Global Hybrid Tech Event Cardano Summit 2025
Delivering an insight-driven summit for a global blockchain community
This case study explores how First Event helped the Cardano Foundation redefine their flagship Summit, creating a more tech-focused, insight-driven, and globally connected experience that delivered record-breaking reach, deeper engagement, and commercial impact.
The event goals
Bringing the Cardano Summit to Europe for the first time wasn’t just a location shift, it was a strategic event reset. Working with the Cardano Foundation, the goals were clear:
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Reimagine the Summit with a more tech-forward, content-led agenda shaped by community feedback.
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Strengthen global participation, uniting in-person attendees with a high-value virtual audience.
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Deliver a seamless hybrid broadcast to showcase Cardano’s global influence and accelerate engagement.
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Drive measurable commercial value through lead generation, sponsorship ROI, and cost-efficient operations.
How did we elevate the event experience?
The first step was to rethink the programme. After analysing feedback from past events, we simplified the schedule, creating more breathing space, and giving attendees room to dive deeper into the content that mattered most.
The result was an atmosphere that felt sharper and more purposeful. Over three days, 1,463 attendees from 74 countries filled the venue, bringing an energy that set the tone for the Summit’s most engaged year yet.
And that momentum didn’t stop at the venue doors. Online, the global community tuned in at record levels, with 26,155 virtual attendees joining the livestream, a 108% year-on-year increase.
How did we transform the venue into an immersive brand experience?
Working closely with the venue, The Gasometer in Berlin, our creative teams transformed every floor into a coherent, multi-level journey. From the moment attendees stepped inside, they were surrounded by fully integrated branding, seamless wayfinding, dynamic AV installations and a full content suite of graphics and motion design.
The expo was expanded and reimagined to create high-impact demo zones for partners and sponsors. Their response said it all: 42.6% rated their experience 5/5, and 62.5% confirmed they’ll return next year.
What feedback did the client give?
“Your work supported a seamless experience across a super complex global program, and the Summit team really values your professionalism and dedication.”
How did we deliver seamless multi-day production?
With five years as the Cardano Summit’s event partner, we knew how important it was to balance consistency with evolution. Across all three days, our teams delivered a smooth, high-production experience. The livestream became a global moment in its own right, supported by rapid-turnaround on-demand content uploaded within hours.
This effort paid off: The Summit reached 2.5 billion people digitally, generated 635 million social impressions, and appeared in 1,014 media articles reaching more than 2.04 billion readers. The Cardano Foundation even rose to become the #2 industry voice.
What made this Summit memorable?
What truly defined the Summit was the community. On site, the atmosphere felt electric: a clearer agenda, a more intuitive flow, and sessions that hit the mark meant attendees were more engaged than ever. It showed in the feedback too, as 88% said the sessions were valuable.
But the story didn’t end in Berlin. Online, the conversation exploded. The Cardano Foundation hit 1.3M impressions on X in a single week, the Summit’s channels climbed in followers, and LinkedIn impressions surged by 150%.
And when we looked at why people came, the answers were: networking, learning, innovation, and connection. A powerful reminder that when you build an experience around people, the community shows up, engages deeply, and asks for more.
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