Talent Connect
How do you create an event when nobody knows what’s going on? In 2022, the talent landscape wasn’t just complicated but pure chaos – with layoffs, talent shortages, hiring freezes, and the Great Resignation. Even market experts were doing the shrug emoji. Each new day was a mystery. So we leaned into that concept and wrote the campaign, “The future of work awaits.” Then went on to execute and oversee the largest gathering of talent leaders from across the world (on the tightest budget we’ve ever seen).
Role
Sr. Copywriter
Year
2022
Starting over
Months before the event, we worked to reimagine Talent Connect because it had paused for almost two years and people stopped attending conferences. (Boo, pandemics suck.) From new names for the experience, who should attend in person, what designs would work for executives, and how it should all sound; we turned every stone then returned to the name, look, and feel we pitched in round one. But I had fun every step of the way.
Bringing actual leaders into the spotlight
Who wouldn’t want to go to New York City to photograph some of the most influential talent leaders? So when I got a chance to travel with the crew, I decided to interview these experts and ask for their takes on all the craziness. This little side hustle became a series of scripts we pitched to our partners, and then videos that premiered during the event and the virtual livestream.
Inviting the world’s talent professionals
Marketing the event on a tight budget meant lots of organic social posts and wearing multiple hats. We concepted and wrote posts to help people become social creatures again with a little help from LinkedIn Learning. We played with every Reaction we could. And reworked labor statistics into new narratives. Oh, I also wrote and helped design the registration site because our web team was super slammed.
Setting the stage
We worked with an experiential agency to transform LA Live (home of the Grammys) into a space for learning and discovery. But I used this as an opportunity to further define “The future of work awaits” with a manifesto and forward-thinking quotes and predictions from the talent executives we interviewed in NYC.
Enjoy the experience
More than 1,600 talent executives registered for the in-person experience. And 19,898 people from around the world tuned into the virtual livestream. Here’s how it looked:
