Mar 19 2018
Encore Research

Immerse your guests in a cinematic experience with our new LED Wall – Crown Palladium Ballroom has been at the forefront of event technology in Australia for more than 15 years. It was the first Ballroom to use intelligent table pinspots, the first to use Meyer Sound’s award-winning horizontal array loudspeaker system and now features another stunning new innovation. The room now boasts 58m2 of VuePix E series Pro LED Wall permanently deployed by Staging Connection with the express purpose of providing event clients with a truly stunning visual experience thanks to its impressive size, brightness and colour intensity.
The impressive 14.4m wide and 4m high display is mostly in use as a backdrop on the proscenium stage to provide the perfect virtual set for event designers that want to create strong visual impact. Due to the flexibility of the system it can also be safely rigged or ground-stacked* almost anywhere in the space either as one complete wall or as a series of displays. Employing more than half a million individual LEDs with a rated brightness of 3500 nits (a home television is usually around 350 nits) your show content will display brilliantly and will have no issues competing with stage lighting. “Once upon a time corporate Ballrooms used starcloths or cycs as a show backdrop. This new LED Wall takes the creative potential to an amazing new level. Anything is possible,” says Andrew MacColl, Director of Event Technology at Staging Connections Group. Use the new LED Wall to display corporate or club logos and branding, engage audiences with dynamic animated media backdrops, up the ante for band or dance performances with exciting multimedia or even customise the configuration to deliver a unique event that captivates your audience. The sheer size and impressive luminance makes the LED Wall the perfect backdrop for all events. Being a blank digital canvas it lends itself to all types of events such as; Corporate breakfasts, lunches and product kick offs. Charity events and fundraisers Awards nights, gala dinners and sporting events Music concerts Conference plenary sessions Staging Connections’ team of in-house multimedia designers can create custom content, both animated or still imagery, to leverage the power of the LEDs. The LED Wall was used at the Crown Melbourne Christmas Showcase to give the stage a more dynamic environment and allowed the event theme to carry across the stage set. “The Event theme was the 4 seasons of Christmas travelling through different countries. This theme allowed us to cast the room in an array of different colours through spectacular on-screen content, supported by dramatic lighting. The theming of this event came to life through the vision elements with the intensity of the LED Wall giving more impact to the imagery,” says Kristy Richards, Crown Melbourne Venue Sales Executive for Staging Connections.
The LED Wall was the final piece of the puzzle that turned the event into an immersive visual journey for guests.
“The LED Wall was displayed in conjunction with all the other screens in the room. It was the central feature, flanked by two 20ft x 11ft screens and lining either side of the room was two 30ft x 10ft screens.”
Throughout the event, Staging Connections utilised different applications of imagery to demonstrate its versatility and show how well the LEDs work against projection. “We’ve been the in-house AV supplier to Crown Melbourne since it opened in 1997. During this time, we’ve helped the venue maintain its position as one of Australia’s leading event venues and it’s because of our relentless commitment to technological innovation,” says Mr MacColl.
“The LED wall that was used for the Shared Tables Gala Ball in 2015 added that extra sparkle to the room and elevated the entertainment to the next level. A sensational addition to our event by Staging Connections, who have been designing and collaborating with Shared Tables for the past 14 years to ensure we have the best show in Australia for our guests.”
Gerard Doherty, Shared Tables | Crown Melbourne
Staging Connections Melbourne Events Team
Our Melbourne team is proudly led by Haig Walker and comprises some of the most talented design and styling professionals in the industry, offering event excellence across 7 key venues. If you’re looking to host your next corporate event in Melbourne, than we’re the experienced events team you can rely on. We proudly offer Australia’s largest range of event services across audio, lighting, staging, vision and extending to styling, multimedia and digital event solutionslike webcasting, live polling and event social media. Get in touch with us today or call 1800 209 099 to speak with one of our event experts. * Please note there are additional charges for the rigging or moving of the LED Wall from its current position within The Palladium at Crown Melbourne. … Read More

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Why you should use digital banners at your event

