Five years ago, Gong sat with the Inclusion@Lloyd’s committee, the steering group for diversity and inclusion strategy, governance and best practice in the Lloyd’s market, to plan a D&I festival for the London insurance market: the Dive In festival.
From day one we knew we were involved in something special; it was the first time the sector had ever come together on this scale, putting competition aside to address culture and the attractiveness of its industry. Little did we know that this was the creation of something quite phenomenal: a global movement that supports the development of inclusive workplace cultures.
The appetite for more was apparent from day one, as events hit capacity within the 24hours of registration opening. When it was decided the festival should continue annually, the requests for it to be replicated internationally came in thick and fast. Dive In festival went on to reach global heights, expanding exponentially from 10 countries in 2016 to over 60 cities in 30 countries in 2019, breaking new ground with events in countries such as Nigeria, Bahrain, and Indonesia. By creating a central comms strategy, handbooks, toolkits and standardised branding for the festival, Gong helped to ensure that Dive In could become a distinguished global brand.
Outside the insurance industry, the message that the sector is working hard to change was getting out. Media coverage of the festival in City AM, Financial Times, and Forbes, plus blanket coverage across the insurance trades, showed the dial was shifting in insurance. The awards kept flowing: Dive In picked up award wins from British Insurance, Insurance Times, Insurance Day, Marketing Week, CorpComms magazine, PRCA and accrued shortlist commendations from Guardian Sustainable Business, Sabre Awards, ENEI and, CIPR. Most recently the festival was recognised by City AM who awarded Dive In its inaugural Outreach, Inclusion, and Diversity award.
As Dive In reached its fifth year this year, it gave us cause to reflect on the achievements and the impact made. We reflected on how far the conversation had moved on, from building the business case for D&I, to drawing back the curtain on more challenging topics like mental health, domestic abuse, and fertility. Inspiring stories told by well-known celebrities and expertise from industry specialists helped shift the focus from awareness, to action, to impact.
Working with our long-term video partners, Striker Productions, Gong created a video capturing the history of the Dive In festival, reflecting on its impact. We are incredibly proud of the involvement Gong has had in the Dive In festival for the last five years – we hope you can see why…
