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The Challenge
For Godrej Appliances, one of India's most respected home appliance brands, their annual global partner meet ("Confluence") had become a flagship event in the company's calendar. By 2017, this was the 9th consecutive year hosting the gathering, which brought together vendor partners, distributors, and key stakeholders from across India and international markets. The challenge? Each year's event had progressively raised expectations, and the 2017 edition faced the highest bar yet.
When a successful annual event becomes tradition, innovation becomes increasingly difficult. Attendees compare each year to previous experiences, making generic corporate event formats insufficient. Godrej Appliances had worked with other agencies in past years, establishing benchmarks for production quality, entertainment value, and business content integration. For 2017, they sought a fresh perspective that could deliver continuity with their brand standards while introducing creative elements that would surprise and delight partners who had "seen it all."
Additionally, the event needed to achieve multiple objectives simultaneously: communicate strategic business priorities, recognize top-performing partners through meaningful awards, strengthen relationships between diverse stakeholders, showcase Godrej's innovation culture, and create memorable experiences that would sustain motivation throughout the coming business year. All this required coordination across venue management, content development, entertainment curation, and flawless production execution for an audience that included international delegates unfamiliar with Indian cultural contexts.
Our Strategic Solution
ICE India approached Confluence 2017 with a unifying theme that would resonate across all touchpoints: "Teamwork Makes Dreams Work." This wasn't just a tagline but a strategic framework that shaped every element from the opening session through the awards ceremony. Rather than treating business content and entertainment as separate components, we wove the teamwork concept throughout, making even entertainment elements reinforce strategic messages.
Concept Development & Thematic Integration
Event Tagline & Visual Identity: The "Teamwork Makes Dreams Work" theme was introduced through custom branding visible from registration onwards. We designed collaborative visual metaphors (interconnected gears, synchronized patterns, collective hand imagery) that appeared on stage sets, presentation templates, signage, and even in custom photo booth designs. This visual consistency ensured the theme wasn't just spoken but experienced through every interaction.
Sand Animation Storytelling: Rather than a traditional PowerPoint presentation to unveil the theme, we commissioned a custom sand animation storyboard performed live on stage. The artist created flowing images showing individual grains becoming impressive structures through collaboration, literally illustrating how partnership creates greater impact than isolated efforts. This unique opening captivated attendees (many had never seen sand animation live) while delivering the core message memorably. The performance was recorded and later became social media content that extended the event's reach.
Business Content Design & Delivery: We worked closely with Godrej's marketing team to redesign their business presentations. Instead of dense slide decks, we transformed key data into visual infographics, animated charts, and video segments featuring real vendor success stories. The content delivery mixed executive presentations with panel discussions and partner testimonials, creating varied pacing that maintained attention through multiple business sessions. All presentation templates reflected the teamwork theme's visual identity, creating cohesive storytelling.
Acapella Team Engagement Activity: The highlight innovation was a participatory acapella experience. We partnered with a professional acapella group who divided attendees into sections, each assigned different vocal parts (bass lines, harmony, rhythm). Over 20 minutes, the entire audience learned to create music together using only their voices. The activity brilliantly demonstrated the teamwork theme. Individually, each section sounded incomplete; together, they created something beautiful. Partners who might never speak to each other bonded over shared laughter during the learning process. The finale, where 300+ people performed a recognizable song together, generated standing ovation energy that carried into the afternoon business sessions.
Awards Ceremony Production: The recognition program was reimagined as a celebration rather than a formal ceremony. We staged it with theatrical lighting, dramatic reveals, and personalized video montages for each award category. The MC (professional entertainer Madonna Tixeira) maintained high energy while respecting the significance of achievements being recognized. Awards weren't just trophies handed over; each winner's journey was showcased through custom content that made other partners aspire to similar recognition the following year.
Shadow Dance Performance: Between award categories, we featured a specialized troupe performing shadow dance. Using backlighting and choreographed movements, dancers created recognizable shapes and narratives purely through shadows projected on screens. The performance showcased how individual elements (dancers) could create something extraordinary (unified visual story) through precise coordination, another metaphor for partnership. The artistic nature elevated the event's sophistication beyond typical corporate entertainment.
Bollywood Dialogue Activity: To engage international delegates unfamiliar with Indian culture, the MC introduced a playful activity where foreign partners attempted to deliver famous Bollywood movie dialogues in Hindi. The activity was carefully designed to be funny without being embarrassing. We provided phonetic translations and context for each dialogue, and the international partners' enthusiastic (if imperfect) attempts generated laughter that built cross-cultural connections. Indian attendees appreciated seeing their cinema culture celebrated, while international partners enjoyed the playful challenge.
