Meetings & Events

Meetings and even more events are staged with the aim of creating attendee and brand experiences that meet Bayer’s requirements and ambitions. This section will give you some guidance on the different formats dealing with Live experiences and Online live experiences and equip you with concrete branding templates, approved content, and inspiration for your local activities. 

In the post-COVID era the conditions of event attendance have slightly changed. Since the “New Normal”  has determined our everyday life, it has become all the more important to think about the right format. This tangibly shows a 2022 study that GCB (German Convention Bureau) initiated and where Bayer contributed to as research partner. For more information see box to the right „Study: Redefining Event Attendance“.

Live experiences

A live and in-person experience focuses on face-to-face interaction through live events, corporate meetings, trade shows, and other types of meetings where people meet in a physical location. The focus here is on interaction and networking between attendees as well as creating a source of inspiration. 

Since the pandemic, potential attendees also use other criteria to determine whether their physical attendance is worthwile; e. g. whether the content of the event is worth the time of travel, whether an on-site presence offers added value and if the ratio of the event duration is balanced to the duration of travels. The purpose of the event for a selected audience needs to be emphasized even more to attract and convince your specific target group.

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Event material design templates

To convey and communicate Bayer’s positive brand image both within the company and externally, customizable branding design templates for roll-ups, backdrops and animations have been created for easy adaptation to your local needs. The Bayer brand becomes more emotionally and accessible through videos and animations. To obtain more guidance in creating your own event branding designs, please consult the Trade Fairs & Events section.

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Backdrop

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Roll-up

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Audio visual

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Animated Bayer logo

Animating logos is a relatively new trend. These animations are easy to remember, attract a lot of attention, increase recognition and, if used effectively, can build a strong emotional bond.

The possible uses at internal and external events are extremely diverse: Animated logos can be used in presentations, on websites, in mobile apps, in video clips and in other media with dynamic content.

The design is catchy, dynamic and optimistic and very well visualizes the brand identity and the range of services of Bayer. Please use the animated version of the Bayer logo wherever you feel it is appropriate. The animation is available as 6-, 10- and 20-seconds versions.

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Sonic Event Sounds

Music is one of the most powerful tools to evoke emotions and to positively underline your meetings, events or brand experiences. In addition, music during your event can benefit the holistic expression of our brand.

To this end, complete sounds are now available, which express our Sonic Identity and were specially developed for use at meetings and events.

With these sounds you can:

• set the tone for your entire event
• build feelings of excitement and anticipation in your audience
• emphasize your message and introduce topics 

The Official Sonic Event Assets provide you with crisp brand sounds for the most common event sequences such as opener, transition, outro and waiting times, e. g. during breaks or before the start of the event.

We also offer Sonic Assets by Topic, which take your audience on a sound journey and address current topics such as innovation and sustainability. These pieces are offered in different lengths and can therefore be used for different formats - as a soundtrack for film material, at openings and appearances by speakers, at award ceremonies and many other occasions.

Listen in the video here to short audio samples of the three Sounds Health & Human, Agriculture & Nature, Digitization & Technology.

New sonic assets on Innovation & Sustainability: Explore all available sonic assets at Our Sonic Identity

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Event app

Smartphone apps are used to enhance, improve, and connect our event experience to the rest of our digital lives. Your audience can benefit from up-to-the-minute event updates, location-based awareness, detailed information, and deeper engagement, all in the palm of their hand.

Event apps are now what is expected at major conferences, exhibitions, and other similar events. Whenever there are multiple sessions, several active rooms, and competing options for a delegate’s attention, an app is a welcome tool to navigate what’s important.

For more details, please contact your local event management team. (link for internal use only).

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Online live experiences

An online experience is where interacting people share a common virtual environment on the web via audio and video chat tools rather than meeting in a physical location. Virtual meetings are an effective means of globally informing and engaging employees and customers. Ever since the pandemic they are a well-known welcome tool and not least often the most sustainable solution.

