Take a Walk on the Wild Side
A View from Harriette Wight
We've all been on the dance floor when 'that ' song comes on. You know the one! The song that the artist wrote specifically for you, that makes your confidence soar. Speakers deliver their best work when they are confident and comfortable in their settings and surely their dancing song is going to put them in the right head space to deliver their best work. So, here's a little bit more about the importance of 'walk-up' music and the effect it can have on the speaker, the audience and the content at a live experience.
First of all, why does music make us feel good? A new branch of research called neuromusicology studies how music affects the brain with recent experiments revealing that listening to upbeat music releases dopamine. Other studies have shown that music with a heavy baseline can make people feel more authoritative and in control. The bleach report ‘The Art of the Walk-Up Song’ looking at walk-up songs for professional Baseball Players says the best songs ‘combine a variety of factors, including reflecting the player's personality, pleasing the crowd, showcasing good taste, amping up the home team, encouraging focus at the plate, intimidating the opposing pitcher and producing favourable results.’ And I believe it's similar for any live experience. The song should show the presenters personality, give the presenter confidence, lift the audience’s mood, make a statement and leave a lasting memory. Let’s look at some tips and examples from the wider world of events:
Adding Personality
Why not use music to show off your presenters personality and make them more personable. Everyone has an opinion about our Prime Minister Teresa May and of course her great dancing. Her walk-up song ‘Dancing Queen’ by Abba at the Conservative Party Conference in October 2018 showed she is not afraid to make fun of herself. Our tip here is to think how you show something about your personality through a killer song.
Adding Confidence
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Kanye West's ‘Stronger’ and ‘Power’ pop up on many ‘Music to get you pumped’ articles. With confident boosting lyrics and heavy beats his music may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it will build a bit of energy in many. Think about asking your speaker what song would make them feel powerful and use that as their walk-up sting.
Making a Statement
Politicians know how to make a statement with music, take Barack Obama’s use of Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change is Gonna Come’ at his inauguration or Tony Blair’s Campaign song ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ by D:Ream. These songs made a statement not only about the person but also what they stood for. Get your speaker to think about what statement they want to make and see if you can make a song work with that.
Lifting the Audience
Now it’s not all about your presenter, the music you choose will also affect the audience, so think carefully. An upbeat song that your audience knows will lift their mood. Make sure it’s not one that’s been overplayed in the charts (unless that’s the statement you’re making) play it loud to get them to sit up in their seats and listen to you.
Making an Impact
Last music tip from us, pick an event anthem that the audience will remember, use it for walks ins and walk outs. Your audience will not only remember how great your event was but also dance in and out of sessions…. A warning…. Your production crew will definitely not like the anthem by the end of the event! And finally, here are what a few members of the Live Union team would choose as their walk-up music:
Conor Howell-Harte: ‘Finally by Ce Ce Peniston because it has incredible beat to strut onto stage to’
Katarina Poznickova: ‘Firestarter by Prodigy because I love their music and it would get me pumped to speak’
Anthony Henry: Now Ant has already used his walk up sting in a recent white collar boxing match. The team wanted him to use ‘I’ve got ants in my pants’ (and I want to dance) by James Brown but instead the chosen song was ‘Let me Clear My Throat’ by DJ Cool. Ant used this not only to focus him but also to hype up the crowd.
And for me.... it would be ‘1,2,1,2’ by George The Poet. It’s a real feel good song/ piece of spoken word that would focus me and the audience.
Interesting June
Welcome to June’s That’s Interesting. We don't normally harp-on about Live Union in this newsletter, but this month we've two really exciting things to share before we get to the 'interestings'.
Interesting Breakfast
The live version of this newsletter is happening on 27th June at the fabulous Madison by St Paul's. The content will focus on intelligent networking - how to turn your event audience into Super Connectors. Be sure to book your place.
Slider Presents
We've just launched a sister agency specialising in presentation design. In an increasingly noisy world great presentations have the power to get noticed - Slider can help you make the most of this.
Most interesting
Braindates & other ways to make smarter connections (3min read)
A perfect teaser for some of the things we'll be talking about at the Interesting Breakfast. As people increasingly value connections over consuming yet more content, intelligent networking is crucial to effective event design.
Just plain interesting
Re-imagining event catering (2min read)
These days F&B is about far more than keeping people fed and watered. It can tell an innovation story, spark new connections and form the creative heart of an experience.
Next Gen Photo booth (1min explore)
Look up!
