After pivoting to virtual last year, REVOLT Summit X AT&T will be back in-person for a 3-day event next month in Atlanta. The summit, organized by REVOLT Chairman Sean “Diddy” Combs in collaboration with AT&T and production partner Superfly, will feature leadership and entrepreneurial programming, including keynote discussions and interactive workshops, to inspire, educate, and empower the next generation of Black leaders.
“Following a successful 2020 virtual Summit, we knew we wanted to return to a live experience if possible,” says Eric Ginsberg, VP of Business Leadership at Superfly. “Despite a myriad of challenges, we were committed to making this happen in 2021. We know the REVOLT community thrives on a level of collaboration and networking that is best achieved in an in-person experience.”
Although some Superfly-produced events, such as BravoCon, were cancelled again this year, the company has successfully executed in-person events including The Friends Experience and CLEAR Connects: A Day of Families. Ginsberg explains that Superfly gleaned and implemented learnings from its Future of Experience NA study, including that “the desire for safety, peace of mind and making the most of every experience has redefined how consumers prepare for events and their expectations once on-site.”
Cherisse McKenzie, Head of Production at REVOLT, emphasizes the importance placed on heath and safety during the planning of the event. “REVOLT, AT&T and our production partners, Superfly, were very cognizant of the other experiential and concert events taking place in Atlanta, such as One Music Fest and A3C,” she says. “Learning from these examples and working closely with the city of Atlanta has been the key to us in formulating a safety protocol plan that we feel will keep the attendees, crew, and talent safe.”
All attendees will be required to show proof of full vaccination in order to attend this year’s REVOLT Summit. “While similar events are allowing attendees to provide proof of a vaccination or a negative covid test,” says Ginsberg, “we felt that requiring vaccination was the best path.” Masks will also be required in all indoor areas of the venue, and Ginsberg notes that Superfly designed the experience based on the planned capacity of 2,000 attendees, “allowing for both coveted networking as well as social distancing.”
Both Ginsberg and McKenzie share that ticket sales and attendee interest in the event have been strong so far, and that there is a clear demand for the return of the event to an in-person format.
REVOLT will also apply learnings from last year’s virtual event to further enhance its return to in-person this year. McKenzie says that 2020’s digital offering, which was free for everyone, was very successful and allowed REVOLT Summit fans from around the globe — who may not necessarily have had the opportunity to attend in person — to join and participate as well.
“It was cool to see both past and new attendees connect via the app we created with Top Fan,” she says. “We knew that many, especially younger folks, were experiencing ‘Zoom fatigue.’ It was very important to us to create a community that allowed people to connect and network in an organic way that was similar to social media while watching live talks and pre-recorded content.”
According to McKenzie, something that worked particularly well for last year’s event was premiering the content over the weekend via REVOLT’s linear network and digital properties. “This year, we plan to do the same thing by producing 90-minute specials that will air a week after the in-person event to allow all of our REVOLT Summit fans to experience this special moment,” she says.
Following two years without an in-person gathering, both the organizers and attendees are looking forward to an exciting and rewarding event. “We have a lot of surprises in store,” says McKenzie. “We can’t wait for everyone to experience it.”