The “main stage” is taking on a whole new life as event marketers and their partners embrace immersive media, bold spaces and pop culture trends to showcase leaders and launches in a new light. From live-streaming to on-demand channels, these productions—the content, the set, the experience design—have to be as compelling for in-person audiences as they are for viewers at home.
FASCINATING VENUES
HPE set a new bar for the traditional conference keynote at HPE Discover in Las Vegas last year when it took advantage of one of the hottest and most captivating venues yet: Sphere Las Vegas. The “skin-tingling” content featured a 4D flight through peaks, shores, forests and cities, before a voice narration declared, “AI holds the key to unlocking infinite possibilities for our planet.”
CES headliner Delta followed up this year with its own keynote at Sphere, where it leveraged the massive LED screen for flight simulation, immersive storytelling, and at the end, a digital fireworks show to celebrate its centennial (complete with seat rumbling). The experience ended with audiences “flying away” with Lenny Kravitz, live in concert.
Tip! Lean away from “information” and toward sensory storytelling when it comes to big-screen content. Think: Moving graphics, simulations, and thundering special effects.
SURPRISE AND DELIGHT
Taco Bell transformed a traditional, annual roll-out campaign into an all-eggs-in-one-basket, giant live-streamed broadcast of all its new announcements for the year with the fan-centric Live Más LIVE experience in Las Vegas during Super Bowl LVIII weekend. (The event returned this year to Brooklyn, NY.) Loyalty members were able to access the broadcast and interact with it via a custom microsite available only to them.
Tip! Superfans were among the invited guests to the inaugural Live Más LIVE, on top of influencers and journalists. Consider how special guests might invigorate your program or help reward key customers.
- Inside the Delta Keynote Experience at Sphere in Las Vegas
- Dell’s Tips for Creating Live Event Broadcasts That Drive Engagement
HOSTS WITH THE MOST
Salesforce’s Dreamforce has an incredibly robust streaming and on-demand content program, and at the show last year the team created a full production studio on-site and remotely to manage the in-flow. As part of the program, the brand brought in veteran host Soledad O’Brien for discussions with visionaries in a “morning news-style set” right on the show floor.
Meanwhile, Quest Software at its NXT FY25 annual show took on a Bravo TV’s “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” vibe as it enlisted an outsider to operate as the event’s talk show host who presided over conference experiences and the event’s TV channel, NXT+.
Tip! Executives are used to commanding attention in the boardroom, but on stage is a different story. Think about augmenting their presence by budgeting for a professional and entertaining personality as host.
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