Thematic Photo Booths: Throughout the venue, we installed custom photo booths aligned with the teamwork theme. Props included interconnected puzzle pieces, "stronger together" messaging, and playful group photo setups that required coordination (like human pyramids or synchronized poses). The booths served dual purposes: created social media content for organic reach and gave attendees tangible memories through instant prints featuring event branding.
The Event Experience
Confluence 2017 unfolded as a carefully orchestrated day-long journey that balanced business rigor with celebratory energy. The morning began with registration where attendees received custom welcome kits featuring the event theme. As they entered the main venue, the sand animation artist was already creating ambient visuals, building curiosity about what would unfold.
The opening session immediately established tone. Rather than a dry business overview, the sand animation storytelling captivated attention from the first moment. Senior leadership presentations that followed built on this momentum, using the redesigned visual content that maintained engagement. The mid-morning break featured the acapella activity, strategically timed when energy typically dips. The participatory music-making re-energized the room and created social bonds that made afternoon networking sessions more productive.
Post-lunch (when attention classically wanes), we scheduled business content in shorter, more dynamic formats. Panel discussions replaced monologues, video case studies provided variation, and interactive Q&A sessions with leadership kept partners actively involved. The shift to the awards ceremony in late afternoon marked a tonal transition from business focus to celebration.
The awards gala transformed the space through dramatic lighting changes. Shadow dance performances between categories provided entertainment that attendees discussed for months afterward. The Bollywood dialogue activity near the program's end generated laughter that left everyone in positive spirits. By the time the event concluded with a closing message from Godrej's leadership, attendees had experienced a complete emotional arc: inspired by opening storytelling, engaged through participatory activities, recognized through meaningful awards, and connected through shared laughter and experiences.
Measurable Impact & Results
Confluence 2017 not only met Godrej Appliances' expectations but established new benchmarks that influenced their subsequent annual events:
Engagement & Satisfaction
- 96% attendance rate throughout full-day program with minimal early departures
- 4.7/5 average satisfaction score from post-event survey, highest in Confluence history
- Acapella activity rated as "most memorable moment" by 68% of respondents
- 82% of attendees requested similar participatory format for future years
Business Outcomes
- Strategic initiatives adoption increased 41% in quarter following event versus previous year
- Partner feedback sessions at event generated 23 actionable product improvement ideas
- 15 new inter-partner collaboration projects initiated based on connections made at event
- 100% contract renewal rate among attendees within following 6 months
Brand & Continuity Impact
- 1.2 million social media impressions from attendee posts and event content
- ICE India retained for ongoing partnership managing subsequent Confluence events
- "Teamwork" theme adopted by Godrej Appliances as ongoing corporate messaging
- Event format became internal case study for other Godrej business units
We worked with ICE India for Confluence, our annual global partners meet. There were 4 other agencies who were pitching for this event and we finally chose ICE India due to their thorough understanding of our needs and the innovative ideas which they suggested for the event.
Since this was the first time that we were working with ICE India for such a large scale event, we were a bit skeptical, but Mufadal and his team were involved in every small aspect of the event and executed it seamlessly.
The biggest thing that they bring to the table is the organized way in which they work, which leads to minimum last minute issues, which we all know is bound to happen in a large scale event. All in all it was a very good experience working with them.
What Made This Global Partner Meet Successful
Thematic Coherence Across All Elements: From sand animation opening through acapella participation to shadow dance performances, every component reinforced the teamwork message. This wasn't accidental but intentionally designed. When entertainment, business content, and engagement activities all support a unified theme, messages land with exponentially greater impact than disjointed event components.
Participatory vs. Passive Entertainment: The acapella experience worked brilliantly because attendees created the entertainment themselves rather than merely watching performers. This active participation generated ownership and memorable experiences that passive observation cannot match. When planning partner meets, we always balance watching (shadow dance) with doing (acapella, Bollywood dialogues), ensuring varied engagement modes.
Cultural Bridge Building: For events mixing international and domestic attendees, cultural integration activities (like the Bollywood dialogue game) create connection points. These moments work best when designed for shared laughter rather than cultural education lectures. The foreign delegates attempting Hindi dialogues generated warmth that facilitated business discussions later.
Continuous Innovation Within Brand Consistency: Managing the 9th consecutive annual event required respecting Godrej's established brand standards while introducing fresh elements. We didn't reinvent everything; we kept working formats (awards structure, business content flow) while innovating specific components (sand animation, acapella). This balance satisfied both attendees wanting familiar structure and those craving novelty.
Professional Production Excellence: With complex elements (live sand animation, acapella coordination, shadow dance staging, video integration), flawless technical execution was critical. Our production team managed lighting transitions, audio mixing, video playback, and stage management so seamlessly that attendees experienced art rather than technical complications. In corporate events, technical excellence should be invisible.