Our General Manager – SA/NT, Ashley Gabriel discusses the challenges outdoor events can present and shares his thoughts as to how you can make the most of your next outdoor event. Our General Manager – SA/NT, Ashley Gabriel discusses the challenges outdoor events can present and shares his thoughts as to how you can make the most of your next event. What epitomises an Australian summer more than attending an outdoor event?
Apart from the weather, have you ever considered the other numerous challenges that face event producers when delivering high quality event experiences in outdoor locations? Things like: 1. Making sure the public attending feel part of a community or brand experience. 2. Keeping safety as paramount at all times. 3. And most importantly, creating an interactive experience for those attending and those watching at home. Whether executing an audio visual solution for over 750,000 spectators in South Australia or providing staging for a parade which attracts close to 400,000 people we have combined creative and technical elements to deliver a recent slew of outdoor events under challenging outdoor conditions. The Santos Tour Down Under, the southern hemisphere’s largest cycling race, held annually in South Australia is a prestigious road cycling competition drawing cycling greats from around the world. By working together with the team over numerous years, we have been able to determine the optimal location of speakers and screens at multiple sites throughout the week long festival of cycling. Over four hundred 100 volt Line Speakers were spread throughout the streets of Adelaide, its suburbs and country towns with over 30 km of copper cable for the street PA’s used. In order to ensure the outmost safety for both the riders and the public, a bespoke audio system was installed into some of the race day cars which travel ahead of the parade. All of this combined allowing for all attendees to be enthralled with the unfolding action whilst ensuring the riders were not distracted from the task at hand.
In celebration of the Tour’s 15th birthday acclaimed Australian dance music group, Sneaky Sound System took to the stage on Saturday 19 January 2013 to kick things off. We set the staging, concert lighting and LED screens withIn celebration of the Tour’s 15th birthday acclaimed Australian dance music group, Sneaky Sound System took to the stage on Saturday 19 January 2013 to kick things off. We set the staging, concert lighting and LED screens with live footage for over 30,000 spectators. We installed a comprehensive audio system suited the crowds, eliminating the audio bounce back that can often occur at outdoor events. Toward the beginning of Summer, we also assisted with the Credit Union Christmas Pageant in Now in its 80th year, the parade attracts over 400,000 people each year and many more for the TV audience. Our team of 12 staged the event with over 200 speakers along a 6km route through the city streets and over 60 individual MP3 audio systems in various floats and walking characters. We worked closely with the Pageant, even disguising two crew members as Clowns so they could ride in the pageant and fix any audio issues on the floats without taking away from the magic of the parade from either the live or TV audience. Although outdoor events present numerous challenges compared to Indoor ones, we find that our crew love taking on that challenge and working in the great Australian sun. Being able to contribute to a major outdoor event in a way which enhances the public’s enjoyment (whilst remaining relatively in the background) is part of the thrill the crew enjoy. With temperatures reaching 40+ and usually non-stop sunshine, we have developed logistics and plans to suit to all weather contingencies and ensure that not only our staff & general public remains safe but that the show goes on and all deadlines are met. Written by Ashley Gabriel, General Manager – South Australia/ Northern Territory. Ash shares with us that the best event he ever worked on was a Video conference for the Queen. He commented that whilst there were obvious challenges in ensuring technology worked in two countries, it was all worth it once the team saw the Queen smiling and amusing to see Prince Philip’s reaction when he realised we were watching him back here in Australia. … Read More
Get more from your Product Launch
Mar 19 2018
Our General Manager on Digital Event Services, Tim Chapman looks at the evolution of the product launch and discusses how technology can be harnessed to reach wider audiences whilst lowering costs for both the host and the attendee. Our General Manager on Digital Event Services, Tim Chapman looks at the evolution of the product launch and discusses how technology can be harnessed to reach wider audiences whilst lowering costs for both the host and the attendee. Last year Apple announced the launch of the iPhone 5 to the world via a webcast which could be viewed on their website. Corvette launched the highly anticipated Corvette 2014 through a live recording of the reveal which was streamed straight to their YouTube page. The list goes on; technology companies through to country music stars are all turning to the internet to get their message out. The explosion of social media, pressures of globalisation, increased competition and the need for all stakeholder relationships to be managed has left brand owners and product managers questioning the value of small in person events. High costs, limited audience reach and inconsistent outcomes have only sought to drive them to look for more innovative ways to deliver their message. At Staging Connections we have been lucky enough to be involved with many leading brands looking to change the paradigm and push the boundaries of event delivery. They want to reach a global audience, amplify their message through social media all while reducing costs. Technology is providing the answer to these challenges, allowing brands to broadcast to multiple locations, expanding audience interaction, creating interest through social media and above all, allowing the experience to live on long after the event has finished. Reaching
a wider audience Video streaming is one way to invite national and global audiences to attend a product launch. Integrating video streaming allows organisers to commence a direct conversation with the end consumer not limiting engagement to just the media or industry. At the local launch of Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food campaign, in conjunction with corporate sponsors The Good Guys, we were charged with delivering a live cooking demonstration plus broadcast the launch online to reach a larger audience. What made this challenging was the remote location that was void of access to a phone line, ISDN or the Internet to assist in achieving the broadcast goal. The team used a unique piece of technology, allowing a wireless video link to be streamed to the Good Guys website. This directed thousands of people to The Good Guys site to watch the event live, and even more have gone on to view the event long after the launch day. Social Versatility Taking a product launch online increases the ability to engage in a different conversation with existing and new consumer networks empowering them to share your message via social media and amplifying the message. Recently we filmed and streamed a live feed of the launch of the Nissan Altima V8 Supercar via Nissan's YouTube channel gaining access to a wider audience geographically and demographically of more than 3,000 people. By combining a visual element; video streaming into channels like YouTube and adding a discussion platform with a Twitter feed, the audience has a three dimensional experience; an online event with the ability to share. This combination allows a significantly wider audience, offering the potential to send your messages around the world, creating a viral sensation. Working in Unity Going back to basics, your physical product launch requires an innovative and inspiring display that will entertain and translate for both your attending audience and online viewers. This can be tricky as the needs of both sets of people are very different. At the launch of Alienware's computers and laptops we executed an out of this world 3D light show using 3D projection and 3D mapping combined with stunt actors, pyrotechnics, sound and bursts of CO2 gas which was electrifying for the audience attending. We took a lot of time before hand setting up the cameras and testing the angles to make sure we had the correct vantage point to capture the action for the online audience.
The future of product launches The challenge has been laid down more now than ever to change the approach of product launches. Staging Connections combine innovative techniques with a highly experienced team to deliver expertly produced creative launches that engage and motivate both the live and online audiences. Written by Tim Chapman, General Manager of Digital Event Services. Tim is continuously supporting and developing Staging Connections digital event components, looking for new and innovative ways to utilise technology to take any event from stage to screen. Tim comes from a background in corporate events where he pioneered large scale video conferencing projects and global webcasting of major events. ... Read More