How we transformed an in-person awards ceremony into a world-wide interactive virtual experience

Holman Heroes Case Study

2020 Partner of the Year Award Ceremony

Project Overview:

We have been producing Holman’s Partner of the Year Awards since 2016. The event has typically been delivered as an in-person or hybrid event, but 2020 presented some unique challenges that forced the ceremony to be completely virtual.

The main challenge was to design a system that would allow Holman’s President & COO (presenting from a studio in New Jersey) to interact with award winners at various locations around the globe. And just like every other year, the winning announcements needed to be kept secret until the names were read live.

In order to do this, we staged the 75 nominees in a virtual green room and sent them a live feed of the ceremony that was taking place (in realtime) at the New Jersey studio. This allowed them to watch and chat with one another throughout the event. When the winner’s names were read, we immediately switched them over into the live broadcast environment to accept their award and interact with the President and COO.

We set up two large 80” monitors and a sound system in the New Jersey studio that allowed the President to see and hear the virtual participants, as well as see his notes and PPT slides.

It could not have gone any smoother and several of the winners even remarked when they saw their screens change to switch from the virtual green room to the main virtual event they got super excited. We didn’t actually plan for that, but we’ll chalk it up to a happy accident.

In addition to the live event, we also pre-produced all of the content for the show which was based on a Comic Book Super Hero Theme. From graphic design to video editing and animation … video conferencing, live-streaming and audiovisual support – this event taps into everything we have to offer.

Also, due to the number of people participating in the event, and the number of people who were apart of Holman’s planning team this was a lot to manage. We set up weekly video calls with Holman in the months leading up to the event ensure nothing was overlooked.

Services:

Concept and Development

Holman told us they wanted to use a Comic Book theme, but we didn't have much else to go on. So we developed the overall concept and art direction for their vision.

Graphic Design

In addition to creating the overall look and feel for the event, Holman also asked us to design and produce a master slide deck that could be used at the main event and several smaller events surrounding the celebration.

Pre-Produced Video Content

While the main ceremony was held live, we pre-produced other segments to be be played back during the live event . This involved us coordinating and directing virtual filming sessions with Holman’s global leadership team and then editing it together with graphics to create the videos.

Event Teaser Video:

Sent out a few months ahead of event:

Opening Video:

Included concept, scriptwriting, voice-over recording, and animation.

Event Content:

Played back during the live event.

Closing Video:

Simple animated ending to close the broadcast.

Private, Custom-Branded Live Event Landing Page

A turn-key solution that included online hosting and analytics.

Livestream / Broadcast

Included cameras, lights, mobile production studio, and full-service technical crew.

Excerpt:

Full Program:

Behind the scenes photos:

The Results

Pre-Production Meetings

Stream Tests

Virtual Participants

Virtual Filming Sessions

Dress Rehearsal

Online Viewers

Pre-Produced Videos

Crew Members

Buffering Issues

Slides Designed

In-Person Presenters

Happy Customer

Client Feedback:

Kelsey Van Der Zee

Coordinator, Employee Engagement, ARI

This was my third year working on the Partner of the Year campaign and my first year working with all of you so closely, all I can say is WOW! One of my favourite parts about planning events is bringing an idea or concept to life and you all made that happen. The team did a phenomenal job moving this to a virtual and global event. The graphic design took the comic book superhero theme to the next level. I am so proud of this campaign and how it turned out. Thank you again to everyone involved, I look forward to working with you all again soon!

Rhiannon Volpe

Employee Engagement Coordinator, Partners In Excellence

I completely echo Kelsey’s comments and sentiments. You have all been such a huge support system, bringing such patience, talent, and next level skills to make this a big success, and we are super grateful! Looking forward to continuing to work together and learn from you and the team in the future!