During the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual meetings and online events have become an accepted alternative to face-to-face (F2F) experiences. GES, one of the world’s leading live events companies, is taking a major step forward to embrace change, identify new growth opportunities, and ultimately redefine what it means to come together. GES introduces its new venture, Spiro™, an integrated marketing solutions agency. Spiro expands GES’s capabilities to manage traditional events and offers a new set of capabilities to deliver virtual events and hybrid experiences.
“As the market evolves, so have the needs of our customers,” said Jeff Quade, GES’ executive vice president of North American exhibitions. “The evolution of Spiro, formerly Brand Experiences, allows us to provide enhanced service offerings year-round to our valued corporate clients and event partners.”
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Spiro, an expert in strategic and analytical event management, creative design and production, sees in-person, virtual and hybrid events as opportunities for immersive and interactive storytelling and brand engagement. “Spiro’s launch comes at a very opportune time for our industry and our clients,” said Spiro Global President Jeff Stelmach. “The last two years have reinforced the essential value of events and experiences in connecting people. Today, some people may meet in one location while others join online. Some interactions happen entirely online. It’s not about meeting people with similar interests in one location, but meeting in the media where they are. We see this as an opportunity to attract an even broader audience and attract attendees who may not have been able to ‘attend’ live events before.”
Recently, Spiro helped client Cisco create an immersive F2F experience at Expo Dubai. Cisco’s role was critical. As the event’s first digital network partner, their goal was to showcase new technologies, bring people together, and build strategic partnerships and alliances across countries. Spiro created Cisco Grove, an 11,000-square-foot marriage of modern workplace and integrated lifestyle, featuring a hidden VIP door and a fully immersive branded tunnel leading to a digital innovation venue. With a vibrant color scheme, digital signage, modern furniture, and an amphitheater for dynamic demonstrations, attendees were enveloped in a 50-foot curved wall of data-driven messaging and connections for a sustainable and inclusive future.
On the virtual events side, when the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, in partnership with the Defense Digital Service, invited cybersecurity researchers (hackers) to apply their skills and competitive nature in a satellite security challenge, they turned to Spiro to design and build a unique 3D environment called “The Hackers Den,” a multi-room virtual environment where online attendees could observe the progress of digital teams, learn about cybersecurity in space, and participate in other interactive activations.
“Companies and organizations have never had more ways to thoughtfully engage with their core audiences and access new audiences,” said Carley Faircloth, Spiro’s Chief Marketing Officer. “One of Spiro’s key offerings is the creation of Communities of Practice, a design approach that positions events as catalysts for ongoing community. Through this unique approach, experiences are elevated beyond the transactional, to address the experience gap that global audiences face today.”
Contact Jeff Quade at [email protected]; Jeff Stelmach at [email protected]; Carley Faircloth at [email protected]
