Before 2020, gathering in person was pretty standard. Nobody thought much of it, and businesses held big events with big crowds all the time.

Now, in a post-COVID-19 world, large events seem to have more meaning, more impact, and more emotion.  What’s even more impressive for the Daily Maverick in South Africa is that they held a massively successful in-person event that revolved around a highly visceral topic: climate change. 

Daily Maverick is taking a stand.

“A sustainable world” is not just a motto for the company; it has made that an editorial theme across everything it does. To take the movement beyond the newsroom and share it with the public, it organised an event called “The Gathering: Earth Edition.”

The event’s objective was to bring awareness to the climate crisis and help people recognise how this issue affects humanity’s future.

An ambitious undertaking

Knowing the topic of climate change tends to be bleak, Daily Maverick worked to turn the narrative into something positive and actionable.

That began with setting lofty goals for the initiative, aiming to attract 1,500 live attendees and 10,000 virtual ones. It set a revenue target of 25% profit. Getting positive feedback from attendees was also important, and it aimed to get a “net promoter score” of eight out of 10 from those who attended. 

Daily Maverick rented out the Cape Town International Convention Centre for an entire day. It hosted some of the most prominent players in the climate change space from Africa and worldwide.

The day included panel discussions and keynote speeches focused on the reality of climate today. Topics touched areas like business, economics, civil society, agriculture, and technology. The Daily Maverick live-streamed the event for free to reach a broader audience. 

Some of the most powerful moments of the event included a live performance from a local artist who sang Daily Maverick’s climate anthem titled, “20Twenties: Eve of Destruction.”

Attendees also hung on every word spoken by the recently fired CEO of Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned electricity enterprise. Eskom is the country’s primary producer of electricity, generating about 95% of South Africa’s electricity. The former CEO blew the whistle on corruption and malfeasance in the energy business. 

Keynote speakers called out government ineptitude and pushed big business to help drive forward the climate conversation. Representatives from big businesses were also there to receive the message. 

One clear sign that Daily Maverick was on the right track came when it had to close down sponsorship to the conference when it began to see attempts from large corporations to swoop in and greenwash. It also wanted to be sure its already committed sponsors would get the ad space they were promised.   

Change for the better

“The Gathering: Earth Edition” became Daily Maverick’s most successful event ever. Seven other newsrooms around South Africa reported from the event and 1,600 people attended live. An additional 5,000 tuned in virtually.

Despite closing down sponsorship, Daily Maverick made a 28% profit. It also blew away that “net promoter score” goal, which calculates attendee satisfaction: That score came in at an 8.9, which is far higher than the industry standard. 

After the event, 150 people signed up for Daily Maverick’s membership community, and more than 10,000 new subscribers signed up for its dedicated climate newsletter, “Our Burning Planet.”

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