Mar 19 2018
Encore Research
A theatrical set is a combination of engineering, practicality and imagination that, at its best, becomes part of a show’s narrative as it helps tell it. The ubiquity of digital video technology means that your event can benefit from the same attention-grabbing visual techniques that wow Broadway audiences. With the right content, your brand, message and story can fill screens, dance across walls and create long-lasting impressions in your audience’s memories. Even better, your content can be transported to new venues, re-used in electronic communication, broadcast on web and re-purposed as a promotional tool after your event is over. What is a digital set? ‘Digital Set’ is a catch-all term for a combination of techniques, equipment and strategies that all use digitally created graphic content to enhance a live event. A Digital Set can be any combination of static, animated or video content displayed on screens, projected on surfaces or animated across LED lighting fixtures. The options with projection alone are almost limitless! With one projector you can present an animation on a central screen all the while projection static branding on two peripheral screens. Set the scene of your event The first thing you need to consider when using digital sets is the venue you intend to deploy them in and the projection space that allows. Small function spaces - will be well served by projection to a modest central screen, augmented by strategically placed flat-panel displays. Larger theatre-style presentation spaces - can support multiple projection screens and projection onto walls. Extremely large ballroom or gala centres - allow you to stretch your imagination. They can house multiple sized custom screens, curved screens and projection mapped immersive visuals, all on a grand scale. Designing to your message The aim of your event is to convey your message, a digital set is intended to enhance it not outshine it. The development of your content and its technical implementation should go hand in hand. The best AV companies now have graphic designers, computer animator and video content creators in-house, which is the ideal team for enhancing your message. Take your speaker’s PowerPoint or Keynote presentations as a starting point and work through them with the content creators. They will pick out themes, selected static or animated visuals, highlight the most important sections and help structure the presentation with visual markers. Making use of the natural breaks You obviously don’t want to subvert attention during your speakers presentations but there are several natural breaks in the proceedings; introductions, walk- ups speaker changes that allow you to use the whole Digital Set to entertain the crowd. For example, introducing a speaker allows you to use all visual displays in unison to immerse the whole venue in a single visual sequence. An image can traverse the room making heads spin, light and fire can rise from every corner in your event. All these transitions should be made with tight, precise timings before bringing the focus right back to the speaker. Making an experience for your guests Envisage this: Video operators ensure that all presentations are queued up on a central computer and can be edited at a moments notice if necessary. All of your creative content will be deployed across projectors and screens via media servers run through powerful video mapping software. Lights go down, animation and video come up and your first speaker will take to the stage, right in the middle of the digital set you have created. Your presenter speaks. Slow video loops of your logo and slideshows of images pertinent to your theme run unobtrusively on secondary displays, quietly setting the scene in your audiences peripheral vision. At the moment when the major new product/direction/award is unveiled all displays leap to life in concert with the key image and text. As the details are explained, different points and illustrations make their way to different parts of the room, adjusting and focusing the audience’s attention as necessary. As the presentation ends, the room becomes one image, surrounding the crowd in the environment of the idea. Take your digital set with you Marketing memory After the applause has died down and the audience has left, your Digital Set is ready to keep working for you. You should follow-up your attendees via email, framed in the same style and content as the event and send out a link to video highlights. Make sure you tie their experience into your emailed content. You have created a memory that is branded with your visuals in each attendee’s mind, and every time you communicate with them make sure to use these same images. If your content and message were compelling, they will recall the event even more fervently. Portable set If your event is travelling its easy to take your digital set with you and adapt it as needed to the new venue. Projections can be scaled up and down according to room size and available surfaces. Similarly, images that were split across multiple devces can be amalgamated to one or vice-versa. Digital Sets are incredibly malleable and coherent content with a clear message with translate well no matter what media is carrying it. Your digital content is now a business asset that cost a fraction of its physical counterpart with the ability to be scaled down to an iPad or up to an arena. Digital set event packages Staging Connections offer Digital Sets in their Event Create packages. In-house content creators work with you with options for either static or animated imagery. Standard display options include projecting from one projector onto multiple screens or from multiple projectors onto ultra wide screens, if your venue can physically accommodate them. In all cases and all combinations, Staging Connections work with you to bring out the heart of your message, and enhance your event with the right combination lighting, sound and decoration to fit with your theme. Unique boxes The standard package does not limit your ability to create something truly unique. Staging Connections’ creative team and event planners love to extend themselves by creating totally individual events that create an environment for the organisation’s message. Whether it is bringing a character to life, creating a new display concept for a revolutionary product or finding a way to communicate a radical idea with absolute clarity, the Digital team love a challenge. That’s the great thing about the digital visions tools of modern AV – it’s never been easier to bring the hardest-to-image concepts to life and it’s never been more affordable to create a theatrical experience for your audience that’s every bit as entertaining as a night on Broadway. Want to stay up to date with industry trends? Browse our range of downloadable Event Insights papers ... Read More

