SAM TREGO DISCUSSES CORPORATE THEATER WITH EVENT SOLUTIONS MAGAZINE by Kimberly Owens What exactly is corporate theater? Well, it incorporates all the big things and the one hundred little things that all come together to get a corporation's message across to its intended audience. You ask, OK, so what is it? It is the idea and theme behind every rah-rah annual sales meeting, "Selling More to the Clients." It is the inspirational and interactive opening speaker. It is the proactive phrases printed on napkins at the concession stand. It is that convention's evening event that has everyone dress as their hero, and then stand up and tell their tablemates how they are similar to their heroes. It is the evening's closing moment, where the corporation's leader stands in a stark light and tells his sales force that he believes in them. What is corporate theater? It is built into the teambuilding incentive trip to Disneyland. It is getting a group of four people together and sending them on a photographic scavenger hunt. "Snap a picture of your three teammates next to Snow White's fountain." Winners are highlighted at the evening event, where everyone must share the one moment during the day when they most felt like a kid again. What is corporate theater? "It is conveying the point, getting your idea across and creating a strategy," says Jean Brewster, director of production development at American Express in New York. "It is incorporating multi-media into the meetings and sessions and rallying the troops. "Corporate theater is a very effective way of conveying messages. It is important to take the message, build a story around it, and then convey it to people," says Brewster. "The concept of theater, which is to see the story acted out makes the message more impactful." That term impactful is a useful one. Most planners will say that first and foremost, the event needs to make an impact on its attendees, be they clients or employees. What is vital to this portion of the industry is that the people walk away with something. Not something physical, like a picture or program, but something inside, a new way of thought or a new decision made on motivation. If they walk out of the room with no new ideas, decisions or knowledge, then the event, in a word, failed. Whether or not the corporate theater concept has grown over the last few years is a definitive yes, but the questions coming from that bit of information is, why? "People are tired of lectures," says Lynn Reasonover, corporate planner for Northern Trust Company in Chicago. "Events where there is theater, where the action of the event is more interactive, allow for the audience and attendees to relate to the information more. It makes the entire presentation more real to them. "The more interactive elements involved, the more thought-provoking the event is for them," says Reasonover. "We don't use podium speakers. We have people who talk with the audience, not at them, and that makes for higher meeting ratings. You are making the audience more aware of the visuals around them." By bringing the audience in to the presentation, they are immersed in the message. If the quiz show, featuring appropriate prizes, is about naming the five aspects of the year's new marketing campaign, then the contestants are involved in the event. In making the answer one of the messages for the meeting, the planner has pretty much guaranteed that the attendees will remember that message. For a casino night, have the message printed on decks of cards and on the playing chips. Gamblers don't take their eyes off their cards or their money, and by cleverly placing the message, a company has created a visual image for the attendee to remember. These messages give the edge to the participant who remembers them. "We incorporate speakers, music, audio/visual aspects and even sports figures to develop the theme throughout the event," says Linda Ashmore, global education and training manager for Smith+Nephew Orthopedics in Memphis. "Meetings, sessions and presentations can get very stale, very cookie-cutter, very quickly. You don't want them saying, 'Oh, it's just another meeting.' We create more innovative presentations. They have to stay fresh. "Over the years the participation has gotten better, too," says Ashmore. "More and different people get involved, and the new people are willing to take chances. "These more interactive presentations are another means of communication," she says. "People are coming together in an outside-work environment, but within the work parameters. We have to work to keep these presentations fresh." The freshness of the event keeps the audience's eyes open, and keeps them coming back for more. The very real sentiment of "just another meeting" is the bane of any corporate planner's existence. With the integration of corporate theater, the ideas can flow freely into the planning process, and will not suffer any slings and "been-there-done-that" arrows. The ever-present speaker can be a magician, or a bandleader, or a professional emcee. These options open the door for different functions and ideas to create an identity for the event, and to get the message through to the audience. "It's all about the overall perception of the event," says Larry Rider of the American Red Cross in Southwest Florida. "A corporate theater-type event will increase visibility, even for the local community. "We are doing a big production in March to draw visibility to the Red Cross on a local level," he says. "Our luncheon will draw about 100 people, and will honor our own local heroes of the year, including a police officer, emergency medical technician and firefighter. Our message is that the local Red Cross has been, and always will be, there for the people of our community. By spotlighting the local heroes, we're showing them that. "We hope the attendees will leave knowing that we know they can make choices for their donations, and that 99 percent of their donations stay local," says Rider. "We appreciate their help, and are doing our part to respond to the local public." Presentations are more than just power point these days. They draw the attendees in, get them involved in the event and have them act on their involvement. Nothing is better proof of the effectiveness of a corporate event than 500 people leaving a ballroom with a new basis for motivation, a smarter way of thinking or a spring in their step. "We use corporate theater for our clients who need to highlight a message to introduce new products or personnel, or create anticipation and motivation in a sales meeting," says Sam Trego of Imagination Entertainment in San Diego. "As an example, we had a client recently whose message was to highlight the company values and how they distinguish their product. We used acts from our touring cirque show to demonstrate values such as strength, flexibility, support, fluidity and risk taking. Each value was spoken about in detail, including video support and examples. This kind of use of theater attaches an experience to the presentation that communicates in a powerful way. "We often get calls from corporations that have not used corporate theater before, but want to add something special to their general session and wake up their 8 a.m. audience before the speaker takes the stage," says Trego. "We find that these five minutes can be some of the most important, as it sets the tone for the remainder of the meeting." These days, corporate theater adds more to a presentation than most anything else can do. No one gives attendees a stale speaker, a basic presentation or a humdrum environment anymore. It's all about the lights, camera and action. Interactive theater is the way to go. So, what is corporate theater? It's the only way to do it anymore. |