Online live communication formats

Numerous online live formats already exist. Please consider which one or which combination fits your purpose best. The format chosen should always match your communication strategy:

• Online Meeting (e.g. TEAMS with a polling as Mentimeter)

• Live-Streaming/Broadcasting

• Green Screen Production

• Virtual Reality

• 360° Virtual Experience or Digital Platform

What you need to take into account when planning an online event

No matter which online communication format you are planning, it is crucial to prepare it as thoroughly as any in-person event or meeting, and to ensure that the online or hybrid event is always in line with our communication strategy and our Corporate Design Guidelines. Aspects such as the setting, background or speech time, for example, are actually more crucial in online formats.

• Use common platforms for invitations and shared material.

• Add the tools and content we already have to communicate our Corporate values and assets so they can be experienced during waiting periods before a meeting starts or even during or after a meeting.

• Go for short sessions – 10 to 15 minutes with fewer PPT charts or integrate attendee activations in between.

• Create simple PPT charts or do not use any at all so the audience can focus on the speaker. You can share the content afterwards as a follow-up via an appropriate platform.

• Think about including Q&A breaks and coffee breaks to activate the audience and give them the opportunity to connect and network with each other.

• Use polling to structure the presentations and again activate the audience.

This is just a short overview of the main needs to be covered.

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Guidelines for any kind of virtual meeting, e.g. Teams and the like

When preparing a virtual meeting, no matter if it is an internal or external meeting or a video recording, please give due consideration to the following guidelines:

• The room you are in should be quiet and otherwise suitable

• Your background image is important as it also communicates a message

• Good lighting is critical, e.g. sunlight from in front of you and not from behind

• Your clothes, e.g. small-patterned tops cause undesired effects on a screen, etc.

• Length of your presentation or speech – max. 10-15 minutes

• Virtual meeting and conference call etiquette, e.g. when to speak, when to mute your mike, etc.

Guidelines on your Backgrounds for virtual meetings are provided below.  

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Guidance for virtual Do-it-yourself events

The needs of virtual meetings increase continuously. Also when realizing meetings yourself it should be done in a professional way.

Useful information, guidance and inspiration are featured at LetsMeet Sharepoint to help make your next virtual DIY event a success:

• By using the right meeting type, tools and techniques

• By learning from trainings or from best practices of others
  (see LetsMeet community)

• By taking into account latest rules and regulations

Connect, learn and improve your virtual meeting knowledge.

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Transition animations

Transition animations are small films to amplify our branding as a filler in between sessions, during breaks or waiting times to provide your audience with a holistic brand experience.

Whatever online live communication format you want to create, there are transitions needed to structure your program, teaser the next agenda point or represent the sender. 

We prepared a range of ready-made animations for the most used transition types for you. They represent Bayer visually and sound wise to allow you a professional, branded appearance without additional effort. 

The provided animations can be downloaded with the following specs:

• 1920x1080 ppi

• Code: Timecode, Linear PCM, Apple ProRes 4444

• Color profile: HD 1-1-1

• Transparent sections are with Alpha-key

• Audio: Stereo

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Broadcast design templates, e.g. for Linkedin and the like

Virtual live events such as LinkedIn live events are a firmly established part of corporate communication routine. Therefore the Design frame for these events should follow the Corporate Design and show consistency.

• Define all event sequences that will be needed according to your agenda 

• Prepare a consistent design frame with your event provider (the templates here will help)

• Avoid noisy slides and keep information and engagement notes as crisp as possible

• Take into account the maximum number of panelists and how they can be arranged (especially for Q&A sequence)

• If feasible harmonize the individual backgrounds of the panelists e. g. consistently real-room set up, “blurred”.
  (Virtual background images bear the risk of being cropped due to varying size of the panelist image per sequence.)

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Backgrounds for virtual meetings, e.g. for Teams and the like

In the download section to the right we provide ready-for-use background images and templates. Please choose your background image for both external and internal virtual meetings (e. g. via Teams) according to the guidelines below, which are listed in a descending order of importance:

• Use one of the selected images with our Mission in it (see download to the right)

• Use your real room set-up, e.g. your office or home, and consider the details mentioned.

• Use one of the existing photos of a real Bayer location, e.g. the entrance to our headquarters building (W11) in Leverkusen, an outside photo of W11, other Bayer buildings, or one of the entrance areas to our offices and workplaces, etc.