The PowerPoint Advantage - Tips for presentation success

Mar 19 2018
Encore Research
Building a presentation may seem straightforward, but sometimes presentations can turn very complicated when it comes to the delivery. One way to avoid the pitfalls is to remember to get the basics right Building a presentation may seem straightforward, but sometimes presentations can turn very complicated when it comes to the delivery. One way to avoid the pitfalls is to remember to get the basics right: 1. Before starting to create your presentation, ensure you adjust the page setup to match aspect ratio of the display device, so as to get rid of those black bars around our slides. 2. When styling your presentation, remember that dark backgrounds should be used for darker rooms and light backgrounds for lighter function rooms. 3. When authoring your presentation, check that your text is well contrasted against the background colour, so your audience can easily understand your message. 4. Knowing that a picture is worth a thousand words, check to see if any of your text can be swapped for images instead, as this will avoid your audience suffering “death by PowerPoint”. 5. When saving your presentation, make sure that any files linked to the presentation are saved with the presentation, so as to avoid that stress just before you present. 6. When setting up your laptop make sure you connect the power supply and have disabled any screen savers and power management, eliminating any surprises mid presentation. 7. When loading your presentation, save it first to the laptop and run it from there, this will reduce any lags or delays in the presentation moving from slide to slide. 8. Once you have your slides on screen during rehearsal, walk to the back of the room and double check that the text size is adequate for viewing from the last row of chairs. 9. Don’t forget to take a depth breath and relax just before walking up on to stage! While some of this sounds straight forward it is important to lay the foundation for the more complicated demands of an event by getting the simple things right the first time! Check out this link for more information: http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/support/microsoft-powerpoint-curriculum-guide-FX102832612.aspx Written by Katie McDonald Katie McDonald is the Digital Brand Manager and resident Brit at Staging Connections. Armed with post-graduate qualifications in Marketing and specialist skills in Digital Strategy, she is passionate about management, execution, and measurement of all digital efforts that enhance and humanize brands online. ... Read More

10 ways an event app can help manage and plan your Annual General Meeting

Mar 19 2018
Encore Research
An event planning app for Annual General Meetings (AGMs). There is a lot that goes into the planning and execution of an Annual General Meeting. To help make it easier for event planners to communicate with attendees, we’ve created Event Briefcase, our event planning app. With Event Briefcase, event planners and organisers are able to upload information such as maps, venue locations, event schedules and so much more so that guests of the AGM are able to access relevant information from their smart phone or mobile device. With Event Briefcase, you can easily communicate with all of the attendees of your event simultaneously. When planning an annual general meeting, our event planning application is a must-have tool. Here are 10 ways that our event app can help you with the panning and management of your Annual General Meeting: 1. Schedule & Agenda Feature: Agenda Once you have confirmed the schedule and agenda for the annual general meeting you are organising, Event Briefcase allows you to upload the schedule so that the attendees of the meeting are able to view it ahead of the meeting. This is a great way to help the attendees of the AGM stay organized and on schedule which will add to the flawlessness of the event you have planned. 2. Upload venue information Feature: Facility Overview Venue Overview: Our event planning app allows you to share with your guests an overview of the venue where the general meeting will be held. If you are hosting the meeting at a large conference centre, for example, you can let your attendees know which conference room the meeting will be held in. You can also upload a map of the venue so that the conference room, where the meeting is held, will be easy to find. 3. Getting to and from the AGM Feature: Transit With Event Briefcase, you can make it easy for attendees to find the venue where the general meeting is taking place by including a map to the venue. If there are any out of town guests who will be attending the general meeting, it is also easy to include shuttle and transportation information to and from the venue where the meeting will be held. 4. Upload important information on speakers, Board Members and New Appointments Feature: Speaker Information With our event planning app, you can share the bio of the board members who are attending the annual general meeting. It is also a good idea to include profiles on any speakers that are scheduled for the meeting and to include bios on recent additions and appointments to the board. 5. Distribute important company and shareholder documents Feature: Downloads Our event planning application makes sharing information and reports with your attendees extremely simple. You can upload annual reports, motions, previous minutes, yearly figures and so much more so that the meeting’s attendees can access the information from their smart phone or portable device. This is a great way to help guests stay organized while providing them with all of the necessary information they will need throughout the meeting. 6. Provide Proxy Voting Information Feature: Links With our event planning app, you can share relevant proxy voting information with the attendees of your annual general meeting. 7. Keep your attendees up-to-date Feature: Bulletins Event Briefcase makes it easy to share pertinent information and news updates about your annual general meeting. Once you upload a news bulletin, your attendees will be able to access and read that information from their mobile device. 8. Live Audience Polling Feature: Links A new method of shareholder voting is facilitated by our live audience polling platform, Event Poll. You can include a link to your AGMs Event Poll and have your attendees respond to questions and cast their votes in the room. This method of anonymous voting is currently only legal in New Zealand so please speak to your Staging Connections representative to see if it's right for your AGM. 9. Venue Promotional Information Feature: Downloads / Links Depending upon where the annual general meeting is being held, your venue might have promotional information for you to share with your audience. Our event planning app allows you to easily share in venue promotional material with those in attendance of your annual general meeting. 10. Showcase important company video content Feature: Video Event Briefcase also comes with the ability to share rich and engaging content such as videos with your guests. With our event planning app, you can include videos about the company that is holding the annual general meeting, a company show reel, a video that pays tribute to all that happened the previous year and so much more. Watch this short video on Event Briefcase to find out more about our free corporate event app Event Briefcase by Staging Connections - a free corporate event app. When you enlist Staging Connections’ AV services for your Annual General Meeting or shareholders meeting, Our corporate event app, Event Briefcase, is included at no extra charge. Additionally, Staging Connections can offer you 30 years of experience when it comes to event planning. We can put our experience to work for you and our professional event production team can help you plan and execute a stand-out AGM. To find out how Event Briefcase can enhance your event, speak with one of our Staging Connections representatives today by calling 1800 209 099 or by sending an online enquiry. ... Read More

