Case Study

STMicroelectronics' Developers Conference

Virtual Summit

Broadcast From San Francisco

October 2021

Happily was such a joy to work with and very attentive to our needs.

Kirby Atwater

Kirby Atwater

Product Marketing Staff Engineer, STMicroelectronics

Key Results

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The Challenge

The ST Developers Conference returned in 2021 with a freshly designed two-day virtual summit. There were to be over 30 sessions to explore industry trends, the latest technical discussions, fireside chats with industry leaders, and an array of video product demonstrations.

STMicroelectronics is the leading international electronics and semiconductors manufacturer. Basically, they design and innovate the spark that animates the products we use in our daily lives.

STMicroelectronics partnered with Happily for full-service creative direction and execution of the summit. As STMicroelectronics is an international company, presentations would be a combination of live and pre-recorded content from two custom-built pop-up studios, as well as pre-recorded presentations filmed remotely. The broadcast was to have two concurrent stages for attendees to choose from; the IoT Stage (the Main Stage) and the Power Stage (the Technical Stage).

Wow, very cool virtual keynote setup!

Bobby K

Bobby K

Attendee

The Solution

Happily STDevCon21 Pop-up studio builds

In partnership with STMicroelectronics, the Happily Broadcast Team designed and managed three pop-up green screen studios for the broadcast of the conference.

In order to do this, a conference room in the Hyatt Regency San Francisco was completely transformed into a fully equipped, high-tech broadcast setup with two stages. The first day of the summit was to consist of live presentations broadcasted from these studios. The second day was to include pre-recorded content. The consistent use of a green screen backdrop for the live broadcast and in the pre-records, would allow a final cohesive experience across the summit. The live content and the pre-recorded content would not be notable by the attendees.

A Happily Executive Producer co-created the experience with the STMicroelectronics team, working directly with them to oversee all the components of the event, including co-writing a strong opening keynote. Two Stage Leads (one for each stage) provided leadership onsite for the team, ensuring that all cues were met up by speakers and staff, as well as giving any necessary coaching to presenters. A Broadcast Director and two Streaming Engineers handled all the technical aspects of the live broadcast and the massive XR Studio builds.

The Happily Web Team built a customized and fully branded microsite with concurrent viewing experiences for online guests. There were two livestream pages for each content area of the summit (ie. the main stage and the technical stage), that attendees could switch between during the broadcast. There was also a multi-track agenda that included a downloadable PDF option. The microsite was fully GDPR compliant, appropriately acknowledged all event partners, as well as hosted a live chat function for attendees to connect and submit questions. Registration of attendees was handled by the ST team. The Happily Creative Team was across the live broadcast, the pre-recording content and an ST branded original video. A Creative Director crafted custom scenic environments in Unreal Engine that could be placed on the green screens during the live broadcast, acting as dynamic and lifelike virtual sets.

A Pre-recording Video Director and an Editor filmed 12 presentations remotely and onsite through a combination of Zoom, Camtasia, and live PTZ cameras, starting a month out from the conference. They ensured that each pre-recorded was done to certain specifications, and included a green screen. Each presentation could then be assembled, edited, and branded with virtual backgrounds and presentation overlays, to create a united aesthetic across the live and pre-recorded content. As part of an adjacent project, the Happily Creative Team wrote and directed an original video commercial piece to be debuted at the summit and available for unrestricted use by ST.

Well coordinated event with excellent content, thanks!

Agajan S

Agajan S

Attendee

The Results

ST Happily Website

The ST Developers Conference 2021 was an epic production for both the ST and the Happily teams, and the hard work from everyone involved resulted in an incredibly successful virtual summit.

This event was also 100% carbon neutral! Both STMicroelectronics and Happily are committed to a carbon zero future and so we are all proud that say that hosting a virtual summit led to an ~400 tons reduction in CO2 emission, with a total of only ~25 tons CO2 emitted from this event. Consequently, 1,000 trees were planted in the Happily Forest to offset those ~25 tons of CO2.

Here are some of the achievements and highlights from the ST Developers Conference 2021:

  • The event had 2,511 registrations (which succeeded the RSVP goal) and 694 unique viewers
  • Attendees tuned in from 37 countries! 60% were in the US and 40% were international
  • The average viewing duration of 120 min for the Main Stage, and 60 min for the Tech Stage
  • In total 23 hours of content were broadcasted
  • There were three stage environments; a Main Stage for keynote speakers, a Fireside Stage for interviews, and a Tech Stage for product breakdowns and demonstrations

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