Inside the Arena
Start-to-Leadership
Context
Objectives
Format
Nike wanted to help leaders from across EMEA connect quickly and meaningfully at the start of a two-day conference.
We designed Inside the Arena — an immersive experience set inside Genk Stadium where leaders moved through custom challenge stations designed to build connection, collaboration, and early team momentum, while immersing participants in Nike’s brand world.
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Help Leaders Connect Quickly: Create an experience that helps participants connect with each other in a meaningful way from the start of a 2-day conference.
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Build Early Team Dynamics: Encourage collaboration and communication through shared challenges.
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Create Meaningful Interaction: Move beyond surface-level introductions through activities that reveal participants’ backgrounds, perspectives, and leadership experiences.
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Bring Nike’s Brand World to Life: Embed Nike’s culture, heritage, and athlete mindset through custom-designed, branded challenges.
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Set the Tone for the Programme: Deliver a high-energy opening experience that created momentum for the two days ahead.
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In-person, team-based experience delivered at Genk Stadium.
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Designed as a high-energy opening activity for a 2-day Nike leadership conference.
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Participants moved through a series of challenge stations in teams.
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Challenges combined leadership connection, collaboration, and Nike-themed content.
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Built with custom-designed branded materials to create a visual, immersive experience
Activity Description
Exploring the Arena as a Team
The experience began with leaders moving through Genk Stadium in teams, travelling from one challenge station to the next.
The format was simple and energising: complete the challenge, earn points, and move on.
This structure created momentum from the outset, while giving participants an immediate reason to interact, collaborate, and solve problems together.
Building Meaningful Connections
Certain exercises were designed to help leaders share their backgrounds, perspectives, and leadership experiences in a more structured and meaningful way.
These moments helped teams discover common ground early and created stronger connections from the start of the conference.
Bringing Nike’s Brand World to Life
Other challenge stations brought Nike’s brand, heritage, athlete culture, and retail world into the experience.
Using custom-designed materials, teams engaged with tasks that felt unmistakably Nike. By the end of the Arena Tour, participants had not only built early team dynamics, but also shared an experience that set the tone for the two days ahead.
