Chris McCormick
partner is ‘ what value does this bring to the consumer and how does it enhance the customer experience ?’.”
Jack Morton Worldwide has worked with some of the biggest brands in the world such as Cadillac , Chevrolet and Google Play Music . Its projects include London ’ s last official New Year ’ s Eve firework display , which involved the use of drones , and creating fan zones for the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament .
Jack Morton London SVP executive producer Emma Wilson says , “ Live experiences and networking in-person really gives people an opportunity to connect with the brand . Live experiences are back in a big way , which is exciting , and brands are embracing innovation like never before and looking to experiment in new virtual spaces , like the metaverse .”
Challenges The projects are not without their challenges , and Wilson says brand activations at events have been impacted by the increased cost of materials and supply issues : “ Many AV and build contractors did not survive the pandemic . For those that did , it puts huge pressure to execute at high levels as the market rebounds with force . Contractors are having to decline work to ensure they can deliver on their current commitments .
“ Resource , as in all industries , has become a precious commodity and costs
Emma Wilson
Gone Wild , Nature Valley
have increased significantly . We are having to re-educate clients about the increased cost of supply . Some suppliers are also only guaranteeing costs for 14 days , after which we are having to requote due to the unpredictable supply of materials .”
She says that once on site there are continuing challenges around Covid-19 , with the need to take mitigation measures to cover team members potentially testing positive : “ We must be prepared to fill holes without impacting the event .”
George P . Johnson ( GPJ ) creative technology director Zara Kerwood says another challenge is establishing the real impact of the activations : “[ They ] are experienced in different ways , from light interaction to full immersion , and evoke emotions that can ’ t be quantified via lead capture . Deeper data and analytics are needed to see the true outcome of these experiences .”
Among GPJ ’ s projects was the IBM Technology Garden at The Championships , Wimbledon . The data-driven activation , set up in 2019 , highlighted IBM ’ s role as technology partner to the Championships .
It took the data behind the Championships – such as match and player statistics , weather forecasts and website visits – to create computergenerated screen visualisations of garden items , including flowers .
Trends Kerwood says innovation and investment in content production has a huge impact on the success of activations and , since the pandemic , the agency has seen an increased demand for activations , storytelling and shared experiences that unify remote and inperson audiences .
McCormick adds , “ There was obviously a huge push to incorporate hybrid technologies for delivering events during the lockdowns . However , we generally tried to stay away from this as it ’ s impossible to create the live shared experience which is what we were missing all along .
“ We ’ re starting to use RFID [ radiofrequency identification ] technologies more and more , which helps to personalise experiences for consumers and gives the promoters and partners valuable insight .
“ We ’ re also starting to use VR , which has a valuable role in adding to the live experience . The emergence of NFT and Crypto into the market is very interesting to watch too .”
McCormick says FTF has a busy summer ahead , with a new immersive theatre project launching in October .
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