Most companies often hire an advertising agency to execute their external messaging, but what about internal messaging? Encore Live, an event services company, has created the role of culture agency to help organizations deliver their internal messaging more effectively.

The term “culture agency” was coined by Davis Ridley, Encore Live’s PR and marketing manager, to help prospective clients better understand the services that the agency delivers. A culture agency can be defined as a group of creative individuals dedicated to understanding a company’s unique culture and helping to execute those internal goals through whatever means necessary.

A well-designed event can act as an extension of corporate culture and Encore Live helps organizations establish, embody and improve their culture through memorable, meaningful events. One such event is Mattress Firm’s annual BEDTalks, a three-day leadership and industry training conference that attracts more than 1,000 attendees.

Houston-based Mattress Firm is the nation’s leading specialty bedding retailer, and with more than 3,500 company-operated and franchised stores across 49 states has the largest geographic footprint in the U.S. In September 2016, the company was acquired by Steinhoff International.

Mattress Firm states that its core values are integrity, service and passion. Being honest and consistent, serving the community, recognizing the success of others, and being optimistic and enthusiastic are what they consider important parts of their company culture. It says it strives to put these values into practice every day, and believes that following these tenets will continuously improve business practices and help employees advance in their careers. 

Mattress Firm brings these core values to life at BEDTalks, which Encore Live has produced for the company since 2010. The location changes each year, but this year’s event was especially near and dear to the organization, as it was held in Mattress Firm’s hometown of Houston for the first time in seven years. More than 1,200 top performers from around the nation attended its most recent conference, which took place in May and was headquartered at the Marriott Marquis Houston Downtown.

The three-day event comprises a host of activities and events, including pre-registration handled entirely by Encore Live; an opening night ceremony; full ballroom general session; small group workshops; annual awards banquet and an annual giving back event branded “Give BIG.”  

Encore Live CEO Walter Kinzie and the Encore Live team work year-round to make this conference a success, handling venue selection, air/ground transportation, stage construction, creative design, food and beverage negotiations, talent booking, speech coaching, audio/visual direction, photography and videography. The result is an annual event designed to embody Mattress Firm’s corporate culture and inspire its employees.

“Large gatherings of employees, like conferences and annual meetings, give company decision makers an incredible opportunity to bring their corporate culture to life,” Kinzie said.

He continued, “We are not a rigid a/v production company. We are not day-of coordinators who show up last minute to make sure things kind of go smoothly. We are an extension of your values and goals, the bedrock of your culture and we bring that culture to life through custom events where you are the decision maker, not the frazzled coordinator."

Mattress Firm recently awarded Encore Live its “Partner of the Year” award in recognition of the value that the agency delivers to their event.

Culture is an important aspect of employee recruiting and retention, and beyond that, can have a huge impact on company brand. Working for a company with a positive, inclusive corporate culture is important to employees, and corporate events can promote and amplify that culture in a meaningful way that employees, customers and partners can all take to heart.