Engagement: Economic Impact and Recovery During COVID

Just as the Covid-19 pandemic was tightening its grip on the world, we were approached for ideas that would appeal to a financial audience and in a virtual format, with economist Jim Power as the host. Aviva wanted someone who could speak to this historical moment of disruption and offer reassurance and support to a valued business audience unsure of how to navigate their industry amidst such uncertainty. Optimism and hope were key. 

We immediately thought of Irish immunologist Prof Luke O’Neill, who is in the world’s top 1% in his field. A warm and witty speaker, Luke has a unique gift for making complex issues accessible. More importantly, his irrepressibly optimistic outlook helps instill confidence. 

And so ‘Virus Economics’ was born, with a live Webinar held on the 9th of July. To promote the event, Luke also did a short ‘teaser’ video that generated huge interest. 

This event was the most successful webinar Aviva had to date, with their highest attendance figures ever. The synergy between the two speakers was strong, resulting in an open, lively and meaningful debate that resonated deeply with the audience at a critical moment for their industry. Buoyed by its huge success, shortly afterwards the client confirmed a second webinar with the same speakers which also proved highly successful.

‘Professor O’Neill presented at two of our webinars in 2020. Attracting well over 1,000 attendees at each webinar, Luke was a big draw. He didn’t disappoint.  His ‘plain English’ insights on where Ireland and the world are at in their fight against Covid-19 were spot on.  The feedback on these webinars was excellent. I would wholeheartedly recommend Luke as a speaker.’
– Karen Deenihan, Senior Marketing Manager at Aviva Life & Pensions