Nationwide Retail Leaders Event

Client: Nationwide

NEC Birmingham

Nationwide’s annual Retail Leaders Event brought together 600 leaders from across the UK, representing over 5,500 customer-facing and operational colleagues. Designed in partnership with DRPG, the event served as a pivotal moment for strategic alignment, inspiration, and recognition, centred around Nationwide’s values, leadership behaviours, and its Fairer Futures social impact strategy.

The challenge was to move beyond the traditional conference format, creating a dynamic, immersive experience that delivered key business messages while encouraging curiosity, courage, and discovery. A central plenary stage hosted 11 sessions covering everything from Society performance and digital innovation to high-performance mindsets. Complementing these were interactive Q&As and a lively marketplace featuring seven stalls, each bringing key initiatives to life.

To deepen engagement, creative experiences were woven throughout. Attendees could uncover hidden clues in a puzzle challenge, spotlight their heroes in a secret photo booth, or trigger a flash mob by pressing a mysterious red button, each reinforcing core behaviours in playful and memorable ways.

A standout feature was the immersive Fairer Futures installation, a three-part experience that gave powerful voice to Nationwide’s charity work. Through emotive storytelling, attendees connected personally with the organisation’s social mission.

Post-event feedback showed 94% of attendees left feeling excited and optimistic, 93% felt more motivated to live Nationwide’s values, and 93% took away something valuable. Participation was high, with colleagues actively engaging in all interactive elements.

Blending creativity with purpose, this event demonstrated how strategic storytelling and immersive experiences can drive culture, connection, and commitment at scale.