Flexible slides (2min read)
Despite what the audience might want, presentations typically follow a set path with little room for changing course. It doesn't have to be this way.
Demonstrating value (3min explore)
With live experiences forming the heart of ever more B2B marketing plans, being able to see how they influence the customer journey is key. Loopd is a solution to know about. And, this article looks at how brands like IBM and Harley-Davidson collect use modern metrics to know more about the audience experience.
A venue to know about:
Barnbougle Castle
Something to go to:
Apollo 11 Exclusive
p.s. If there’s something interesting that you’ve seen at an event, please do email us thatsinteresting@liveunion.co.uk
Super Connectors - creating smarter networking at events
With today's event audience valuing connections over content, our new Super Connector series looks at face-to-face events as a rare opportunity to build real-world connections.
The report series will share ideas on the events formats, technologies, facilitation and content delivery that will help turn audiences into super connectors.
In #Issue One: Formats, we've explored five event formats that put networking at the heart of the audience experience
Download your copy of Super Connectors #Issue One: Formats
Reimagining Event Catering
A View from Emily Stafford
Event catering has come a long way from curling sandwiches and instant coffee of days gone by. With events becoming increasingly multi-dimensional, food and drink has become a key component in enhancing the audience experience. It's an opportunity to offer something fun and interactive - creating conversations and sparking conversations between people. Catering is in fact now one of the essential foundations in the considerations and build of an event - becoming something memorable, sharable and entertaining. Here are six ways that illustrate how you can re-imagine your event catering to construct those all-important moments of audience interaction:
1. Bompas & Parr
Bompas & Parr create stimulating and entertaining experiences that guarantee to get people talking. They showcase bright eye-catching foods, such as their famed and flawlessly detailed moulded jellies, understanding that in order to ‘wow’ delegates, food and drink need to leave the individual with a strong and rousing memory. Bompas & Parr’s catering is something uniquely novel, that captivates and challenges each of the senses. The food architects generated some serious interaction when they developed the world’s first ‘Gin Cloud’, allowing event attendees to walk together within 40 litres of alcoholic mist!
2. Lick Me I'm Delicious
Lick Me I’m Delicious experimental food installations are the epitome of attention-grabbing. Their edible mist orbs, nitrogen ice cream, flavoured bubbles and tipsy fountains, are not only great talking points but are also incredibly sharable during and post event. The machines and contraptions are exciting to use, wonderfully far-fetched and always stimulate discussion regarding how they really work.
3. Thirsty Thoughts
Innovative activations such as Thirsty Thoughts have allowed delegates to use pioneering tech to partake in extraordinary activities such as 'pouring a pint using their minds' or using gesture control to enjoy a glass of champagne. There is a competitive and entertaining element to the engagement, with delegates 'brain power' shown on an iPad screen. Thirsty Thoughts has allowed for drinks catering to become a spectacle, one that attracts a crowd and easily adds an engaging and interactive element to an evening event.
4. Robot Barmen
Again, like with Thirsty Thoughts, the use of original technology in event catering can really help to spark conversations. Robot barmen for example, provide a real wow factor, with two robotic arms creating cocktails before delegates very eyes. This fun advancement catering technology has allowed for an increased level of activity during events where there could otherwise be no conversational sparking points!
5. Ooho
Due to an amplified environmental consciousness at events, catering has also adopted a component of awareness, especially in relation to food and drink packaging. Ooho is a driving force of innovation, creating sustainable packaging for liquids out of seaweed and plants. They spark great conversations in regard to the environmental challenges of today’s event world, whist also being a fun, quick and amusing way of enjoying water or even a cocktail!
6. Paper Water Bottles
Finally, the brand Paper Water Bottles have also shown an understanding of the importance of a need for sustainability. Instead of single use plastic, bottles are created from pulp and are 65% compostable. The brand believes that people of all ‘generations, backgrounds and locations globally’ recognise the significance of their cause – which in turn generates discussion during events that they appear at. So, catering will continue to play a pivotal role in ensuring a successful event. And similarly to consumer events, a B2B audience now wants and expects the latest innovations in food. This takes skill, planning and attention to ensure you wow your audience but most importantly, its vital not to get too carried away and make sure you actually feed people too!
5 Innovative Networking Formats
The best event formats for putting networking at the heart of the audience experience, according to Live Union.
Networking and making new contacts is an integral part of any event. So why is it often assigned to a brief slot at the beginning or end, with delegates standing around awkwardly making small talk with strangers?
