When a company launches 23 newly engineered and redesigned e-STUDIO multifunction printers before the annual dealer meeting even kicks off, you'll likely turn a lot of heads.

Such was the case with Toshiba, when they won the Gold Stevie Award for 'Best Sales Meeting of the Year'  in the 2017 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, in recognition of its 2016 LEAD (Learn Engage Act Deliver) conference.

The LEAD conference included record attendance and stylish new machines that bolstered technology, customization, and training for attendees to try out.

Connect, Integrate, Simplify

Joe Contreras, Global Marketing Executive at Toshiba, revealed that the machines represented a value statement that could be summed up in three words: connect, integrate, and simplify.

“The machines don’t just connect to the network, they can connect customers with their businesses and workflows...to become an integral part of a customer’s business, and they can simplify tasks and operations.”

Politics and Party Tricks

Toshiba made sure to pull out all the stops for LEAD. In addition to hosting LEAD at one of the more luxurious properties on the Las Vegas Strip, graffiti artist business guru Erik Wahl was the featured evening keynote speaker to close LEAD’s first day. Toshiba’s second day lineup featured a variety of entertainment, including keynote speakers James Carville and Mary Matalin (who gave the now classic quote “If you have ADHD, are over 30, and like a glass of wine - you probably shouldn’t have a Twitter account”.) Closing-night entertainers, The B-52s, with such hits as “Rock Lobster,” “Party Out of Bounds,” and, of course, “Love Shack.”

Surpassing Expectations

In addition to the large Toshiba booth, their floor space had been doubled to complement the exhibit hall that featured 60 companies from across the industry looking to do business with Toshiba’s dealer community.

"LEAD 2016 was a definitive success from every perspective and surpassed expectations," said Bill Melo, Toshiba America Business Solutions chief marketing executive. "Our new products were met with enthusiasm from every segment of our diverse audience and are generating new business for our resellers, business partners and Toshiba."

Interested in applying for the 2018 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service? Request the entry kit and it will be emailed to you in July when nominations are accepted.