In this series, features and series developer Heather Nicholls takes you behind the scenes of some of the most compelling brand activations and events.
This week we meet Strive Events Agency, the agency behind Utility Warehouse’s annual partner conference – IGNITE.
The Brief:
The initial brief was to deliver Utility Warehouse’s annual partner conference, but as Strive know UW and its partner community so well from the past three years working with them, the agency could see that this needed to be much more than a conference.
A spokesperson for Strive said: “UW was approaching the huge milestone of one million customers, and we felt there was an opportunity to turn their annual event into something bigger, so we proactively pitched ‘Ignite’. A celebration of everything their partner network had built together, but also a rallying point for the goal of the next million.”
The spokesperson added: “Our interpretation of the conference became about creating a shared moment of momentum, just as much about marking the milestone. We wanted partners to feel proud of the million, but even more excited and emotionally connected to the idea of the next million.”
The Execution:
The inspiration for the event came from match day culture. The spokesperson said: “Not in a surface-level ‘let’s make it sporty!’ way. For us it was about the feeling of a big stadium event: the anticipation, the shared identity, the noise, the pride, and that sense that everyone is there for something bigger than themselves.
They added: “That felt completely right for UW’s partner community. Their model is built on people coming together, backing each other, and working towards a shared ambition, so the stadium setting gave us a really natural way to bring that to life.”
The idea started before there was even a formal brief. Because Strive have a long-standing relationship with UW, the agency were aware that they were approaching the one million customer milestone and felt there was an opportunity to do something that matched the scale of that achievement.
Strive proactively pitched the stadium concept as a way to elevate the annual conference, bring the partner community together, celebrate and build momentum for the future.
From there, the development process was about making the idea work in reality. CBS Arena had never hosted an event like this before, so the agency had to reimagine how the stadium could be used, from the gates and concourses through to hospitality spaces and the main arena experience.
The spokesperson said: “That made it hugely complex from a logistical point of view, with no existing blueprint to follow. We worked closely with UW, the venue, and our production partners to pressure test every detail, so that on the day, the experience felt seamless.”
The Results:
IGNITE became a full stadium takeover for 4,300 UW partners at Coventry Building Society Arena. Every element was designed to feel connected to the bigger idea.
The aim was for partners to feel the anticipation of match day from the moment they arrived, not just when they entered the main room. The experience started at registration, with 15 gates open, live entertainment (including football tricksters and a David Beckham lookalike), food trucks, photo ops and send of energy building across the venue.
From there, the day moved through different layers of celebration and recognition, including the Champions Brunch for 1,000 top partners, hosted by Sir Geoff Hurst, through to the main stage programme with festival-grade production and “half-time” performance intervals.
The speakers were a big part of the event too. Katie Piper OBE brought a really powerful message around resilience and overcoming adversity, which resonated strongly with the audience, while Jamil Qureshi and Sir Geoff Hurst helped keep the energy, humour and momentum high throughout the day
The spokesperson said: “Beyond celebrating the million customer milestone, IGNITE really energised the partner network is so valuable. We also reset expectations for what a UW conference could be, and raised the bar significantly.”
They added: For us, success came down to making something of that scale still feel personal. It was big, loud and celebratory, but it never lost sight of the individual partners in the room and the role they had played in reaching that milestone.”
The feedback that stayed with Strive the most was around the emotional impact of the event, particulary from attendees who needed addition support. One comment said: “Richard Lewis was has complex needs as a pompe sufferer. A life-limiting condition. Today, his life felt very full.”
From the client and venue side, the response was equally meaningful. Malcolm Wolpert, one of UW’s founding directors, described it as one of the company’s most exceptional events in their 27-year history, while CBS Arena called it the most innovative use of their venue they had ever seen.
Trends and Learnings:
The spokesperson said: “IGNITE reinforced that ambitious ideas only work when everyone is aligned behind the same vision. You can have a strong creative concept, butit only becomes real when the client, venue, suppliers and internal teams all understand what you’re trying to acheive and why”.
They added: “It also reminded us that inclusivity and wellbeing need to be built in from that start. The best attendee experiences don’t retrofit support later, they consider different needs from the very beginning, so everyone feels part of the moment.”
In terms of trends, they note a shift happening toward emotionally driven, community- first experiences. People want to participate rather than just consume. They want to feel something and be part of something bigger than themselves, and IGNITE leaned hard into that. From the mass recognition moments to the immersive arrival experience, everything was designed for participation.
As well as this, the agency are seeing much higher expectations around sustainability, accessibility and purpose-led delivery. The spokesperson said: “For IGNITE, that meant zero waste to landfill, partnering with a venue that has a strong decarbonisation strategy, providing dedicated support for that 8% of attendees who needed assistance, and collecting 60 crates for local foodbanks. People expect this stuff now, and so do we.”
