Behind the Scenes: The Blowfish Malibu Global Meeting

July 8-10 this year marked the first time we have ever had our global team gathered all in one place. We discussed global  business strategy, our vision, and what’s coming next for Blowfish Malibu. Read on to take a look behind the scenes…

“What is important for everyone to take away from the meeting is an understanding of who we are as a brand consistently, and what makes us different from the rest,” says Karen Bueno, Blowfish Malibu’s VP of Marketing.  After the three days of meetings, she states, “there was also a focus on us as individuals, our strengths and talents and how we can improve upon those for ourselves personally and to help us work as a team.” She continued, “the global meeting was a true team effort with everyone taking ownership and responsibility for their areas.”

A meeting like this does not come together overnight. As Karen mentioned, many people from different departments worked tirelessly as a team to bring this vision to life. “The planning starts early and there is so much that goes into it all! What will we discuss? What do we want everyone to get out of this? How can we show the out of country employees what California really is like in just three short days?” says Art Director, Nikol Drapeau. Planning and preparation began back in March to ensure that everything came together perfectly. There was even an office makeover in preparation for this meeting! Certainly, a lot of hard work went into making these meetings a great success.

The events of the Global Meeting began on Sunday afternoon, with our global sales reps being treated to a sailboat cruise in Marina Del Rey. With many of them hailing from outside of the United States, they had never experienced California this way. Of course, it was an amazing way to spend the afternoon. The weather was perfect (many of us worked on our tans), and we drank rosé as we got to know one another.

Later that evening, our group ventured over to Portuguese Bend beach in Palos Verdes, where dinner was catered for everyone and their families. Some of us channeled our inner kid and played cornhole on the sand as the sun sank lower towards the horizon. As the day wrapped, we indulged in a glass of wine while we watched the sun set over the ocean. It was an incredible way to kick off the next two days of jam packed meetings.

The First Day of Meetings…

With the quick arrival of Monday morning, we kicked off the meetings bright and early! The team enjoyed bagels and coffee while socializing with each other and settling into their seats. The first meeting of the day was an hour and a half presentation from the marketing team about our brand, how we’re evolving and what can be expected for the future. We were able to share successful marketing campaigns, share videos from past photoshoots and let everyone know how we are approaching social media going forward. Overall, it was a smash hit!

After the marketing presentation, we invited the Design Team to walk everyone through the European line for Spring/Summer 2019. This was a great opportunity to become familiar with the product. Additionally, we learned of new features being added to our shoes. Ladies, we can’t wait to share with you! So exciting!

Monday wrapped up with more meetings between the Sales Teams, as well as various team building activities. Do you remember the grade school project of wrapping up eggs in protective layers and dropping them from ladders? Only to hope they didn’t crack? Well, yeah… we did that. And it’s still super fun.

Monday evening, we were all invited to the Blowfish Malibu’s president’s home in the Pacific Palisades for dinner and drinks. We expected it to be a great time, of course. However, we did not expect to experience the most epic view of the coastline. (See pictures below!) We enjoyed great conversation, incredible food, and we even sang Happy Birthday to one of our team members. And in the end, we received a huge surprise… BIG news about the future of Blowfish Malibu.


The Second Day of Meetings…

On Tuesday, our large group was split up. Half of us went to a local hotel where we participated in team building activities for the day. Our European sales reps met us at the hotel after lunch, where we all engaged in more team building games brought to us by Feet First Events.

“Tuesday was an awesome day in my opinion and I loved our session with the Shinebright group! We really tapped into what each one of our strengths are and how it affects our work flow. Similarly, with the people we work with. What’s great is we each get to do three 1-hour private sessions with them. Such a treat! We ended the day with some interactive team building activities which were exhilarating to say the least,” concludes Nikol.

Check out the fun photos below!

Overall, we’re thrilled with how the three days of meetings and team building activities went. Everyone is going home feeling more prepared to handle their business, while having a better connection to their co-workers. In our books, that’s a roaring success!

We can’t wait for the next one!

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