AWS
London Summit
The Challenge
AWS Global Summits are free, large-scale tech events that bring the cloud computing community together to connect, collaborate, and learn about Amazon Web Services (AWS). With exponential growth in attendance and sponsor numbers, meticulous planning, cultural considerations, and exceptional organisation was essential. The pressure to deliver flawless experiences while adapting to local preferences and ensuring sustainability added layers of complexity to the task.
The Solution
Sleek partnered with AWS to deliver the successful summit which hosted over 12,000 delegates. With speakers, breakout sessions, networking, demos, workshops, even team challenges, there’s a lot going on. Managing local cultural differences and a growing sponsor list required creativity and exceptional organisation to exceed expectations. Processing registrations smoothly, despite the morning rush, was a primary focus.
By refining crowd management and ensuring seamless movement between sessions and meal breaks, Sleek ensured a smoother experience for all attendees. A customer-centric approach was applied by providing healthy refreshments and creating engaging meeting spaces. Addressing local preferences, such as restroom facilities, was crucial for attendee comfort. Sustainability was also a key consideration, from venue choices to supplier practices.
Acting as an extension of the AWS team, we also work closely with sponsors from the moment they sign up and have a dedicated digital platform to help. Our eye for detail is always noted. When we work with stand suppliers check artwork files, gather quotes and negotiate costs. In 2019, we found 15 errors on artwork pre-event and found another 10 during the build – saving the blushes and reputations of many sponsors!
The Result
For us, the success of AWS comes down to exceeding clients expectations by enhancing sponsor experience as well as the experiences of delegates. And the continuing growth of both individual summits and our responsibility for running them speaks volumes for this approach. Our first Summit and expo in 2015 had 33 sponsors and around 3,000 attendees – the most recent had 99 and around 12,000 attendees.
The success wasn’t just counted in sponsor and delegate numbers. There’s the creativity and scale of the spaces too. Last year we created 99 sponsor stands and 10 custom-built stands - many others have tripled in size and creativity as the demand for learning and connecting increases. It often happens when our creative team helps to turn a basic brief into an exciting vision.
“We always expect the unexpected – and we always have a Plan B. We don’t rest on our laurels though. We always come in under budget and negotiate every year. Due to our long-lasting relationships with suppliers, we get loyalty discounts, which we pass on as great value. The retention and growth of the AWS Summits is a testament to the great job my team does – I’m really proud that we now manage other regions to a standard that surpasses that first successful event.” - Jennifer Davidson, Founder & MD of Sleek
