2020 is certainly a year that none of us will forget! It has been incredibly challenging for us all both on a personal and professional level but it has also made us evaluate how we live and how we do business. The Events industry has of course been impacted significantly but, we are a resilitient and creative bunch so in many ways this enforced downtime has given us the opportunity to think outside the box and come up with new ideas and new concepts.
One of our partners at the forefront of this creative re-think are the team at Scarlett Entertainment. They helped us organise our first virtual event back in the spring with a fabulous interactive illusionist and they are now hard at work with Hallowe’en and Christmas themes. We talked to them about virtual entertainment, is it here to stay?
Raw Cyprus Events: Were you offering virtual and hybrid events before the pandemic?
Scarlett Entertainment: We have always offered hybrid and virtual events, but live experiences have always been favoured in the past. When the pandemic hit, understandably demand shifted and we were prepared for this change. That said, we have worked with our artists to create and adapt performances so they can be engaging and interactive for virtual audiences. We now offer an extensive portfolio of exciting online shows, experiences and workshops as well as having a dedicated custom creations department who create custom entertainment solutions to meet our clients briefs.
Raw Cyprus Events: What made you decide to focus on this area, are there advantages of going virtual?
Scarlett Entertainment: Entertainment provides joy and keeps people connected, so during a global pandemic we wanted to make sure people could experience entertainment and bring happiness to their day. Aside from fulfilling the need during a global pandemic they also have a ton of other benefits too. They decrease your carbon footprint as the need to travel and extensive logistics are reduced. They allow you to reach global audiences easily and they reduce risks at events.
Raw Cyprus Events: How does it all work in practice? Do you have your own green screen studio to make these virtual performances as professional as possible?
Scarlett Entertainment: Yes we do have an adhoc green screen studio that forms part of our custom creations and graphic design team. The screen is used to create content internally and for our clients, with a top quality aesthetic. Our most popular request currently is using our studio and grotto styling for Zoom calls with Santa Claus. Guests can experience a fast track to Lapland and chat with Santa about their wish list for this year.
Raw Cyprus Events: Apart from Santa, understandably, what other virtual or hybrid options have been popular so far? Is there a demand?
Scarlett Entertainment: Demand is extremely high as the need to produce high level, quality virtual and hybrid events is paramount to maintain connections, business relationships and to empower teams. Fun, educational and upskilling team building sessions are certainly very popular
Raw Cyprus Events: When things eventually get back to “normal” do you think there will still be a place for virtual and hybrid events?
Scarlett Entertainment: We are certain that live events will be back! However we believe that virtual events will occupy a much larger space in the industry in the future. 2020 has taught us a lot about how we can entertain and engage remotely, so for most clients they can hit their objectives and achieve great ROI with virtual events.
Raw Cyprus Events: We certainly can’t wait to have more live events again! But would you agree that there are also advantages for clients in virtual options?
Scarlett Entertainment: An obvious advantage in most circumstances is cost as clients are avoiding travel and accommodation costs for talent. The offset of this is that they are reducing their carbon footprint and offering a more sustainable event that can reach larger and more globally spread audiences. That said, advantages stretch far wider than this and are in line with the benefits of entertainment at all events. Entertainment has the ability to motivate, inspire, reinforce messaging, promote a desired emotional response and connect audiences and this is no different in the virtual world.
The Scarlett team are hard at work on their festive programme, Santa is getting ready to set up his grotto as I write! We’ll catch up with them again in a few weeks to see what ideas they have for coming together with our colleagues and partners this Christmas 2020 style
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