Applauded or criticised, awards events such as the recent BAFTAs always seem to capture the headlines. And why? Well, like the showbiz BAFTA nominees, we all love to be recognised for our skills, talent, and achievements. And an awards ceremony watched my millions is a perfect opportunity to do this. So, the celebrities go all out to create red carpet moments. Use the platform to assert their humanitarian issues. Or to simply honour their industry. In business, it’s also not just about the individual. Award ceremonies can enhance the reputation of organisations too. Our 5 Ways to Update Your Awards Event is here to help.
Awards – a brand-building opportunity for both recipients and hosts. And planned well, it’s a calendar occasion not just to highlight accomplishments. It’s a rare chance to put your business firmly on the map. So, in 2023, updating your awards event is crucial to keep employees engaged, and ensuring your event is the most talked about in town.
DO THE SAME, GET THE SAME
So often, awards events are dull, drawn-out occasions. We’ve all been to long-winded ceremonies with the exact same structure year-in year- out. Or sat through a seemingly endless stream of accolades, hands sore and tired from perpetual applause.
If you’re hosting an awards ceremony this year and want to reinject some life into your event, there are lots of ways to re-engage your audience. In our 5 ways to update your awards event we’ve recognised that an upgrade doesn’t have to be a complete overhaul with a huge price tag; even minor changes can breathe life into a tired format.
CHANGE THE VENUE
Firstly, it’s an obvious place to start but choosing the right venue can be so important to attracting and retaining audiences at an awards event. There are unique and unusual venues all over the UK, so don’t feel you have to stick with the hotel/function room space. Be creative. What about holding your ceremony at an art gallery, a zoo, or the underbelly of a ship’s hull. A museum, a sports stadium, or an abandoned, repurposed power station? Take inspiration from your company vision and values, what is your USP, your brand story?
If you do stick with the hotel or conference type venue, then don’t feel you have to choose the same place every year just because that’s what you’ve always done. Go for the hottest new hotel or restaurant. Choose the place that has a buzz about it and will really draw your audience in. It may cost a little more, but you will reap the rewards in terms of ticket sales.
CREATE A WOW MOMENT
Channel your budget into something the crowd will always remember. A unique act or money can’t buy experience. A famous face or an encounter they’d never get to take part in otherwise. At the recent Manchester PA Awards, we brought in the big guns for our wow moment. Anton Du Beck to host and Howard Donald for an exclusive DJ set at the after party. The guests, able to mingle with the stars and dance till dawn, were in their element – an evening to remember for all the right reasons.
Injecting and investing in brilliant entertainment is a real hook and it doesn’t always have to be a household name – a mesmerising singer or even a car can provide the wow factor – the main attraction at one of our events was a Bentley which we auctioned for charity.
Deliver the unexpected. Create a false wall between the drinks reception and awards space. At the flick of a switch – shatter or drop the wall to reveal your Oscar worthy stage. Serving staff who burst into song part way through the main course. Or immersive entertainers, such as The Swan Band, who move through the audience to entertain – with a particular liking for launching themselves onto tables to perform! Yes, we reinforce the tables! This unexpected moment is a stand-out element of the event.
CHANGE THE FORMAT
Most awards events do follow the same format. Drinks and networking, a sit-down dinner, awards presented, followed by entertainment. Guests are seated banquet style and will usually only mingle with the people they arrived with. It’s tried and tested and there’s nothing wrong with that, but who is to say this chronological order and room layout is the best for your event simply because that’s what everyone else does?
Forget everything that’s been done before. Do things differently.
Why not make the format like the Oscars? Canapes then seated theatre style. Why not hold the event in a theatre! Have a brilliant party afterwards and channel your budget into amazing goodie bags as opposed to sit down dinner nobody will remember.
Cater to new tastes. Abandon the formal dinner and go for vibrant street food vendors. Asian curries. Sushi, Hot kebabs. Traditional fish and chips. Serve with cocktails themed to your awards. And talking of awards – present them on a fashion style catwalk in the centre of the room. With guests standing around sipping bespoke cocktails, it will encourage you to keep the presentations on time! Then ….. strike up the band and party!
Take it abroad – what could be better than presenting awards on a beach with sand between your toes? Or on a private yacht. If you scale back on guests, you can really show those that do attend a fabulous time.
