3% Conference Goes Virtual With 3-Day Event in July

As live events continue to go virtual or postpone due to Covid-19, the 3% Conference has announced it will hold a three-day digital summit in July instead of its planned gathering in Atlanta this fall. The 3% Movement, a gender equality organization that champions inclusive change in advertising, will hold The Future of Work conference on July 27-29. Founded nine years ago, the organization has held mini conferences around the world but was set to host its first large-scale gathering in Atlanta in October. Founder and CEO Kat Gordon said after a few advisory board meetings on Zoom, the organization decided a timely virtual conference was the best alternative. “There’s so much yearning from the industry to have a sense of togetherness, a shared experience and a sense of being informed in a time where there are no certainties. We felt it would be totally wrong and off-brand for 3% to go dark this year,” Gordon said. “We had a desire to show up for the community and provide some kind of context for what we’re living through.” Gordon said the conference’s Future of Work theme, chosen in January, would be more relevant now than ever because of the pandemic. The programming will focus on topics like conscientious leadership, health and wellness, multigenerational workforces, support for caregiving, agile work environments, and how companies can support their workers and talk about grief. “All of the things we wanted to spotlight were being put into sharp focus,” she said. “It was an alignment. The conversation we were yearning to have before the pandemic became almost like a case study via the pandemic.” The event costs $99 to attend and will be held on a custom microsite, accessible on desktop and mobile devices. The first day of the event will offer prerecorded content, while the second and third day will each offer three hours of live sessions. Gordon said her team curated speakers based on who could offer progressive insight about the conference topics. Speakers include Randy Howder, principal at architecture and design firm Gensler, who will chat about the future of workplace space post-pandemic; and high schooler Hannah Ni, the president of her debate team, discussing gender inequity in debates. Another conversation will focus on how agencies have been impacted by the pandemic based on their locations and government leadership. Vivian Yong, ECD at Wieden + Kennedy in Shanghai, and Stefano Spadini, CEO of Havas Media Group in Milan, are among the agency leaders slated to participate. Gordon said the organization is using virtual event platform Hubb and livestreaming platform Evia, which are women-owned tech solutions. With Hubb, attendees will be able to participate in live research polls, submit questions for specific sessions and interact using a chat function. Gordon said another upside to going virtual is the ability to draw more attendees than a physical conference would. She said the organization’s goal is to draw 10,000 people, but the platform can host as many as 30,000. For those who can't attend the event live or want to view the sessions again, 3% will offer all of the event content on its site through December. The 3% Movement still plans to hold a conference in Atlanta once it's safe to organize in-person events again. The organization announced it will have its 10th anniversary conference in the city on Nov. 2-3, 2021.