If you have special needs for which none of the ready-for-use backgrounds match you can create your individual one. To create backgrounds including the logo or brand tag of your product brand, we provide suitable templates and the “How to” for branded adaptations in the download section to the right. 

Take into account the following guidelines when using these background templates:

• Please only adapt your individual content in the designated areas

• Never cover, change or remove the Bayer cross as the main brand element

• Never add a second logo beside the Bayer cross

• Media Pool can help you to find a suitable image motif

• Choosing image motifs should include choosing a matching template (match in colors, the important image part is shown and not covered etc.)

• In case you want to add / change text – keep in mind the Bayer brand model and what messages leverage the Bayer brand

• Don’t forget to save your adaptation as a JPG before using it as background

In case you want to add a product brand logo or brand tag – see the Role of product brands and rules for application 

How to implement these custom backgrounds in Teams

In June 2020, the Teams client was updated to support the option to update a custom background. To upload a custom image via the Teams desktop client, access the Apply background effects option in a meeting and click Add New (Figure 2). Browse to the folder holding the image file and select it. Teams then copies the file to %AppData%\Microsoft\Teams
\Backgrounds\Uploads. The original file name is retained.

Figure 2: Uploading a custom image to Teams
Once copied to the Teams folder, you can select an use the image in a meeting.

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Backgrounds for Green Screen Productions

Virtual events have become part of our everyday life and we appreciate their benefits we have experienced during the pandemic. They became part of our new normal not only because we have to respond with different formats to the needs of our participants but also due to the potential to decrease the carbon footprint of our company activities.

With that we can contribute to sustainable development which is a core element of Bayer’s corporate strategy. Depending on the event format we also acknowledge the growing number of participants that are looking for the most time efficient way to join an event. Both aspects play a vital role to be fit for future. (see also above guidelines for Online live experiences)

Green screen productions are a fertile way to give ambience to your event without having to bring everyone together in one place. It enables the greatest possible flexibility for the panelists as well as for the participants. Still, also virtual scenery should be branded or represent a strong connection to our Bayer brand.

With this intention we created background materials that give brand ambience to your green screen productions. Since technical specifications can vary for different green screen studios the most flexible way to share the materials is in 2D image format. In the download box to the right, you will find a variety of backgrounds based on brand related spaces and themed rooms.

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Hybrid experiences

A hybrid experience is a tradeshow, conference, “unconference”, seminar, workshop, or other kind of meeting that combines an in-person event with a virtual component. It encompasses all web-based tools that can be used during an event and enables genuine interaction between the attendees (webcasts, video streaming, apps, augmented reality, etc.). In short, this format is a smart combination of live and online live formats.

No matter which format you choose, please bear in mind that content is always key, and that inclusion of a virtual component will always alter the requirements – also for the live part.

There are two types of hybrid experience:

• Several locations, sites or groups connecting live and online live
• An in-person meeting taking place at one or more locations while other single attendees are online live only from remote locations

As soon as attendees join a meeting online, their requirements have to be taken into account as they greatly differ from those of the attendees who are actually present. All speakers need to limit their speaking times to a max. 10-15 minutes. Moreover, it is important to remember that all attendees, both the online live and live ones, need to be actively involved. What’s more, the online live rules have to be considered and respected by the live attendees, too.

When planning a hybrid experience, please apply the above guidelines and use the background images offered here for those taking part remotely.

For the live part you can find pre-designed backgrounds here.

Details to consider:

• Use common platforms for invitations and shared material.
• Add the tools and content we already have to communicate our Corporate values and assets so that they can be experienced during waiting periods before a meeting starts or even during or after a meeting.
• Go for short sessions – 10 to 15 minutes with fewer PPT charts or integrate attendees activations in between.
• Create simple PPT charts or do not use any at all so the audience can focus on the speaker. You can share the content afterwards as a follow-up via an appropriate platform.
• Think about including Q&A breaks and coffee breaks to activate the audience and give them the opportunity to connect and network with each other.
• Use polling to structure the presentations and again activate the audience.

This is just a short overview of the main needs to be covered.