Catwalk to Trackside: This Year's Spring Racing Event Trends

Mar 19 2018
Encore Research
Taking inspiration from this seasons catwalk trends, Staging Connections’ talented stylist for SA and WA, Alana Bolt, has translated the stunning looks from the Spring Racing Carnival and transformed them into dazzling styling ideas for events of all shapes and sizes. One of the most glamorous events of the social calendar, the Spring Racing Carnival is renowned for its flowing champagne, delectable food and a sea of beautiful millinery and fabulous fashion. So what stylish event trends fit this time of year, like a glove? White, White, White Timeless and crisp, white is the colour of spring. It’s elegant, chic and a versatile. Bring white into your event with soft drapes, tablecloths, chair covers, flower walls, candles and floral centrepieces. Add some shimmer, with elements that will dazzle attendees and lift the event space; from glistening crystals adorning mirrored table centrepieces, to metallic leaf centrepieces. Add natural colours and textures to balance an all-white space, like green foliage topiary balls hanging from the ceiling or faux grass below a casual seating area. Simple yet elegant, white will brighten up your event. Floral Frenzy When the sun starts to shine brighter and the fields bloom with bright flowers, Spring has arrived! And what says Spring more than beautiful, fresh flowers? Florals make a strong fashion statement, combining colour, detail and texture. Don’t just rely on flowers in a vase to liven your event, make an impact using strong prints as backdrops or furnishings, with 70s and Japanese inspired designs the epitome of style this year. Or add a floral wall – it doesn’t have to be the size of Kim Kardashian’s wedding backdrop, even a small wall filled with bright flowers is sure to be the ultimate talking point. Run a competition using Event Feed to see who can capture the best photo of the flowers and share it on social media. Hang paper lanterns or umbrellas from the ceiling to mimic the feel of an evening garden party. Simple, feminine furnishings in soft pink tones, combined with bursts of floral prints covering cushions, or relaxed seating and dashes of lace and frills will give your event a special ambiance. Sleek Blues Ombré is not just for hair this season, it translates perfectly for events as well. Rich blues gradually blending into white or apricot creates a warm, soft setting. Using a complimentary colour scheme like blue and apricot, incorporate soft furnishings to create a sense of warmth, florals to brighten the space and a dramatic ceiling installation or stark white entry arches for a modern and stylish design. Add an Event Backdrop with stylish design so attendees can have their photo snapped on an illuminated ombré wall and share it with their followers online. For cocktail events, blue and chrome bar stools pair perfectly with sleek accent drop pendant lighting to keep the look modern and stylish. This understated elegance will bring warmth and class to the event environment. Spring Sensations Take inspiration from the season. Pump up the volume with bright, bold colours. Australia has some of the most unique flowers in the world, so go on, use them en masse! Make a big statement by showcasing hundreds of peonies in tin buckets, combine seasonal colours like orange, blue, green and pink to get the ultimate spring effect. Potted plants of all shapes and sizes scattered or stacked on wooden pallets create a relaxed, unstructured space, with additional pallets stacked to create functional bar tables and casual seating areas. Astro turf is a quirky addition and can be used to easily break up a large space into smaller sections. Line the edges of the space with potted blooms or a bright coloured picket fence. Bigger and brighter is what this trend is all about. Add digital styling elements like projection mapping and holding slides with custom art work, created with the bright colour palette in mind. Black, White and A Pop of Colour A monochrome theme has been a favourite of events for many years. It’s smart, it’s sophisticated and it’s timeless. Think Derby Day, with black and white table décor and black draping with white furniture. Silver horseshoe centrepieces make a statement when decorated with a flourish of spring foliage, add a mirrored disk underneath for extra glam. Monochrome also lends itself well to a pop of feature colour if you want to mix it up. To truly get in the racing spirit, consider matching your colour accent with the signature flower of each racing day – Caulfield Cup Day has a white rose, Cox Plate Day has a Cecil Brunner rose, Victoria Derby Day has a blue cornflower, Melbourne Cup Day has a yellow rose and Crown Oaks day has a pink rose. Get greater engagement with your guests by hosting your own betting pool. Using Event Poll, get guests to vote on which horse they feel is the winner! Rustic and Earthy For an organic and authentic rustic event setting, use garden props like wheelbarrows, watering pots and herb gardens. Hay bales and corrugated iron walls really add to the authenticity of this trend. Emphasise a sustainable theme right from the beginning by using recycled paper invitations and stationery. For a really authentic track-side experience, set up a marquee on grass, or to stop those heels digging into the grass, roll out the astro turf instead. Enhance a marquee with striped overhead draping and beaded chandeliers, covered in ivy strands. Add wicker furniture with floral and crystal obelisk centrepieces. Create a focal point with a ceiling installation made from twigs and native Australian flora and use a variety of lighting effects throughout the event. It’s easy to translate what you’re seeing on the catwalk to the theme of your next event. It just takes a little imagination and some clever effects. Credit: Header Image Punters ... Read More

