We just finished producing a big awards show for a national client. A new client. Since this was our first time to the races with them, we were extra-eager to exceed their expectations. And did we!
But the funny thing was, the thing they were most impressed with was “table stakes” for us. Their big takeaway? How engaged the audience was. And, how engaged THEY were. One client told us, “I love printed programs. I always read the program, sometimes to the point where I miss out on the show. But this time, I put the program on the floor and never picked it up again. That’s how engrossed I was in the show.” Man, do we love to hear that!
Now keep in mind that this was a show full of world-class, nationally-known personalities. It shouldn’t have been hard to get the audience engaged. But in past years, it hasn’t happened. Our goal for the 2010 show was to really give those honorees personality; to let the audience get to know each one of them (in a limited timeframe, of course) so that by the end of the show, everyone felt like they had an “in” with the honoree … like they knew something about them that wasn’t available online or in the stat books. And of course, it had to happen in a perfectly-executed show, so the audience could be carried along on the waves of emotion.
5 standing ovations later, it’s all history. But we’ll remember this one as “no programs necessary.” Sorry, printers!
