How Sophos united 1,700 staff across five continents - and beat Zoom fatigue
How do you combine virtual, hybrid and in-person formats - and avoid the feel of a Zoom meeting? That was the challenge facing cybersecurity provider Sophos when it sought to host a sales extravaganza that required communicating with its local, regional, and global teams.
Sophos wanted to connect its entire international sales team - from across the Asia Pacific region, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Americas - at one time in an engaging way to ensure that everyone was aligned with the sales goals for the year. But it also wanted to do this without the myriad of challenges faced when bringing a geographically distant team together. The obvious choice would be to use a combination of virtual, hybrid and in-person formats, with an important factor being to avoid the Zoom vibes.
There would be more than 200 people attending in person at regional meetings and more than 1,500 attending remotely. The production had to bring these multiple disparate locations together as part of a single programme of events while considering local and regional nuances to ensure the most relevant updates were communicated to each audience. The event needed attendees to join physically and content to be streamed to remote audiences, with additional presenters dialling in remotely.
The challenge was to bring exceptional production values to create a genuine event that would make Sophos's sales reps feel united and motivated. Different solutions and platforms were needed for each location, coordinating different time zones and presenting a variety of speakers. Having worked with Sophos for more than 10 years, First Sight Media was brought in to collaborate with film production company Distant Object Productions to deliver the event.
The solution
The sessions were split into two key types: regional /global sessions and local sessions. Each had its specific challenges and required its own solutions. Here is how each one was delivered.
Regional and global sessions – the online experience
In the run-up to the live virtual meetings, six weeks of pre-production planning and over 60 pre-recordings took place, including one with the High-Performance podcast, a series with global guests hosted by TV personality Jake Humphrey. This footage was filmed to mirror the look and feel of the live recordings and keep the branding and tone consistent, giving it a TV broadcast-quality feel. Technical checks were also carried out with the hosts and speakers. These run-throughs provided reassurance, navigating any technical challenges and allowing speakers to feel confident and focused on communicating their message at the event.
Sophos wanted to ensure virtual participants remained engaged throughout, and to achieve this, First Sight Media/Distant Object created a TV-show style format. A 15–20-minute rule was enforced for each session, keeping the meetings attention-grabbing, with only essential and informative discussions held. To add gravitas to the broadcast, the company's branding was applied consistently throughout each meeting, including dynamic graphics and lower third messaging – which provided the name and title of each presenter. This meant everyone was always kept up to date, and the information flow was varied and steady.
Special effects, such as reflections of the speakers embedded on-screen, were applied to amplify the production quality, creating a richer viewing experience.
Microsoft Teams enabled constant communication between the hosts and the First Sight Media crew, ensuring everything was on schedule, and the presenters clearly understood each of the next steps. This meticulous attention to detail behind the scenes contributed to the event's seamless, smooth, and slick presentation.
Sophos's workforce was also encouraged to join in on the conversations throughout the events; engagement techniques from questions and answers to live polls were submitted using platforms such as Slido and Kahoot!, depending on the location. Between intervals, a breakout room was created for those hosting the event to discuss the submissions and allow time for them to keep up with the poll results and any queries raised.
During the regional sessions, participants in Manchester and Wiesbaden, Germany, seamlessly streamed presentations between each other using hybrid solutions. An example of this was for the EMEA regional sessions. Although most of the content came from sessions in Wiesbaden, one other host in Manchester was dialled in and connected to the live stream.
"Microsoft Teams enabled constant communication between the hosts and the First Sight Media crew, ensuring everything was on schedule"
Local sessions - the in-person experience
For the in-person meetings, Sophos's office and a hotel venue were transformed into fully branded presentation hubs/spaces, complete with staging, backdrops, and uplighters for an immersive look and feel for the sales kick off.
To create an elevated in-person experience four screens were strategically positioned to offer a rich viewing experience for each participant, irrespective of where they were seated in the room. On the screens, footage from three live cameras was projected, along with videos of pre-recorded and promotional content and speaker slides, with the speakers having full control of their presentations via a clicker.
Digital microphones and high-quality speaker PA systems delivered a complete audio solution with everyone in the room hearing everything perfectly. Sound from the handheld mics, used during the Q&A discussions, was output directly to the room and the live stream, providing clear sound throughout.
One of the three cameras supplied was placed facing the audience to capture interaction during the Q&A sessions. Two cameras were positioned at the back of the room facing the stage to capture a variety of shots. Live sessions were vision-mixed, switching between close-up and wide-angle shots, keeping the audience focused with continuously varying images and following the in-person action.
Flexibility built in
Adaptability was critical in the live environment and to maintain a polished production, some on-the-spot initiatives had to be implemented, such as connecting an unscheduled live speaker to contribute to a discussion.
All sessions recorded during Sophos's 2024 Sales Kick-Off were sent back to Sophos as ‘on-demand-ready’ content, allowing the company to continue using it for team e-learning.
The success of the event depended entirely upon the complete understanding and confidence exhibited by Sophos, Distant Object Productions, and First Sight Media. This allowed the delivery of a professional and highly engaging sales kick-off event that connected Sophos’ global workforce.
“First Sight Media and Distant Object Productions delivered a successful and expertly executed Sales Kick-Off season for Sophos. The team did a fantastic job, handling even last-minute changes, including on-the-spot video edits. They were a pleasure to work with." - Juliette Harris, director of sales enablement at Sophos.
