Have you ever been given a task to plan a “wow” event or remarkable grand opening party? For any event planner or any business that is trying to make it’s mark by hosting an event, it can be tough to bring people together and most importantly remember the event.
Well, back in October, we were tasked with just that: create a remarkable but innovative photo booth experience when Hosts DC hired us to capture The Shay’s grand opening party.
Though this method of storytelling and capturing an event proved to be very different than through our typical social media content, it also allowed our team to become very creative. Instead of a typical wedding photo booth, we created an experience where all guests walked down a red carpet where they were met with a backdrop and Kevin as the photographer. Then they were taken on a tour up 2 floors in an elevator. The goal: have the photos taken at the grand entrance be lived streamed on three live TV’s and an iPad where they can social-share the pictures out by the team they entered the cocktail area.
Below we discuss a few simple ways to take an event from a three hour long moment in time to a true story that can be told in three parts: before, during, and after.
BEFORE
The Shay is a DC based apartment building offering an “evolved style of life.” The building boasts multiple common-space areas decked out in the brand's modern aesthetic where residents can socialize. It is truly designed to be an intersection between living and playing without every having to leave home. Their innovative, new approach to apartment living made them the perfect client for us.
Before the event, we were able to identify the event’s characteristics. Along with The Shay team we identified descriptive words of how they wanted their guest to feel as they leave the party. This gave The Niche Movement and other vendors a starting point when deciding on how to tell the event’s story.
DURING
One challenge when teaming up with The Shay was to think outside the box. During the event we had to be innovative when it came to technology. Every event space will be set up differently making it impossible to create a “one size fits all” approach. We decided to test our technology several times prior to the day of the event to ensure we had all of our bases covered. Create a checklist with all items needed down to the small details like tape and pens. Even with these rehearsals, the event will still throw (and did throw) unplanned challenges your way. It is important to remain innovative and quick to fix problem.
AFTER
Finally, we challenged our story-telling abilities by opting to use technology to make the event last long after the end time. The Shay team is active on social media but not as real-time as they could be, so we knew that we wanted that to play a part in their grand opening story. We also planned on providing professional photography as guests entered the event. Through technologies, we were able to take the photos taken in the lobby and live stream them up to the event area. Not only were the guest able to view those photos on TVs throughout the space, they were also able to share them to their own social media account with iPads. By using the event’s hashtag, The Shay can later view all conversations going on about their event, reshare them for marketing purposes, and engage with people that are promoting their brand.
We are so proud of our work with The Shay. Please check out some photos from the grand opening below:
If you want to learn more about telling an events story, our work with The Shay, or tell us how you’ve made an event more memorable, engage with us on our twitter or facebook or email kevin@thenichemovement.com.