Breaking a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ record title at an Online 50th Anniversary Event
Event kind: 50th Anniversary Event
Attendees: Around 700 (Employees and their families from multiple locations throughout Japan)
Location: Online
Date: 13th November 2020
Type of record: Most photos of people pointing in the air uploaded to a website in one hour
Since their foundation, NTT DATA NJK Corporation (henceforth NJK) has been conducting an anniversary event every decade. At the time of the 40th anniversary, their approach was using the anniversary event as an opportunity to appeal to their customers. This year, for the 50th anniversary, they wanted something different and decided to make company members play a leading role in both planning and operation of the event.
Client’s Vision
As 50th anniversary event, the goal was to get everyone together and share their intentions for the future. In addition, they wanted to use the event to promote a sense of unity across different business divisions. However, they realized that no matter how much they wanted to make company members play a central role in creating the event, they are not professionals in this field. Therefore, they reached out to JTB Meetings & Events by JTB Communication Design (JCD).
Concrete Ideas
We at JCD helped NJK hash out the details of everything from the planning and implementation, to the polishing of the project and the actual operations. NJK was asked to create a clear vision of what they wanted to do, and we proposed a concrete plan that went beyond their expectations, grasping the significance and purpose of this special anniversary event.
The concept of ‘unity’ kept coming up, since they wanted all company members to become one through participation in this 50th anniversary event. This is why the word "One" became the central theme. It points both to the worth of each individual member and their role, as well as the unity of the company. We also suggested the idea of challenging a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS record title through the event, something that has been a very successful motivational activity in our experience. NJK showed great interest in this idea as the centerpiece of the event, since it would stimulate participation of all their members.
Preparation: Shifting to Online Event
When the event was initially being planned, it was being set up as a live, in-person event. A venue was selected, and a content and production plan had been made. But when the COVID-19 pandemic started, those plans clearly couldn’t be realized anymore. While ideas for adjustments were being suggested, the mood to cancel it altogether started sinking in among some of the executive committee members. But after having consulted with JCD, they realized that there was no need to stick to holding an in-person event. They started considering the possibilities of converting it into an online event instead.
The step of taking this anniversary event online turned out to be a good one as many ideas were pitched. Going online could actually realize the theme of “One” in a better way, since NJK has offices at various locations in Japan and it is almost impossible for all employees to meet at the same place at the same time. But if it's held online, this becomes possible. JCD helped NJK with concrete suggestions of how to set up the online program and what uniquely online content they could implement.
Execution: Driving Forces
When it came time to hold the event there were still some uncertainties, since because a lot of this was new. But after several rehearsals, these uncertainties faded away. In the end it all worked out smoothly. The interaction with attendees through the chat function also led to a lot of positive and encouraging live feedback.
As for the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS record title, the challenge was for as many of the participants to upload a photo of a pose that expressed the concept of “One”, raising one finger in the air. The executive committee members were worried that not enough people would actually participate, as they have about 700 employees in total, and the goal was for at least 500 people to upload a photo of a pose. A manual for how to participate was made and shared in advance so everyone would know what to do.
Post-Event Reflection
In the end, some people may have not been able to participate due to work that suddenly came up on the day of the event, so it was tense until the announcement. But the record was achieved successfully and at the moment of announcement, the executive committee members felt very accomplished. The members felt that they accomplished the original purpose of this anniversary event: that all participants remember and recognize that they are “One Team” and are all working towards a shared future together. They received more submissions than expected, and the day after the event many company members reported that they were very glad to have participated.
Since so many company members enjoyed participating, the interest in in-house events grew following this 50th anniversary event. At this point, a lot of company events such as in-house training and business division policy announcements are now held online. Through this anniversary event, the feeling of resistance to online seems to have disappeared altogether. The successful conversion of this event from in-person to online also demonstrated flexibility and set up a precedent for future similar situations. It seems to have triggered a wave of new exciting ideas and projects in the future.
The JCD Factor
The executive committee consulted with JCD as they had trouble figuring out how to do their event in-person, and we resolved this by inspiring them to do an online event. JCD’s online events so far have been filled with a variety of features that continue to expand. While we are currently still struggling with the pandemic, this does not mean all events should be cancelled flat out, especially major anniversary events such as this one.
Online events allow people that are teleworking or are far away to easily participate, and chat functions are a basic method to remove hurdles for participation. Just like in the case of NJK, having all employees of a large company participate will create a sense of unity. We encourage you to not give up on the ideas you may have had for an in-person event completely, and instead let us help you figure out how to turn it into an online success.
