Fifty industry professionals attended the first sold-out networking and education evening from Live Experience Creatives last night, a body set up to help connect creative professionals working in events.
Authenticity, storytelling and collaboration were highlighted as key themes at the event, which was titled 'I Wish I’d Done That: Experiential Design'.
Steve Lidbury, Imagination's European creative director of automotive, kicked off the evening with a case study on a at the Saatchi Gallery in London in November. The exhibition is now on a world tour to cities including Berlin, Dubai, Shanghai and Los Angeles.
Lidbury said: "When someone buys a Rolls-Royce, it is 85% bespoke, so we told the story of the experience of creating your own bespoke Rolls-Royce vehicle through a multi-sensory, engaging and emotive experience using artistic expression, without the use of cars. The aim was to engage a wide audience, giving them permission to touch and experience the brand, while maintaining its exclusivity."
Sony Mobile's Melissa Noakes, who is head of experiential marketing , discussed the art of creating an engaging trade show with examples of Sony's presence at Mobile World Congress. She said: "The aim is to bring relevant experiences to life that will stay with the consumer. At Mobile World Congress 2013 we created a meeting space that felt a lot like an agency for visitors. The objective was to build an environment to support the story we were telling."
David Zolkwer, Jack Morton Worldwide’s head of ceremonies and artistic director for Glasgow 2014, talked about the budgetary challenges of delivering the opening and closing ceremonies of Glasgow 2014, the precedent set by London 2012 and other sporting events, and the challenge of immersing a Unicef campaign within the celebration.
Zolkwer told the audience that after working on a number of opening ceremonies Glasgow offered the chance to "change the conversation." He said: "We stepped into the realm of authenticity and what is genuine by looking at what Glasgow has to offer. Glasgow is funny, gregarious, compassionate, welcoming and spirited. We wanted to integrate these principles into the event and bring real meaning to the word legacy."
Deborah Armstrong, artist and creative director, ended the evening with her insights into the process of designing Glastonbury’s famous Shangri-La experience, highlighting the importance of storytelling and collaboration.
Last night's event was held in partnership with D&AD, the global association for creative design and advertising.
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