Audio Visual Events - Tapping Technology for Success

Mar 19 2018
Encore Research
Today's events demand bigger and better year on year. From product launches, AGMs, award ceremonies through to conferences the audio visual event requirements are also becoming more advanced as brands look to the power of AV to communicate their message in a more visual and powerful way. Today's events demand bigger and better year on year. From product launches, AGMs, award ceremonies through to conferences the audio visual event requirements are also becoming more advanced as brands look to the power of AV to communicate their message in a more visual and powerful way. Leading public events such as Vivid Sydney and even the big awards such as the Oscars are driving this adoption of technology on a corporate level. Harnessing new AV technology such as projection mapping allows your message to be delivered with power and style. It's something we at Staging Connections are working towards every day and can help you to achieve. The power of sound and visual imagery to create an experience that move's, informs and persuades an audience is a technical and artistic challenge. It requires highly trained staff with unique talents and skills. Consider what the process entails. For one thing, audio visual events must be meticulously planned and a clear strategy developed. Taking the time to do this in a advance is an investment that really pays off. It means you can be sure that your event design and delivery is aligned to your brand and message objectives. Next, this creativity and planning must be translated into a meticulous action plan and scheduled down to the last moment. Painstaking attention to detail is a must to be sure that your event runs seamlessly. Running successful audio visual for events demands more than just setting up the necessary projectors, screens and LCD displays. This is done through clever use of lighting, rigging, and drapes. Meanwhile qualified technicians and other staff constantly work behind the scenes to keep the operation running to plan and schedule. Here at Staging Connections we have the experience and the best people in the business for all your audio visual event needs. Call us today on 1800 209 099 to discuss your event requirements. ... Read More

New event solutions unveiled at Event Masterclass - watch video

Mar 19 2018
Encore Research
Staging Connections unveiled their newest product offerings at an exclusive function for 100 top event professionals and major clients, at the Hilton Sydney. The inaugural Event Masterclass – an evolution of Staging Connections’ popular Backstage events – provided an in-depth demonstration of the latest products, services and event trends. Unveiled for the first time was the newest addition to the Staging Connections digital portfolio – an interactive touch-screen presentation platform due to go to market in 2016. Lucy Kratz, Sales Manager for NSW and ACT said it was exciting to show clients new technologies that will propel their events to the next level. “Whilst Inteli-Touch is yet to officially be released to market, it was exciting to see where event technology is heading and show our clients some of what they can expect to see from Staging Connections in 2016 and beyond. “Our team scour the globe for the most impressive, boundary-pushing technologies, and touch screen displays are just one of the many new solutions we will be adding to our product suite this year,” said Ms Kratz. Set within the Hilton Sydney Ballroom the team showcased the latest screen products available in Australia including a gigantic 27m x 5m curved screen, six modular digital banners (pictured below), and a suspended Event Backdrop. Paul Hutton, Vice President Operations, Hilton Worldwide was impressed with the technologies on display. “From the moment we entered the ballroom the effect of the curved screen was overwhelming, it provided the perfect backdrop for the Event Masterclass, and combined with all screens in the room really brought our event to life,” said Mr Hutton. The Event Masterclass demonstrated the latest capabilities of Staging Connections popular event technology, Event Poll and Event Feed, and the latest in webcasting, 3D projection mapping, multimedia and motion graphics, digital screens and projection. The team’s latest work was presented including examples of stage design using state-of-the-art projection mapping for wide and curved screens as well as 3D objects. One of the most talked about products of the evening was the Event Backdrop which featured two custom printed canvases, one suspended above the other, to create a 3D entrance to a wine cellar (pictured below). The Event Masterclass coincided with the Hilton Food and Beverage Masterclass – an internal competition for Hilton worldwide to showcase and reward their talent. It gave Staging Connections an opportunity to use their latest products in a real, world-class event environment. Staging Connections Sydney Events Team Our Sydney team is proudly led by Nicole Russell and comprises some of the most talented design and styling professionals in the industry, offering event excellence across 18 key venues. If you're looking to host your next corporate event in Sydney, than we're the experienced events team you can rely on. We proudly offer Australia's largest range of event services across audio, lighting, staging, vision and extending to styling, multimedia and digital event solutions like webcasting, live polling and event social media. Get in touch with us today or call 1800 209 099 to speak with one of our event experts. ... Read More

