The Basics: Pinterest hosted Pinterest Presents, the brand’s first-ever global advertiser summit, on March 3, 2021. Held virtually in six countries around the world—the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Canada and Australia—the gathering saw speeches from the likes of American Express’s Walter Frye, Havas Group’s Yannick Bolloré, Dentsu Media Canada’s Alex Panousis and other business leaders.
Steal-Worthy Innovations: To ensure the virtual summit was fully inclusive, Judy Lee, the global head of experiential marketing for Pinterest, and her team worked with Diversity & Inclusion at Conference and Events—otherwise known as DICE—which provides certification and guidance to help events deliver a representative and diverse set of speakers, perspectives and attendees. DICE awarded Pinterest Presents a score of 100% for its accessibility-related efforts, which were created in consultation with disability activist Sinéad Burke, the founder of consulting company Tilting the Lens.
“For example, on the email invite, we asked our attendees if they had any accessibility accommodations. And while the overall percentage of requests was low, it’s a good place to start signaling to disabled communities that we’re thinking of them and building for them in our experiences,” pointed out Lee. “We also utilized colors that make it easier for people to see, and we incorporated closed captioning and sign language interpreters for those who cannot hear.”
That inclusivity extended to the event’s global audience, too: “We worked closely with our teams around six key markets to co-create the programming, and developed six unique agendas that were relevant to people in their markets,” said Lee. “We also had closed captioning available in English, French and German, and we had sign language interpreters for our Canada, U.K. and U.S. markets.”
Lessons Learned: “Inspiration begins with inclusion,” said Lee. “Inspiration is such a core part of our DNA as a brand and company, and we’ve found that we can’t inspire people if they can’t participate or if they can’t see themselves in what we produce.”
BizBash's 10 Most Innovative Meetings 2021 is sponsored by Bevy, a community event engine fueling virtual, hybrid and in-person events.
