Reimagining event presentations to tell a visionary story
Industry type: Technology
Events are an essential platform for thought leadership. They’re especially critical to get right in times of transition, which is why VMware enlisted Duarte’s help for their annual customer conference, Explore. Learn how we elevated their event when it mattered most.
Challenge
With significant product announcements and heightened scrutiny following Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, they needed to ensure pixel-perfect precision in their presentation slides.
Solution
Collaborate with over 20 VMware executives and thought leaders, to create seven visually striking and impactful presentations for Explore, totaling 450 slides and influencing set design, ensuring each speaker delivered messages that left a lasting impression and stood out in the minds of over 10,000 attendees.
Result
Explore was deemed the "best yet," as the event successfully elevated the company's visibility in the marketplace, attracting a global audience, generating buzz, and capturing the attention of major media outlets, leading to continued partnership in planning future events.
Services
- Event keynote
- Event support
- Executive presentation
- Motion & video
- Product launch
- Strategy & theming
The background
Every year, VMware brings together customers, partners, developers, and staff to share ideas, grow relationships, build plans, and generate excitement for what’s to come. In 2022, its global event was rebranded from VMworld to VMware Explore to reflect the company’s expanding role as a multi-cloud technology innovator. The visionary theme demanded an equally visionary approach to presentations.
The challenge
Significant product announcements were being planned, but the recently announced acquisition of VMware by Broadcom brought even greater attention to Explore. Knowing each slide would be scrutinized under a brighter spotlight, the company’s brand and events teams turned to Duarte’s presentation experts. Because nothing less than pixel-perfect would do for this pivotal moment.
The solution
Duarte partnered with over 20 VMware executives and thought leaders to create and deliver seven visually stunning and vitally important presentations for Explore. Touching a total of 450 slides (and influencing set design), our designers and coaches worked with each speaker to ensure their messages would make a strong impression and stand out in attendees’ minds.
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Our process
Duarte mapped out a comprehensive event support plan, spanning discovery, content, design, and on-site production. Major decisions and recommendations were summarized in a “walking deck” to keep everyone aligned. Yet knowing some variables would continue to shift, we staffed our team with agile minds to pivot as needed.
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Our insights
When our creatives were briefed on the updated event brand — featuring bright, whimsical landscapes — they imagined ways to use it thoughtfully throughout slides and staging. Duarte’s designers deconstructed the visual style into its essential elements, then reconstructed them into a toolkit for artfully visualizing any type of content, from architecture diagrams to case studies to stage-side panels.
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Our approach
Coaches worked alongside presenters to shape talking points into crisp and compelling narratives while designers produced slides that told a cohesive visual story, using a presentation template to drive consistency and efficiency across hundreds of slides. Once on-site, our designers and coaches collaborated with speakers and event production staff to bring a flawless finish to the live show.
The outcome
In the words of one VMware team member, Explore was “the best yet” – a successful event that elevated the company’s visibility in the marketplace of ideas. With tens of thousands watching the live global broadcast online and in-person, announcements by the speakers generated buzz and captured attention from major media like Reuters, Forbes, and TechTarget among others. So, it’s no surprise the VMware team is already plotting how they’ll leverage our work on the next event, and we’ll be right there by their side.
It was incredible to see all parts from across the company converge and resonate with – and excite – our attendees. The brand and onsite experience was second to none.