If your ceremony is looking long, then present some awards ahead of time. Choose five key categories and present the rest presented virtually. Even better create some amusing cameos to be projected on the big screen. Film your recipients at home, or at work, being surprised with their trophy. You could engage with celebrities if you have the budget and connections (as we do).
MAKE IT INTERACTIVE
The key to holding any successful event is engagement – getting your audience involved and invested in the event. The more interactive the better. You could ask people to vote for one category throughout the night via iPads on the table.
Hire in a VR experience and transport your guests to a virtual world that’s themed on your organisation. Or create a brand activation similar to the well-known coffee brand that plunged its stores into darkness to highlight its new dark blend coffee. Here is where your event planning team can help you to think creatively.
You can’t beat a live event experience, but for those unable to attend. Try a live stream of the awards so international colleagues or guests unable to make the night in person has the option to be involved.
Keep guests talking with a large-scale art piece or mural that’s created on the night, and one that they can help to paint. We’ve used all manner of artists for this – from graffiti to mural painters. It can be a conversation piece and a prize for one lucky attendee, or hung in your company reception as a reminder of the night.
And don’t forget social media. Encourage interaction on your platforms – a prize for the best tweet or post using your unique hashtag. Ensure you have an instagrammable backdrop, set or photobooth for pictures – something fun to get people involved. We’ve even used a large screen at the side of the event stage that shows the top posts scrolling on social media.
REMEMBER YOUR OBJECTIVES
Awards events go way further than acknowledging those receiving an award on the night. So in our 5 ways to update your awards event we want to stress the added benefits beyond the individual. They can be excellent publicity opportunities and a creative outlet to get across your key brand messages, boosting awareness with staff, stakeholders, and new audiences alike. So your PR and social media machine is key here.
However you choose to update your awards ceremony, the key point is to make it work hard for you. Just like any event you should set out a clear set of measurable aims that you constantly refer back to throughout the planning process, finishing with a thorough evaluation to help you prove the worth of your event.
For me, the best gauge of success is often how long the event is talked about afterwards! And whilst the moment is hot, use this as an opportunity to engage people with your next event, project or launch. Use the momentum of goodwill to your best advantage.
THE AFTER PARTY – OUR BEST AWARDS MOMENTS
Here’s a few of the most memorable moments in awards history – and some I think those involved may prefer to forget…..
1997: Geri Halliwell Debuts Iconic Union Jack Dress
Spice Girls’ triumphant live performance at the 1997 BRIT Awards went down in history for multiple reasons. Supercharged renditions of mega-hits ‘Wannabe’ and ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ demonstrated why Spicemania was then at its peak, but it was Geri Halliwell’s Union Jack dress that truly stole the show. Made from an old tea towel, the number sold for £41,320 in auction a year later. Girl Power indeed.
2009: Kanye West Interrupted Taylor Swift
Can we ever forget the moment when Kanye West got on the stage and interrupted Taylor Swift in 2009 VMAs? Taylor Swift was a young star then and he got up on the stage and snatched the mic from her to announce that Beyonce deserved the award instead. Beyonce’s song – Single Ladies, was one of the nominees of the award along with Taylor’s. The event is still mentioned as one of the worst controversial moments in award show history.
2014: Ellen DeGeneres takes the best selfie in history.
When Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Jared Leto, and Angelina Jolie all pose for the same picture, it’s bound to cause a stir. Presumably that’s what host Ellen DeGeneres had in mind when she herded the A-listers into the same shot. According to Twitter numbers, 37 million people worldwide took a look, which in turn caused the site to crash. (The stunt was later revealed to be product placement by Samsung, which spent $20 million on airtime, according to the Wall Street Journal.)
2017: Best Picture presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty receive the wrong envelope, announce La La Land as winner instead of Moonlight.
A mistake made by PricewaterhouseCoopers accountant Brian Cullinan led to Best Picture presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty announcing the wrong winner. For two minutes and 23 seconds, La La Land was the 2017 Oscar Best Picture winner, and producers Jordan Horowitz, Marc Platt, and Fred Berger gave their acceptance speeches—until Horowitz interrupted to announce Moonlight‘s win.
2002: Will Smith Slaps Oscars Host Chris Rock
Will Smith left the word reeling after dramatically storming on stage in the 2002 Academy Awards ceremony and slapping host Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife Jada’s bald head. I am not sure that the guests, The Academy, millions watching or those involved will forget this awards night in a hurry!
