A kickoff that scored 9.3 out of 10 — and started six months before anyone even knew where they were going

The best kickoffs don't start when the first speaker takes the stage. They start the moment attendees first sense that something is happening — and begin looking forward to it. Svedea used Ventla to run a two-day kickoff for 240 employees in Sundsvall, together with event agency Orangutang — engagement was built over six months, with everything from train tickets to Olympic voting coordinated in a single app.

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The situation

Svedea wanted to do something different. Not a standard conference with presentations and group dinners. A kickoff that genuinely stuck, one that strengthened community, created clarity around goals, and gave 240 employees a sense of pride and ownership heading into the year ahead.

The chosen venue was Hotell Södra Berget in Sundsvall. The theme: the Olympics, inspired by the Olympic year and Svedea's company culture, with a focus on celebrating the individual and building team spirit, just as in the world of sport.

But a theme is just a theme. The question was how to get 240 people to actually feel it, not just hear about it.

The challenge

Creating genuine engagement across an organisation of 240 people is hard when you're working with traditional tools. Emails disappear into inboxes. Teams messages compete with everything else. And when information is spread across multiple channels, attendees lose the overview — and organisers lose control.

Svedea needed:

• A way to build anticipation and team spirit months before the kickoff
• A single channel where all information was gathered, from train tickets and room assignments to activity choices and packing lists
• The ability to give each attendee personalised information without burdening everyone else
• A smooth way to handle voting and interaction during the event itself

How they used Ventla

The Ventla app was introduced six months before the kickoff, and from day one all communication was gradually shifted away from email and Teams toward the app as the single hub.

Building anticipation. Attendees were divided into teams of ten, each assigned an Olympic nation. Through the app, teams took part in monthly challenges: a step challenge, team chants, light-format Olympic events. Building the team spirit long before anyone had packed a bag. A virtual tour of the hotel, published in the app, added further to the sense of anticipation.

All practical information in one place. Train tickets, bus times, room assignments, workshop choices, activities, and packing lists, all gathered in the app. Attendees found their personal information directly, without searching through old email threads or asking colleagues.

Interaction during the event. Instead of paper ballots, Ventla was used to vote for Team of the Year directly in the app. Fast, paperless, and zero administration. Push notifications kept attendees updated in real time throughout the programme.

The result

The kickoff at Södra Berget received an overall score of 9.26 out of 10 in the post-event evaluation, one of the most appreciated in Svedea's history. Attendees described it as professional, inspiring, and educational.

The engagement that built over six months was put to the test over two days and held all the way through. Because all information had been in the right place from the start, the organisers could focus on the experience, and the attendees could focus on each other.

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Industry: Insurance · Event type: Kickoff · Attendees: 240 · Region: Sweden

Planning a kickoff where engagement needs to carry from months before to long after the event itself? Talk to Ventla.