GoGather partnered with a leading company in the lighting industry to coordinate their 2024 annual conferences in both Atlanta and New York City.
Each multi-day event included networking sessions, expo exhibits, presentations, and engaging activities, bringing together lighting professionals from around the globe.
They chose GoGather as their event management partner because they needed a trusted team to provide visibility throughout the planning process and manage all the logistical details.
The client initially approached GoGather because they were not happy with their previous event managers' level of communication and were challenged with attrition and adhering to budget on their annual programs.
With visibility and control slipping away, they were considering scrapping the program altogether.
That’s when we stepped in.
One of the major challenges our client encountered before partnering with GoGather was dealing with the complexities of a committee-based decision-making process.
With multiple voices, various viewpoints, and decades-long industry veterans involved, aligning everyone’s vision required understanding and collaboration.
GoGather’s project manager supported our client as a neutral third party—someone outside their industry—to understand the team’s passions and priorities. It was all about building trust, maintaining clear communication, and making everyone feel heard while keeping the program aligned with the client’s budget.
To tackle the complexities of the committee, GoGather implemented a structured communication strategy that ensured all voices were included while minimizing confusion.
We established a single point of contact, our project manager, to host regular check-ins, facilitate discussions, and keep everyone aligned on the program's goals.
The outcome? Their first event with us went off without any attrition issues, and the committee felt re-energized, with complete transparency throughout the planning process.
We’re excited to keep the momentum going for 2025, 2026, and 2027!
The NYC conference brought in over 500 attendees and took place in a beautiful venue right in the heart of Times Square.
While being so close to Broadway made it a memorable location, it came with its own set of challenges.
The busy area made it difficult to bring in outside A/V, so we had to work closely with the hotel’s in-house production team to keep things running smoothly.
Plus, with thousands of hotels in NYC, it was tough to keep attendees within our room block.
Thankfully, the Marriott Marquis turned out to be a great choice for the event venue, offering beautiful meeting spaces and plenty of amenities.
We negotiated competitive room rates and assisted the client in promoting the benefits of staying at the hosted venue, emphasizing that it:
Our project management team collaborated closely with the in-house A/V team to ensure the event looked and sounded its absolute best. We were also able to arrange the ballroom’s custom lights to tie into the client’s lighting theme.
Another challenge our client had was juggling all the different logistics, activities, and groups throughout the event week.
We helped them organize their agenda to include a walking tour around NYC's best lights in the city, hands-on workshops, and networking events for emerging professionals—every day was packed with something new.
This meant we had to carefully plan room allocations, signage, and A/V needs.
To tackle all these moving parts, GoGather’s event experts stepped in to streamline communication and take charge of logistics. Our project management team handled:
Plus, the GoGather team managed all the room flips, turning the general session space into a red carpet-worthy setup for the evening awards gala ceremony in NYC. Then later, into a lively party atmosphere, all in just a couple of hours.
While planning the event, our client faced a few hurdles with room management.
The higher floors of the hotel tended to get a bit too warm, which could be uncomfortable for attendees. Plus, we had a mix of breakout rooms, with some being much larger than needed, making it harder to create an intimate environment for the classroom sessions.
The client also wanted to make sure attendees spent plenty of time in the expo halls to network and help sponsors make connections.
To keep everyone comfortable, we made a last-minute decision to relocate the smaller event to a private reception space featuring floor-to-ceiling windows, which helped maintain a cooler environment. We also reevaluated and swapped around the breakout room assignments to make sure they fit the needs of each session better.
Before the event, our project management team coordinated closely with sponsors and crafted a floor plan that maximized networking opportunities.
We set up welcoming spaces for attendees to sit and chat. We also added wine and beer bars and snack stations around the expo at night to encourage mingling.
The client envisioned a Casino-themed game night to wrap up their conference in Atlanta while keeping budget considerations in mind.
Since we planned to host the casino night in the general session area, we needed to think creatively about how to make the event feel lively, especially since attendees had spent the majority of the day in that same room listening to presentations.
We hustled to transform the general session space into a vibrant casino atmosphere. With layout adjustments and playful decor, we helped set the stage for a memorable night.
To keep costs down, we built a sports-themed casino for under $1,000, avoiding the expense of having to hire a traditional DMC in the Atlanta area.
To top it off, we offered attendees snacks that complemented the sports theme, like soft pretzels, popcorn, beer, wine, and ball-park hot dogs.
Despite facing challenges like juggling committee opinions, complex logistics, and tight budgets, GoGather delivered a smooth conference experience for attendees from start to finish.
Our project management team handled every detail, from venue setups to overseeing F&B services, even transforming the space for an exciting casino night.
The client couldn’t have been more pleased, stating, “The GoGather team is an excellent partner for our organization and events,” and commending our attention to detail and positive attitude throughout the process.
For both conferences in Atlanta and NYC, they said, “Everything went perfectly with GoGather's support of our event."