Multimedia: Why content is king in your event

Mar 19 2018
Encore Research
Custom-made multimedia content for your event isn’t a luxury anymore – it’s essential. Your brand, your message and your customers exist in an environment that now expects communication to be targeted, relevant and impressive. Cookie-cutter templates, presentations and graphics are an instant turn-off to an audience that needs to be engaged with creativity, wit and originality. It’s a daunting prospect to try and compete with major brands and professional creative teams on a global stage, but it’s the reality of working in marketing and events in the internet age. Your Audience has high audio visual expectations Your audience knows what is possible in event theming and branding because they’ve already been exposed to some of the best in the business, whether live or via the web. Australia punches well above its per-capita weight in the events industry, with production companies, artistic directors and staff sought after the world over. As a result, our audiences are used to quality. Your customers are no exception. Customising Your Event Content When thinking about what you can do to make your next event stay in your customer’s mind, start with a blank canvas. It’s tempting to build on a look or theme you’ve used before, but you need to create a unique experience. It is a hard place to start, so try asking yourself these questions; What is the truth of the product, image or idea you want to communicate? What concepts are associated with that? Most importantly, how do your audience see themselves in relationship to it, and how do they aspire to see themselves? What would your audience associate themselves with? When creating an event it is important to think about not only what your audience likes but also what they wish to be associated with. Social media is key to spreading your content beyond the event space and your guests have to want to publicize your event for this to be successful. People are most likely to share things that make them look interesting, funny, exciting and intelligent – all the positive qualities we’d most like to associate with ourselves. Customise your content with customer’s own perception of themselves in mind to resonate with their aspirations. Gather all of your existing multimedia content This is the first step in building up your new customized content. These include still images of staff or product, video material, design files for logos and product names and any other content related to branding, product or application. If your existing material doesn’t cover your vision for the event, talk to your AV provider about the best way to go about creating it. You may need to shoot stills and video, or edit existing assets. Don’t forget to bring any corporate style or branding guides that apply to what you’re doing. Consider your audio material Is there existing music associated with an advertising campaign? Does your company have an identifiable branded sting like Intel or Microsoft? A radically innovative idea for an event could include its own soundtrack, audio installation or theme song. Don’t rule out commissioning new material from composers or songwriters – it might just be the edge you need, and can be affordable in the long run, as digital collateral created for the event can go on to have multiple uses across the web. For more information onevent sound have a look at our previous post Go for Creativity and Practicality when choosing your Multimedia Designer When sitting down with the creative team, including the multimedia and graphic designers that will shape your event, bring all of your material, ideas and an open mind.A multimedia designer sits across both the unlimited world of the imagination and the pragmatic realm of the technical. Technically, anything really is possible, but there will always be a limit to your budget. On the flipside of that equation, you might have a tight budget, but you would be amazed what a resourceful creative and technical team can achieve with it if you trust them to advise you. Remember to Have Fun! While you may be guided by very strict corporate regulations on brand and image usage, don’t forget to have fun! This is especially applicable to hosting a gala dinner or awards night. Events like these ask for a more informal touch, and with digital theming and projections, you can create any kind of environment that you can imagine. Think about what suits your audience and your message – is it edgy, elegant, indulgent or family-friendly? What can you bring to it that people will not have seen before, or won’t be expecting? Staging Connections staff spend their entire professional life working on events like these, and will be able to tell you in the planning stages if you’re heading down an interesting track. They can also suggest concepts and techniques that might not have occurred to you. Again, bring a flexible attitude and benefit from experience. Experience is key On the technical side, there are a huge number of factors to take into account when looking at projecting image, video and other digital content onto screens or objects. For example still photos or videos that seem perfectly usable on a computer or hand-held device are probably unsuitable to be blown up to dimensions possibly metres across. A good multimedia designer will be able to give you a long list of things that do or don’t work when used for different applications. For example, for large-scale 2D projection mapping on the exterior of a building, high definition live video is often unsuitable. Computer animated graphics create much more successful results at that scale. It’s those kinds of insights that you only get from working with experienced professionals. Be mindful of changing resolutions For still images, logos and product branding, the higher the resolution and dpi (dots per inch), the better. It’s a good idea for any in-house graphic design or marketing staff to communicate directly with your AV provider’s multimedia creation team. Every multimedia creator will have a preference for what file formats, resolutions and definitions will be the most useful to them. They’ll also have a mind to what kind of image canvas size (1080x720, 180x1920 and so on) that will ultimately be beamed onto the walls, screens and surfacers of your event. Cut out any ‘Chinese Whisper’ effect or tedious double-up of effort by connecting your tech with your AV’s tech. Explore the possibilities If you’re unsure about the capabilities of technologies such as 2D or 3D projection mapping, get online and search for videos that include those terms. You’re going to find that digital theming of an event with custom-made multimedia content can completely transform any space, big or small. But keep them relevant While it’s good to get inspiration from what you’ll see, try not to be seduced by the ‘wow’ factor. It’s all very well that you could make the exterior of your event space look like it was collapsing as your guests arrived, but it’s just irrelevant if it distracts from your message. Build the beginnings of a major digital campaign Ultimately, engaging your audience and making your message stay in their minds is your goal. If you successfully brand a conference with new video and audio material, you have the beginnings of a major digital campaign. Integrate it with an ongoing social media and web presence, and follow-up with your attendees. Make sure to expand your new event theme into these areas: Email Campaigns Your email database will prove invaluable for this. Harvest details from everyone at the event if you don’t already have them, then send out follow-up material with the same theming. Film content Make it sharable across the appropriate social network – wherever you have invested your presence, and where your customers are. Staging Connections offers custom video production for your brand. Webcasting Creating a webcast of your event is a great way of extending your event space to all of those who could not come. Similarly this webcasted content can be used to market your brand later. Twitter Feeds Customise your Twitter feed with your event styling Event Poll theme Similarly you can import your graphics into an Event Poll theme to tie in all the aspects of your event to your message. Marketing packages Hosted on your website, your multimedia content will bring you continued return-on-investment, Use it to bring people to next year’s event, capture new customers or show those who weren’t there what they missed. Framing your company, brand or idea with fresh, intelligent multimedia content helps you cut through the noise of marketing in a crowded forum. Let us help you Staging Connections can provide a creation, delivery and post-event capitalisation strategy custom built to your ideals, audience and aspirations. They offer a vertically integrated service model that delivers marketing and creative advice, custom content creation and technical production, all unified by central communications and a clear brief. The advantage of the ‘one-stop-shop’ model is that all departments understand each other’s talents, capabilities and requirements. Our designers know exactly what specifications video and visual materials need to conform to in order for our equipment and technicians to produce the best results for you. Our event management staff know exactly what kind of preparation and vision you’ll need to create the best possible look for your event. Contact us to find out more about what custom content we can create for you to make your event exceptional. Want to stay up to date with industry trends? Browse our range of downloadable Event Insights papers ... Read More

