate and network with their peers.
How Does it All Come Together?
Attendees enjoyed interactive experiences, such as this virtual reality tour for flying over New York City
How did Impact Optimize Come About?
The event came to life after Impact Vice President of Managed IT and Co-Founder of Impact Optimize, Patrick Layton spoke with Impact CEO Frank Cucco about why he wasn’t involved in the company’s past tech shows. Knowing the IT solution didn’t have associated physical hardware to present at a tech 36
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targeted towards IT professionals. As the event has grown in size, so has the focus. In 2019, the theme for the event was “Digital Transformation for Growing Companies.” Since a true digital transformation typically involves multiple people from one team, the summit’s ticket pricing changed. It allowed attendees who bought one full-priced ticket to purchase up to four additional tickets at
Putting together an event such as Impact Optimize is no easy feat—it takes months of research, planning and preparation. Over the last year, Carly Cucco, Impact operations manager, has taken on event planning, leading the logistics behind the annual summit. This includes everything from coordinating the AV teams for the Aon Grand Ballroom and seven breakout rooms; setup for vendors and sponsors in the sponsor hall; and coordination of all main stage speakers. The logistics start nearly a year in advance, making sure to reserve the space for an appropriate date and begin sourcing talent for the keynote address. However, even with months of planning, event coordination happens right up until minutes before the event, ensuring every detail is ready for attendees when they arrive.
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