To quote Nickleback, “We all just wanna be big rock stars, live in hilltop houses, drivin’ 15 cars….” Or, more to the point, our clients do. Over the past 25 years, we’ve seen corporate shows change in dramatic and unexpected ways, the most profound being the energy level and aesthetic of the productions.
Tacky to Sleek
Our experience with business theater started with shows that were the “cheesy cousin” of traditional theater — many were “book shows” with a script, a cast, sometimes painfully re-lyric-ed Broadway numbers replete with tacky sparkly scenery and dancing soda cans, pharmaceutical pills, bodily organs (we kid you not) or whatever the product was, all made from foam in neon colors and forced on some poor dancer. On occasion, an award or two would be given out, and the embarrassed poor soul would shamble to the stage to get their glass bowl or bright green blazer.
But for all their faults, “Book shows” were often well written, frequently funny, usually appealing and enjoyable. They engaged the audience and presented the less stuffy corporate executives with a great opportunity to show their human and humorous side. We especially fondly remember one pharmaceutical company meeting with a Wizard of Oz theme, where two senior executives played the roles of “Glenda the good witch” and “Glenda the other good witch,” replete with immense glitzy evening gowns, much to the hilarity and approval of an astounded audience.
Since then, tastes and technology have changed, to say the least. Borrowing (stealing?) technology from the biggest award shows, concerts and musicals, business theater is now less “theater,” more spectacle. Vast stages, automated scenery, scores of moving lights, top of the line audio and video, video, video and more video. “Book shows” with full scripts and cast are rare, and it’s all about the environment, the reveals, and the entrances. Why?
We think its because the audience’s tastes have changed, and everyone wants to be a rock star, from the CEO down. The executives and the audience don’t spend much of their leisure time watching musicals or TV variety shows; they spend it in clubs, theaters and arenas watching bands. When they sit in the dark womb of a business meeting, the audience dreams of being on stage as a performer, not as a CEO giving a keynote, and the CEO who is giving the keynote wants to feel like the star he saw in an arena, with the audience eating out of their hand — and who can blame him? We need to keep this in mind as we help execute our clients’ dreams.
By way of a study, we recently lit two large business meetings in adjacent halls in Las Vegas, and it was a great chance to compare and examine two near simultaneous projects. One was for a leading home improvement retailer, the other for a major technology firm. Drastically different markets, but a surprisingly similar set of goals for their respective shows. They both wanted to:
- Engage with their audience
- Celebrate a great year and set ambitious targets for a new year
- Acknowledge “greatness from within” in the form of awards recognition
- Transform a dull, drab convention hall into an “on brand” environment
- Reveal key executives in exciting and crowd-engaging ways
A long way from dancing foam costumes, huh? But how did we make everyone feel like a “big rock star?” To do that, we used a not-terribly-unusual tool kit for both projects, and one that would do admirable duty to a concert or awards show, with one rig supplied by VER and the other by Upstaging. Hundreds of moving lights for the stage and scenic combined with multiple LED fixtures lighting the room and the audience created a compelling environment, but several factors were key in the creative use of these tools.
Three Tips for Success
First, we got to know the brands and made that knowledge our visual touchstone. Both companies, like all our clients, whether a corporation or a band, spend millions and millions of dollars on their brand image. We made sure we understood what they were trying to communicate both in terms of tangible things like colors and textures, but also the more intangible things like the feel, emotion and mood. Then we took that essence of the company and blew it up to the size of an arena. We wanted every guest, from the front row to the last, to feel like they were in and experiencing their company, not just watching a show in a dark room. We used light, color and texture to envelop the room — lighting the entire space, not just the stage. This doesn’t just apply to big shows — a handful of LED fixtures bounced off the ceiling in a small meeting room can have a transformative impact, and it doesn’t have to break the bank. The room will feel cooler, and everyone will feel a little like a rock star, not a minion trapped in a crappy hotel ballroom.
Second, we decided to go large or go home. In his book, Crosstown Traffic, author Charles Shaar Murray said that the brilliance of Jimi Hendrix was he would “Simplify, Simplify, Simplify, then Exaggerate, Exaggerate, Exaggerate.” I think that is a great credo for lighting corporate shows — find the essence, and then blow it up one hundred fold. I would always rather push the boundaries of technology and my design and have the producer pull me back a bit than have them feel they didn’t get value. That doesn’t mean it needs to be “blink and flash” the entire time, and it can’t be a show full of classy, sophisticated looks. It means thinking about the arc of the show, just as you would with a concert. We used variety, texture and mood as tools, and saved some tricks for later in the program. We weren’t lazy and just used the same play up and settle looks over and over again. We wrote different looks for, say, an African American presenter than for a female presenter, and we let the personality of both the company, the products and the executives speak. We knew if they felt comfortable in the environment we created, they would do a better presentation, feel more confident — and feel like a rock star!
Lastly, we were mindful of memories, and celebration. A big part of corporate shows these days are awards, and if the guests aren’t fantasizing about being a rock star, they want to feel like an actor winning an Oscar or a football player winning the Super Bowl. We wanted to give these people their moment in the sun — they work hard, and if the company doesn’t make money, they won’t do meetings and we won’t get hired next year! So we made the awards special. We wrote different looks for each section of the presentation, and make sure the winners look and feel like winners. We consulted with the event photographer to make sure they had what they needed. Often all the winners get to take home to remember their moment of victory is a photograph. We didn’t want to ruin it with blown-out lighting or a hot spot from a Sharpy ballyhoo on the side of their face.
If corporations simply wanted to communicate their message, they would send a memo or a webcast, and we’d all be out of work. There is something powerful, moving yet intangible that occurs when you get a group of people in a room. We all have a vested interest in making sure the event is memorable for the attendees, the exectivesand the producers…and everyone leaves feeling like a rock star.
Reach John at his Sedona, AZ hideaway via his email address, jfeatherstone (at) lightswitch.net.
