Exhibition News September 2019 | Page 31

Feature and a 65m-long 10m-high zipwire. These aren’t things you’d usually see at a conference! The huge 60m-wide stage featured a light sculpture nicknamed the ‘cheese wheel’. It consisted of 260 custom-made LED circular lights and 65,000 LEDs, each manually wired and programmed creating drama and memorable imagery. At the end of the first day, delegates enjoyed the fun and excitement of a fantastic party. Highlights included the delicious street food vendors, illuminated table tennis tables, a UV light mini golf and a karaoke van where people could record their own. Guests really got to relax and enjoy the night. How did it tie in with the brand image? Xero isn’t just about accounting software. Xero is a global platform that seamlessly connects businesses, saves time, and enables success. Our purpose is to make life better for people in small business, their advisors and communities around the world. Xerocon provides us with the perfect opportunity to live up to this purpose – by bringing our communities together in one place. We aspire to inspire our people to do the best work of their lives, to create and deliver beautiful products and services, and win the hearts and minds of our customers and partners around the world. So, every year we strive to make Xerocon dynamic, fun, exciting and beautiful. Who were the attendees? They are mainly accountants and bookkeepers. The excitement running through the event shines through. Indeed, one attendee tweeted: “…OMG [Xerocon] out of the park…like riding a unicorn across the universe.” This isn’t what comes to mind when you think of a cloud accounting software. We know that a small business owner’s most trusted advisor is their accountant or bookkeeper. And Xero connects small businesses with their advisors to build happy and profitable relationships for both. never done before or didn’t even know could be done. And it can enhance your enjoyment of life. 2. Strong thought leadership Thought leadership was the second goal. It is an often-used expression but what does it mean? It means your expertise is recognised as having clear and demonstrable value. It means our opinions (and your products) can be trusted and you move and inspire people with your innovative ideas. Thought leadership is about being known for making a difference. All of this exemplifies Xero’s approach to the business of accounting software and its belief in the immense importance and value of small businesses. 3. Business growth Xero celebrates small businesses and its reason for being is the growth and success of these businesses. Business generation at all times is a key driver and Xerocon, while only one activity of Xero’s revenue growth, is an important business generator. 4. Excellence in execution Excellence in execution was a key goal because this is the platform on which the delegate experience, thought leadership and business generation can thrive. Excellence in execution across all business activities. Excellence in execution across everything we do at Xero. EN What were the desired outcomes for the event? There were four key goals: 1. Good delegate experience The overarching goal was to give delegates an experience they would enjoy and learn from, and ultimately want to have repeated. A beautiful experience can change your life. It can show you how you can do things you’ve September — 31