Case Studies

The Challenge:

Following an idea by Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic, the G8 heads of state placed the Internet on the 2011 G8 summit agenda. To inform their discussion, they invited private-sector contributions. 

Thus the idea for the e-G8 Forum was born. 

Mr. Sarkozy asked that the e-G8 Forum take place under the leadership of Maurice Lévy, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe. With only eight weeks to make it happen, Mr. Lévy turned to MSLGROUP-the speciality communications, PR and events network within Publicis Groupe. 

The Solution:

With direction from Mr. Lévy, MSLGROUP CEO Olivier Fleurot and John Rossant, executive chairman of PublicisLive, our Geneva-based events company, MSLGROUP handled:

Venue Creation and Logistics

• Designed and built event space in the Tuileries Garden 
• Managed all logistical aspects, from ensuring Wi-Fi Internet access to onsite catering and an exclusive dinner at the Louvre Museum

Programming, Co-Chairs and Partners

• Created two-day program about the Internet's impact on the economy and society 
• Invited executives to shape forum content, including: France Telecom's Stéphane Richard, Google's Eric Schmidt, and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg             
• Secured private-sector sponsorships from companies such as Orange, Vivendi, eBay, Google, Microsoft, Huawei, Capgemini, Alcatel-Lucent, and HP
• Demonstrated thought leadership: MSLGROUP CEO Olivier Fleurot, former CEO of the FT Group, moderated a panel titled: Electronic Liberty - New Tools for Freedom

Communication of the Event

• Created e-G8 Forum logo; built the  www.eg8forum.com  website (sister agency Marcel)
• Wrote all communication materials in French and English
• Directed all aspects of media and blogger relations
• Created social media strategy; managed e-G8 Twitter feed and Facebook page

The Results:

An Unprecedented and Historical Event

• 1,570 participants from 30 countries 
• 115 speakers
• 300 journalists from 15 countries

Media Coverage and Virtual Participation

• Nearly 4,000 articles published 
• 70,243 visits to  www.eg8forum.com during the forum; 190,438 page views 
• 64,831 people watched plenary sessions live via the  website and  Facebook page 
• 18,475  Facebook fans
• 51,620 tweets using the #eg8 hashtag

Engagement with the G8 Heads of State

Mr. Lévy and a private-sector delegation spoke for an hour with the heads of state about the major themes discussed at the e-G8 Forum and held a press conference to share the themes publicly