Events Go Back to the Future. Again. | Winter Edition | Part 2

03.04.2021

By Doug Binder, Senior Creative Director, InVision Communications

Events Go Back to the Future. Again. | Winter Edition | Part 2

Time-travel fiction invites our imaginations to picture a world twisted in fantastical ways with fantastical inventions and landscapes. Mix in a bit of The Twilight Zone – situations that contort societal norms in almost-plausible ways – and you’ve got life today in the pandemic.

In this two-part series, we take a look at some of the most notable events from the past few months and how they’ve been twisted, contorted and adapted to the needs of norms of the day. We also offer a few thoughts on how marketers and producers might be inspired by these events in designing their own upcoming engagements.

In our first installment, we looked at New Year’s Eve in Times Square and the all-digital CEWS 2021. This time, we’ll cover these three event spectacles:

• 1. The Presidential Inauguration. Symbolism as Substance
  2. The Pro Bowl. Why Even Bother
  3. The Super Bowl. This, That and Everything Else

The Presidential Inauguration. Symbolism as Substance

Whereas the NYE planners in New York chose spectacle without a live audience and CES opted for digital efficiency, the Presidential Inauguration felt much different, for other reasons. The swearing-in itself was steeped in tradition, but with a much smaller, socially distanced audience. Beyond the Capitol, the week’s festivities were rife with symbolism–largely standing in for humans unable to attend, for a number of reasons.

The crowds for the concert at the Lincoln Memorial on the eve of the big day were replaced by 400 pillars of light lining the Reflecting Pool, symbolizing those lost to COVID-19. The music and cheers were replaced by near silence. Together they perfectly represented a few things: collective grief, the enduring majesty of the nation’s capital and its monuments, and an awakening of calm after a chaotic era.

The next day, throngs of patriotic onlookers to history who would normally flock to the Mall were replaced with nearly 200,000 flags. The grassy expanses fluttered in the chilly breeze with American flags, flags of the states and territories, and an arrangement of flags staked into the shape of the United States – insets of Alaska and Hawaii included.

Inauguration Day culminated with more fireworks than the city has probably ever seen, following a series of performances by entertainers isolated in the dark or in a distant studio – sadly symbolic of the times. Even with a frigid Tom Hanks tying it all together, it felt a lot like Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve of the 80s: celebratory but disjointed. A lot of virtual events in the corporate space feel that way right now.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Think of ways for symbolism to bolster and convey community, humanity and celebration. If your event attracts a thousand attendees, how can you symbolize (replace) them? How about a thousand points of light in your brand logo. Or multiple of a thousand dollars given to charity. Or a thousand trees planted on and around the company hometown. Let your attendees know that they matter and that their role in the community has value.

The Pro Bowl. Why Even Bother?

Professional all-star games typically occur mid-season and tend to fly under the radar of all but the most avid fans. The NFL Pro Bowl is different. It falls on the penultimate weekend of the season and is largely overshadowed by the Super Bowl coming a week later. It’s of little consequence – barely even bragging rights – and no one wants a career-ending injury coming from an otherwise meaningless game. Yes, there is NFL business and tradition transpiring, and it’s nice to see superstar athletes and their families in a more relaxed setting, on and off the field.

For the COVID Pro Bowl, organizers didn’t even appear to try. In place of the actual game (and the accompanying hoopla) was a three-hour “roundtable” not unlike any other chat show ubiquitous to every sports channel.

Probably doesn’t bode well for future Pro Bowls if the game and the surrounding fan experiences are canceled and nobody seemed to notice.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

It’s hard to imagine an event that doesn’t matter. But perhaps there are events on your calendar which are low priority, perhaps more about tradition than impact. Which ones might be your brand’s equivalent of the NFL Pro Bowl?

Part 5. This, That and Everything Else

Super Bowl LV was the closest to the real thing in the event world so far. 25,000 live fans were in attendance, seated amongst 30,000 cardboard cutouts. On the broadcast, the stadium looked and sounded full. Wisely, producers avoided close-ups of the fans.

Symbolically, tickets for in-person fans were prioritized to local first responders, the heroes of the pandemic.

Broadcasters also employed the faux fan track to enrich the audio experience. It’s a tool that’s been ubiquitous since sports came back alive in (mostly) empty stadiums and arenas. After many months, it’s surprising that it’s still a very imperfect, inconsistent tool – most examples resemble walla-walla ambiance ramped up and down, while a very few really do a good job of replicating a full stadium with clear favorites and big moments.

So, it was disappointing in the pre-kickoff appearance by the President and First Lady when they called for a moment of silence. And the walla-walla persisted unabated.

Speaking of sound, the Weeknd’s halftime performance suffered from audio shortcomings in the first few minutes. While it did detract from an otherwise well-staged if controversial spectacular, it probably would have caused more uproar had it been a bigger name on a bigger stage with higher expectations.

For certain event and production nerds, a favorite part of the big game is feeling kindred to the thousands of producers, crews, talent and wranglers counting down to halftime. All those months of preparation come down to the referee’s whistle when all heck breaks loose on the world’s most precious turf. Every year they seem to nail it and we all breathe a sigh of relief. This year was different, so we nerds could enjoy the commercials instead.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Super Bowl LV pushed event production as far as any spectacle that comes to mind in this pandemic. And it reinforced what we all know: We love what we do and we can’t wait to get back to it. This event moved in the right direction and gave us the sort of hope we need right about now.

And now, on to the Hollywood award season and March Madness!

Miss part one of the series? Check it out.