Awards that Engage and Entertain
Events: eCommerce Awards, Top 50 Gala Dinner, Security & Fire Excellence Awards
Beyond Media Services has been organising high quality, entertaining commercially successful Awards events for over 15 years.
From the outset, we realised that much of an Awards event is formulaic. Yes, it is a given that a high quality panel of expert industry judges is in place to review a strong number of excellent entries. It is essential that the venue, food, drink and service are top notch. It is a must that the AV/production is slick and professional throughout. And of course, there needs to be a certain number of relevant categories, and a strong depth and range of different finalists.
However, what we quickly identified is that for all Awards events, there is the initial excitement at the beginning of the night, followed by the extreme high for the winners, accompanied by the lows of the unsuccessful majority who become increasingly disconnected as the trophy presentations continue.
So, we decided to make our Awards as interactive and inclusive as possible throughout, with the focus on making the event entertaining for all, for the whole show, fully utilising the AV/production elements that are in place.
The Results
Our company aim is to produce events that are fun and highly entertaining, knowing that it will lead to a high level of repeat business, with very satisfied companies spreading the positive word. And it really does work!
Our two main Awards events – Security & Fire Excellence (S&FEA) and eCommerce Awards both now sell-out their venues – Hilton on Park Lane and Marriott Grosvenor Square respectively.
Since we took over both events, the attendance has grown significantly, with eCommerce 2019 recording growth in guest numbers of +19%, and S&FEA an increase in attendance of +65%. This has of course led to a significant increase in sponsorship and of course profit!
Plus, this also translates through to entry levels, as more companies not only want to attend to be entertained, network, socialise and party, but of course want to be recognised in front of a larger, vibrant and respected industry audience. This has manifested in a growth of entries since we took over of up +44% for eCommerce (Paid) and up +92% for S&FEA (Free) in 2019.
So how do we do it…
Interactive Opener - https://youtu.be/n5FVx1CUd_U
It begins pre the event. We contact all the finalists that have booked a table and invite them to ‘be the stars of the show’ by being part of the event opener. We select a well-known song and encourage them to video their teams singing along, displaying company branding for additional PR. We’re not after an MTV style output, but simply to give the opportunity for the attendees to have fun, build excitement before the night and of course, so they can cheer along at themselves and their colleagues on the large screens as the final edit plays.
Karaoke Walk-Ups - https://youtu.be/1r8w1hX7Xho and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap1Rona-Wqg (particularly 1min.07seconds in)
Within the traditional Awards format, there is significant downtime as the winners celebrate and make their way to the stage to receive their trophy and photo, usually accompanied by a music sting. This is a wonderful moment for the winner, but less so for the losers in that category and indeed, for anyone whose category has passed or whose category is yet to come - in fact, pretty much for everyone else in the room!
So, we initially introduced video walk-ups and this had a major impact on the audience’s attention levels. We then realised that we could take this a step further to keep the audience even more engaged, involved, connected and part of the show. So, we developed Karaoke walk-ups. As each winner is announced, we play well known music videos with the lyrics displayed on the screen and actively encourage the audience to participate and to sing along as the winners take to the stage. This not only keeps everyone’s attention, but ensures that the event has a really fun, celebratory, party feel to it. The win is not devalued, as the graphics still show the winners details and the video is cut to live camera as the team are finally set on stage for their photograph.
Karaoke Band
The interaction does not stop there. As once the final trophy has been presented, we go straight to our live karaoke band and give the audience the chance to sing live with a professional band. This not only neatly links all the elements together, but as the guest singers go through their songs, they appear on the large screens so their colleagues and peers can enjoy their performance and sing and dance along too.
VJ
To close the event, we use our VJ who plays the videos of well-known artists as an alternative to the traditional disco. This again utilises the event screens and links all the elements together.
Host
The choice of host is of course an essential part of a good Awards event. Our hosts have been wide ranging to suit the profile of the audience and the budgets available. However, we have again found that the best hosts are the ones that interact and connect with the audience.
Proof It Works!
We receive brilliant feedback after every event but our recent Awards in January illustrates just how successful our approach is. We had magician Ben Hanlin booked to host. Rehearsals with him went smoothly and everyone was excited for Ben to present. Unfortunately, we had the worst news possible, and an hour before he was due on stage, he called to say he could not do the show as his daughter had been rushed to hospital.
Back in the day, this would have been disastrous, but we knew that with the interactive opener, karaoke walk-ups, live karaoke band, all neatly topped off with our VJ, that actually the show would go on and that it would still be brilliant!
Our Director stood in and despite him being a long way off a magician or comedian, the show was still fantastic and very well received by all!