Live Union has created a think piece called Super Connectors, which explores five formats to integrate networking into the format of events, so it is always at the heart of the audience experience.
Click here to read the article in full
Interesting April
Most Interesting - ditching plastic at events
No more plastic water bottles at events (2min read)
Glastonbury have announced an end to single use bottles.
Here are three ideas to help your events ditch plastic:
Paper water bottles Hydration stations & our favourite – edible water!
Just plain interesting - event ideas & inspiration
Why & how to slam dunk the first 30secs of a presentation (5min explore)
Clever and useful ideas on how to start with a bang
How to achieve striking presentation backgrounds (3min explore)
A post from Prezi but just as applicable to PowerPoint
Vintage technology given a new lease of life (2min explore)
Fun content engagement using gesture control
Beautiful kinetic sculptures for events (2min watch)
or all your air fountain needs
Lagerfeld’s incredible last show (1min explore)
An extravagant winter wonderland
Hip furniture hire (1min explore)
A choice that extends far beyond the corporate norm.
A venue to know about:
Experiences to go to:
Something to eat:
p.s. If there’s something interesting that you’ve seen at an event, please do email us thatsinteresting@liveunion.co.uk.
Interesting March
Most Interesting - Mixed Reality in Events:
Get started with mixed reality (5min explore)
If creating your own VR or 360 content seems daunting, the guys at Holoscribe make it simple. Alternatively, if you’d like something entertaining and off the shelf, Codemodeon are a good place to start. This is what happened when they came to visit us at Live Union.
Just Plain Interesting - Personalisation & Audience Value:
Personalisation is fundamental to audience value (4min read)
A substantial study commissioned by Cvent shows just how important personalisation has become. Audiences want you to recommend who they should network with and tailor their journey through your event. This chimes with our Anatomy of a Delegate report.
Airbnb offer venue finding (2min explore)
The purchase of Gaest signals that Airbnb are serious about finding meeting spaces.
Help people see ALL the photos of them at your event (2min explore)
App using facial recognition enables people to access all the photos they appear in.
Financial services event embraces incredible projection mapping (2min watch)
3,500 BNP Paribas employees experienced an awesome Game of Thrones spectacle.
Bubbletecture (2min explore)
Gorgeous inflatable structures.
Something to Listen to:
Interview with Fyre Festival producer (57min listen)
If, like everyone else in the event world, you’ve watched the Netflix documentary, this podcast will be a fascinating listen.
Something to distract you:
Brilliant datavisual showing the truth behind Hollywood biopics (1min explore)
Something to go to:
Spare Parts
This Design Week review promises a highly experiential new exhibition at the Science Gallery.
Wishing you an eventful March!
p.s. If there's something interesting that you've seen at an event, please do email us thatsinteresting@liveunion.co.uk.
Interesting February
This month’s stories include the arrival of facial recognition for event check-in, experiential design trends from CES and a brilliantly futuristic stage design.
Most Interesting:
Experiential design trends from CES (5min explore)
Coming at the start of the year CES sets the style for the months ahead. Look forward to a year of fun, colourful live experiences!
Just Plain Interesting:
When Festivals Go Wrong (2min watch)
The stuff of nightmares for anyone in the event world. The Fyre Festival fiasco is laid bare in a great Netflix documentary.
Nike’s Flexible Screens (2min explore)
This brilliant concept started as an employee training idea but was then picked for in-store activation.
Facial Recognition Event Check-in (2min explore)
Claims to be 50% faster than traditional event check-in.
Alexa Interrupts Presenter (1min explore)
We’ve used Alexa within main-stage presentations, thankfully this has never happened.
The Future of Conference Branding (2min explore)
This event about the future of architecture took its inspiration from 3D software: a wireframe style stage and a nice interactive AR idea.
Pour yourself a drink – using only your mind (2min explore)
The brilliantly named Thirsty Thoughts offers a captivating way to focus minds at events.
A podcast to know about:
Shiny New Object
A compelling way to learn about new marketing technologies. Find it where you go for your podcasts.
Something to go to:
The Story
Taking place on the 22nd Feb this event boasts an incredible lineup, from V&A curators to Aardman creative directors – brilliant stimulus for anyone charged with telling stories or designing narratives.
If there's something interesting that you think that we should include, please do email us thatsinteresting@liveunion.co.uk.
Interesting jan v2
Happy New Year and welcome to January’s That’s Interesting.