Using colour to create stronger audience engagement at events

Mar 19 2018
Encore Research
Believe it or not, event marketers are on the same wavelengths as neuroscientists. Have you ever noticed how some event spaces are especially relaxing and calming, while others tend to irritate or perk you up? There’s a good chance the colour arrangements in those environments are playing a big part. Interior designers have long known of the influence of colour on our emotions and state of mind—the same holds true when appealing to the senses of event attendees. When we create a unique brand experience, we aim to produce customized experiences that deliver unique messages and tell stories. The more vivid and authentic an experience is, the more effective and memorable the outcome for event attendees. Leveraging the scientific correlation between colour and emotion can help us engage our audiences in new ways and boost the impact of our brand experiences. Designing with the outcome in mind When harnessing this neuroscience knowledge, it’s important to incorporate it into your event design after thinking through the kind of reactions you want your audience to have. How do you want them to feel? What do you want them to focus on? Designing your event experience with the end in mind is an important component of design thinking, which helps to ensure that every event you create is more effective, and implementing these psychological effects is just a part of that smart approach to design. When you know what emotions you want to evoke, it’s time to find just the right colour to fit the mood. A recent study by the University of British Columbia discovered that red boosts our attention to detail and performance on tasks such as memory retrieval, while blue enhances our ability to think creatively and encourages our ability to think outside the box. Event design techniques you can try Applying the psychology of colour theory to the environment of event design takes things up a notch and helps to ensure that you’ll get the response you’re looking for from your audience. As an example, last year Staging Connections delivered Greencross Limited’s annual gala dinner with a “fire and ice” theme to inspire creative stimulation among participants through the use of red and blue. We designed a modular stage set using their range of digital banners and projection mapped various themed content to match each colour concept – sizzling flames for ‘fire’ and’ frosty blue colour bursts for ‘ice’. Even the table centrepiece styling was specifically designed to reflect one of the two concepts. It’s important to consider what you ultimately want to achieve or evoke from the event to help you determine which colour palette is going to best help you achieve your goals. This guide from Sommer+Sommer, a UK advertising agency that specializes in brain training and neuromarketing, is a good starting primer on what emotions can be tied to colour. Exploring different ways you can utilize colour to engage your audience in a scientific way is a small addition to your design plan that could reap big benefits post-event. Think about your next event design—what colour can you connect with your theme and the way you want your audience to feel? Related Articles Creating an immersive conference to engage your audience Transform your corporate event with creative stage design Keep your audience engaged and entertained with Event Poll This post was originally written by Tony Allen, Director of Business Development, Freeman ... Read More

