Dixons Carphone Peak with the help of Gravit8

The Peak Week Event is Dixons Carphone’s internal employee conference, traditionally combined with a key product training exhibition held in preparation for pre-Christmas peak trading. For the first time ever, Peak2020 was held as a virtual event.

The project objective was to replace the physical event by creating a virtual conference and exhibition which will stimulate employee motivation & engagement, at a time of reduced social interaction. The event also needed to drive improved company performance during the critical prime trading week of the year.

The initial impact of Covid-19 on retail businesses was catastrophic, as many retailers adapted to selling under new restrictions and different challenges were presented; how to motivate employees who were going above and beyond every day?How to adapt to the needs of their team both remotely and in store? How to invest in employee engagement when face to face contact was limited? How to deliver critical peak trading sales knowledge through the best possible online training?

Dixons Carphone (DC) embraced the challenges that the pandemic presented and turned to Gravit8 to define a pioneering digital solution unlike any other. The event was designed with the employee experience at the core, it had to inspire & excite, it had to offer education, entertainment, and engagement.

“’We Help Everyone Enjoy Amazing Technology’ is our vision at Dixons Carphone, and our colleagues are one of our greatest strengths”, said a senior representative at Dixons Carphone. We want all our colleagues to be inspired and engaged with the virtual exhibition, using the opportunity to learn about the latest products, features or upgrades in existing technology. We want them to be clear on how to help our customers discover and choose the right tech for them, and how to help them get the most out of their purchases. They should leave educated and ready to return to their stores full of tips and advice for customers and excited about the technology we offer.”

In collaboration with Fresh Group, this project involved connecting more than 6,000 colleagues with their leaders, 40 suppliers, over 20 hours of content, games, interaction and incentives, all in a purpose-built virtual conference centre for Peak Week 2020. Streamed live for 4 days with a mix of live and on-demand content, the experience was available to colleagues throughout the key peak trading period. The platform included a custom-built registration system ensuring the relevant access for each delegate. They could also build their own agenda. There were tiered packages available for exhibition stands including varying levels of functionality such as video meeting rooms, live text chat, social boards, and product areas asset viewing/direct download functionality.