Below we share three New Year’s resolutions for creating amazing live experiences. Featuring some of last year’s most popular ‘interestings’, as well as some new ones, we hope to spark ideas for achieving incredible face-to-face engagement in the months ahead.
Resolution #1: Make it immersive
Incredible screen formats are one way to take your audience deeper.
Charity Water’s 360 screen (2min watch)
Screen content is bursting out of the confines of 16:9. Budgets don’t always need to vast to benefit from new screen formats.
Nissan’s AR stage presentation (5min watch)
Augmented Reality makes the impossible possible adding a whole new dimension to the audience experience.
Screens Re-imagined (5min explore)
Check out Live Union’s thinkpiece delving deeper into how screen innovations are driving new ways of telling stories.
Of course making it immersive isn’t just about screens.
Chanel’s Paris catwalk show (2min watch)
One of the most incredible and theatrical examples of taking an audience deeper.
Resolution #2: Make it stick
In an increasingly distracting world audiences value event content designed to be remembered.
Facilitation Tool Kit (endless exploring)
Hyper Island specialise in designing learning experiences for businesses. This is their tool box of facilitation methodologies. A mighty fine resource for next time you’re called upon to create a workshop.
S.T.A.R. Moments (1min read)
Presentation agency Duarte’s ideas for speakers looking to give the audience Something They’ll Always Remember.
Samsung use AR to turn a badge into a phone (3min read)
Augmented Reality is an incredibly experiential way to help people explore content in their own way and at their own pace.
Resolution #3: Make it connect
With audiences placing more value on networking, the win for brands is to help people connect around their content.
Data strings (1min explore)
A fun way to spark discussion and get to know your audience. Create visually stunning, live, real-world infographics.
TED's Tech Playground (3min explore)
At Live Union we offer a Digital Playground format, designed to make technology more approachable. This is TED's version of the same concept and includes some lovely playful experiences.
Braindate Lounge (2min explore)
Bring an increased focus to your networking. Technology and environment combine to achieve more valuable connections.
taking audience deeper v2
The below article on designing immersive experiences is by Account Manager Sophie and Production Manager Kat. The piece recently appeared in C&IT.
Today all businesses are experience businesses. We’re surrounded by retail, leisure and product experiences that are personalised to our individual preferences, stimulate our senses and spark our emotions. Not surprisingly, when it comes to business events we expect more – we want to be taken deeper.
The good news for those of us creating B2B events is that there are vast amounts of inspiration to draw on. Below we share three immersive experiences from very different corners of the event world.
When Microsoft wanted to dramatise the launch of a new server and bring to life their expertise in data analysis they turned to digital art collective Universal Everything. The result was a custom-built Infinity Room, designed in code and running in real time; the mirrored room created an endless digital landscape. It premiered at a launch conference in San Francisco and was also open to the general public, resulting in a tsunami of trippy photos across social media.
There are two lessons we can learn from Microsoft’s Infinity Room. Firstly, no matter how intangible your product there are creative ways to immerse your audience. And, secondly, taking your audience deeper can be the key to amplification.
The second example is from the world of fashion. Chanel launched their spring 2019 collection with a trip to the seaside. Karl Lagerfeld transformed the exhibition hall at Le Grand Palais in Paris into a beach – sand covered every inch of the floor, there were lapping waves and a 360 panoramic sky backdrop. From the seagulls in the soundscape to the attentive lifeguard, every detail was considered, transporting guests from a grey October Paris to a warm day by the Med.
Chanel’s re-imagining of a catwalk show is a great example of the power of immersive theatre. Rather than digital wizardry, Karl Lagerfeld focused on physical set design, using both scale and attention to detail to wow the audience and reflect the brand. Yes, it must have been expensive. But it’s Chanel – it’s luxury!
If the above experiences seem left-field, Montreal’s C2 event is an example of a conference that’s challenging traditional behaviours and pushing the boundaries. With Cirque du Soleil as a founding partner you’d expect this 7,000-person business event to do things differently.
Talks are punctuated by live music, networking is curated in a specially designed Braindate lounge and ideas sessions see delegates hanging 18ft in the air.
C2 shows that by stimulating the senses you can generate emotion and help people have better conversations and make deeper connections.
As live experiences become ever more central to B2B communications, audiences have greater choice in what they attend and are becoming more demanding. For those of us designing business events this means finding new ways to engage them with content and with one another.
It means finding creative ways to take them deeper and events like those above are the perfect places to draw inspiration from.
