L'Oréal Case Study: Simple Networking Session Activity for Department Sales Kick-off

L'Oréal's field marketing and sales teams gathered from across the country for a multi-day retreat. 130 people.

While attendees gathered at a single venue, many were meeting colleagues for the first time—bringing together team members across different cities and departments for a unified kick-off dinner.

Fostering meaningful cross-functional connections during a single evening presents a challenge, as large corporate events can easily default to disjointed networking.

Without a deliberate structure, large groups arriving at an event naturally stick to familiar circles.

Attendees tend to cluster with their teammates or travel partners, sticking with familiar colleagues.

As a result, the primary objective of bringing cross-functional teams together is compromised because people end up staying with the colleagues they already know.

L'Oréal sought a better approach—one that actively encouraged cross-departmental engagement beyond existing working relationships.

The objective was clear yet complex to execute: design a 45-minute pre-dinner networking icebreaker that engaged 130 attendees across teams, cities, and departments.

Additionally, the solution needed to operate seamlessly across a two-level venue immediately prior to a seated dinner.

The core challenge was logistical. Traditional team-building activities often require facilitators, physical props, or designated breakout stations.

These traditional approaches do not scale effectively for hundreds of guests across multiple floors. L'Oréal required an intuitive solution with zero physical setup that could engage attendees instantly upon arrival.

Jam Bingo is a simple way to get people having meaningful conversations and meeting as many new people as possible.

Rather than passively networking with familiar colleagues, each attendee received a dynamic conversation prompt to meet someone new.

To progress through the game, participants must locate new colleagues, engage in meaningful dialogue to unlock their next challenge/prompt.

This gamified approach converts routine small talk into purposeful engagement—requiring no physical props, facilitators, or rigid networking schedules.

Upon entering the venue, attendees scanned a Jam Bingo QR code to join the game.

Once everyone had arrived, they gave the count down to start Jammin.

Each participant received individual prompts on their smartphone, encouraging them to seek out unfamiliar colleagues to unlock their next interaction.

Spanning two floors, the platform naturally motivated attendees to step outside familiar silos and connect with colleagues across different territories and business units.

The results were measurable: participants reported connecting with an average of 20 or more new colleagues—establishing relationships with team members they otherwise would not have engaged.

By the time dinner was served, the atmosphere had fundamentally shifted.

Attendees transitioned to their tables not as strangers, but as colleagues who had actively engaged with one another throughout the preceding 45 minutes.

This eliminated the typical awkwardness associated with corporate seated dinners, pre-emptively building rapport across the room.

Guests arrived at dinner engaged, comfortable, and mid-conversation. The formal event proceeded seamlessly because the initial networking barrier had already been addressed.

Leveraging the competitive drive of L'Oréal's sales organization, Jam Bingo turned relationship-building into a structured challenge that motivated high participation.

Incentives including company-branded items and newly launched products further energized top networkers in attendance.

While prizes generated excitement, the core value remained the lasting professional connections established throughout the evening.

"The night passed by so fast! The goal was to get people mingling and step out of their 'territory.' We did just that!"

When organizing a corporate retreat, kick-off, or conference bringing together multi-regional teams, the pre-dinner period represents a critical engagement window.

Unstructured time often results in attendees retreating to familiar groups. With a structured interaction mechanism, that time transforms into active relationship building.

L'Oréal leveraged Jam Bingo to convert 45 minutes of unstructured gathering into hundreds of valuable cross-departmental connections.

This established a collaborative tone for the remainder of the evening, transforming a standard corporate function into a highly connected event.

Planning a corporate retreat for geographically distributed teams? Utilize Jam Bingo to drive effortless, scalable engagement.