Medium has been a next-gen digital publisher since 2012. Its open marketplace champions authentic, substantial content-writing and idea-sharing. Like most companies, they had to weather the storm of COVID-related strain and tech industry change. In 2022, Medium partnered with Marco to throw a stellar offsite to bring colleagues together after a rough 2020 and round of layoffs.
Facts:
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60 attendees
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70+ various vendors sourced and vetted for the offsite
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11 vendors booked and coordinated for the retreat
“The Marco team has continued to be very responsive to what Medium needs out of an offsite — not just what any random company wants to do to have fun and get together. They’ve gone out of their way to ensure we get what we need.” - Cameron Smith-Price, Recruiting & People Operations Lead at Medium
The Challenge
Too many event planning services only offer one-size-fits-all events
When you plan an offsite, the pressure’s on: It’s a high-spend, high-stakes undertaking with the lofty goal of making your people bond. Cameron Smith-Price, Recruiting & People Operations Lead at Medium, felt that pressure firsthand as he began planning the company’s offsites. He felt three pain points acutely:
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Cameron only had a few weeks to plan and execute their next offsite. He needed a partner to chip in.
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The Medium team had very specific goals for the event and needed the locations and activities to match them.
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Most event planners only offered one-size-fits-all ideas — as opposed to the custom experience Cameron hoped to create.
When Cameron discovered Marco, our approach solved all three of these hurdles (and more) — and felt like a breath of fresh air for this people-ops lead.
The Solution
Marco customizes every step of the event planning process to your company
When Cameron first engaged with Marco, he loved how responsive and considerate the team was from the get-go. Where other providers he’d spoken to focused on ticking boxes for locations, activities, and so on, Marco prioritized relationship-building. In Cameron’s words:
“The Marco experience is very customized to what we need at each unique point in time and emphasizes building a relationship. I know several people at Marco really well. As a result, I really do trust them.” - Cameron Smith-Price, Recruiting & People Operations Lead at Medium
Whether he’s planning an event to connect a community or facilitate heads-down, focused work, Cameron knows he can trust Marco to deliver on memorable experiences thanks to our three-step process.
1. Hand-selecting unique venues
When Cameron was planning a Medium offsite to help coworkers unplug and engage as a team, Marco offered a one-of-a-kind location: AutoCamp Catskills, a collection of modern Airstreams in the beautiful Catskill Mountains. In contrast to the usual corporate environment, Marco’s thoughtful suggestion helped the team feel like they were at summer camp, letting colleagues feel more relaxed, present, and focused on enjoying time together as a team.
2. Focusing on the goal of the offsite — not just the checklist
Brittany Jezouit, Chief of Staff at Medium, supports Cameron in planning and executing events. For one event, the team requested an offsite for deep, intentional work. She and Cameron began crafting sessions and agendas to achieve that goal, but that didn’t leave much time to handle logistical details. “That’s where the Marco team came in,” says Brittany. Marco managed everything (from the spaces they’d work in to where and what they’d eat) with expert skill, while the Medium team could simply focus on getting to the right place at the right time.
3. Pivoting whenever necessary
No two corporate teams are the same, and Cameron and Brittany both loved how Marco kept this top of mind while planning and executing the company’s offsites. The Marco team brought professional insights to the planning process, adapted flexibly while executing the day of, and kept everything relevant to the “vibe” of the offsite.
“During an offsite, Marco even planned an impromptu karaoke night for us. That was a testament to how well they understood our team. It was a really lovely way to end the event, and it wouldn’t have happened if we’d handled it solo.” - Brittany Jezouit, Chief of Staff at Medium
The Results
Medium can host incredible offsites — without getting bogged down by logistics
By teaming up with Marco, Cameron and Brittany were both able to be more present during Medium’s offsites, as opposed to being occupied by logistics and time management. As Brittany recounts things:
“Planning was just one part of our jobs and not our entire job because we had Marco’s help. I knew the Marco team had things under control, so I could be present and focus on being with our team. That’s really meaningful.” - Brittany Jezouit, Chief of Staff at Medium
Take a look at some of the results of the partnership:
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60 attendees
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70+ various vendors sourced and vented for the offsite
-
11 vendors booked and coordinated for the retreat
“I had several people say this was the best company offsite they’d been to because so much thought was put into the purpose of why we were meeting and making sure everything — from the venue to the activities — was fully in support of that.” - Cameron Smith-Price, Recruiting & People Operations Lead at Medium
The Future
Thanks to Marco, Medium can continue delighting employees with unique offsites
So far, Cameron has partnered with the Marco team on two events — both of which received “overwhelmingly positive” responses from the employees at Medium. With this, Cameron and Brittany look forward to hosting many more events with Marco by their side.
