At Hello!, we consider professional development to be of the utmost importance. We encourage our teams to grow both personally and professionally, think outside-the-box, and push the envelope of creativity…regardless of their role. In addition to various other company programs, our annual Destination Design Summit (“Summit”) is a space for our nationwide Creative Services teammates and other key Hello! employees to come together and share ideas. Now eight-years-strong, we’re pulling back the curtain to explain more about what the Summit is and why it’s so important.

Just a Sec…What is the Creative Services Department Again?

Creative Services is the department through which themed events, décor, and entertainment take shape, and is a differentiating strength for Hello!. We stand alone with an in-house creative department that specializes in building event experiences through innovative design and limitless imagination.

OK, Got It. Now Start from the Beginning…

We hosted the first Summit in 2011 at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes. The Creative Services department was still in its infancy, so the objective was to bring our 11 designers together to collaborate and establish a common language and processes. At this inaugural Summit, the designers gave each other new perspectives on their markets by collaboratively designing nine new events per office.

So, How Has It Grown?

The Summit has evolved into an intensive multi-day educational event filled with exploratory sessions. Our 37 Creative Services team members have expanded beyond the basics to work on deeper tactical business practices, design and storytelling principles, self-evaluation, and presentation skills.

Sounds Promising. How Does It Help the Creative Services Team?

In addition to all the tactical benefits, the Creative Services members benefit from connecting to the “community” that is their team. Each person has been painstakingly selected to be part of the Hello! family and all are extremely talented. Such talent often comes with strong opinions and intense pride; the Summit encourages the teams to find commonality and discuss different perspectives within a safe environment. This disengages the ego and enables the teams to reach out to each other for support without the fear of judgement. They also collaborate with key employees from other internal departments, enhancing communication with the people who support them. Although the scope and team count has grown, its core purpose has remained the same: to open a conduit for sharing ideas and perspectives.

But What Does That All Mean for Your Clients?

Because of the Summit, the Creative Services department has developed a synergy that allows all team members to understand each other’s design perspective and get sparks of inspiration from each other. Our teammates often discover new suppliers and ideas based on what their peers have accomplished in their own destinations. This means access to a much larger pool of ideas that will satisfy our customer’s goals. When 37 team members work together and for each other, Hello! can scale capacity and flex its support for our clients…regardless of which destination they travel to and what dreams they may have.  The annual Destination Design Summit is a true example of T.E.A.M. (Together Everybody Accomplishes More.)

Want to put our Creative Services team to work on designing your next program? Contact us and we’d love to begin building your next award-winning event.