The Benefits of event Webcasting

Mar 19 2018
Encore Research
Webcasting as a tool in the event production kit has really reached maturity in the last couple of years. With the advent of 4G remote connections for cameras and audio, high bandwidth web connections in venues and fast internet at home and the office, webcasts are no longer the dull, static ‘let’s all watch a video together’ presentations they once were. They are now dynamic, interactive platforms delivering multiple types of content at once; both immersive and inspiring. Webcasts can be a pleasure to participate in. Creating an interactive and engaging webcast Customised design Today’s webcasts are built in their own customized HTML designed ‘skin’ that can house not only the event or brand’s graphics but multiple video, chat and social media widgets. The viewer feels as if they are looking at an extension of the host’s website and can interact in real-time with the event. Live chat for real engagement Social media feeds such as Twitter can really enhance your webcast. Allowing your audience, both present and remote, to engage with your presentation enables a personal connection to the speaker and the topic. Proprietary widgets such as Chatroll enable a live chat feed for the event participants only, meaning a web viewer can ask questions of a presenter and have it answered in real time. Make sure your guests use the same hashtag and you may even find your event ‘trending’. Getting up close and personal with mobile cameras All the action that occurs at your event can now be seamlessly presented via the web using mobile cameras. Action and reaction Complex video presentations can include cutaways to audience members during Q&A or for reaction shots. Mobile cameras operating via 4G uplink make this possible, along with a dedicated video director calling the shots. Supplementary interviews We all love the glitz and glam of a red carpet, so why not add one to your event? As guests arrive, prepare roving hosts to carry out red carpet interviews with the VIPs and luminaries of your industry. This type of content makes the webcast experience as close to (sometimes even closer) than physically being at the event. Mobile cameras with audio capability can add a lot of fun to your webcast and the more your audience engages with the event the longer it will stay with them and the further your message will go. A record of your event When an event is webcast it becomes a detailed, multi-dimensional record of your event. Think of it as visual, audio and textual proof of audience engagement with your content. The webcast can be hosted on your website, made available for consumption on-demand by anyone who missed out on attending so the content you so lovingly created keeps working for you long after the big show. Video content at your disposal All content captured during a webcast can be edited and repurposed. This means you’ve just created a rich mine of video content to deploy according to your marketing strategy. As video is the future of web communication, every organization is currently trying to produce high-quality, engaging video content. Most are struggling due to lack of staff, experience and technology. Considering you’re already putting your company’s best face on at a public event it is sensible to invest in professionals to add a webcasting component to your event. Marketing future events If you are running an annual event your previous webcasts can be used to market your upcoming event. Email blasts to your database with video highlights packages will remind repeat customers why they came last time and will entice new customers to see what they have been missing out on. Take charge of your audience In the past if you wanted to ensure you had an audience for your event you had to approach free-to-air or cable broadcasters to film and distribute your event. While you can still approach them it is incredibly unlikely that they will say yes, there are now even several major music and entertainment awards that traditional media don’t think are sellable to their advertisers. The good news is; we don’t need them anymore! Targeted market Your event can now hit a targeted market, as large or small as it needs to be and your content can remain viewable to a global audience in perpetuity. You can decided if your content is free or be paid for. You can even sell advertising embedded into your webcast. Everyone is now a broadcaster with only their imagination and ability to impress the market limiting your audience growth. How to get it right So now that you are convinced you need webcasting at your event, the next question is how to ensure it is technically flawless and engaging to your audience? The answer is lots of preparation on the part of the content provider (the organization hosting the event) and the technicians responsible for delivering the goods. No one wants to see another presenter fumbling on video with his or her PowerPoint saying, “It was working in the office”. Here is a quick checklist: For the organiser: Are your presenters engaging? Are they rehearsed? Have you checked all presenter’s graphic and video content for quality, formatting and functionality? Make sure you have a functioning internet connection for externally linked web content Questions to ask your webcast provider: Have they webcast from this venue before? Have you had a look at some of their previous work? Are they using a wired connection to the web? If so, have they organized bandwidth to be reserved with the venue’s IT staff and their internet service provider? Streaming quality Make sure that the webcast includes Adaptive Bitrate Streaming. It’s the intelligence in the web stream that sees the device you are viewing the webcast on and how much bandwidth you have, then automatically adapts the stream to run as smoothly as possible. This means no annoying pauses or ‘buffering’. Ready to go live The main point is preparation and ensuring you have a webcast provider you can trust. At Staging Connections we guarantee a quality and engaging webcast for your event that will allow your content to keep attracting eyes long after the curtains have drawn. Love learning the latest in event technology and delivery? Download our range of free White Papers today. ... Read More