On Avoiding Death by Webinar

A fresh approach to an old medium that’s been successful for years already.

Picture the scene: William Shakespeare, the managing playwright of the Globe Theatre, is horrified by the news that Oliver Cromwell is banning live theatrical productions in favour of a devilish invention called television for health reasons.

All hell breaks loose. “Wherefore replace the humanity of ye live performance with clumsy camerawork, surreal editing and a manufactured soundscape!?” bemoans some rival dramaturge.

But Shakespeare, being Shakespeare, rubs his goatee, considers the possibilities of the new medium, sharpens his quill and pivots.

This isn’t exactly historically accurate, but it does set up a parallel with the cancellation of live corporate gatherings and the mind-numbing, soul-sapping rise of so-called virtual events.

Most producers turning to the online version of the live event have primarily focused on precisely the wrong aspect of the experience – the core client messaging – and wholly ignored the inherent creative power of the shared experience.

As a creative who has spent decades in eventing and experiential marketing, I say the most significant challenge in delivering successful multimedia live events is not production restrictions. It is the innovative framing, contextualising, and engaging communication of essential strategic messaging.

This active engagement is the only reason clients invest in such expensive exercises. Ignoring it is the biggest hurdle to achieving a valuable audience experience.

When you remove much of the time, money and creative muscle from the live equation you are left with the equivalent of a barely dramatised corporate memo. When you think 'creative' is a digital background behind a committee of camera-shy executives reading a sanitised script from a scrolling autocue, you have the equivalent of a 1990s PowerPoint from a genocidal bean counter.

A straightforward fix is to go back to the fictional example outlined above. Bring the storytelling masters of theatrical production, performance direction, staging, sound design, graphics, animation and editing into the new medium of the webcast. Have them help you build dynamic, interactive televisual programming worth watching and even sharing.

There’s nothing wrong with featuring well-respected and highly informed executives or employees in the running order. Apart from paying the bill, they also often bring the necessarily nutritious ingredients to a holistically delightful event feast. But they need a creative framing and a considered context to be remotely palatable to an isolated screen viewing audience.

As said upfront, this has already been successful for years in the media of television and video. The earliest television programmes were essentially little more than filmed theatrical performances or live panel shows. Audiences didn't know any better, and so these productions were largely successful at the time. But over time – and especially in the last twenty years – creative producers, writers, directors, designers and musicians have smashed the static fourth wall of the screen and constructed a myriad of dynamic perspectives through inventive camerawork and deliberately crafted content and scripting.

Today, anybody subjected to a corporate webinar sees it in the context of brilliant small screen programming, and the comparison is often disappointing.

Think of your favourite TV shows, the box sets you’ve binged watched, and imagine applying the artistry of those shows into the production of your next virtual event.

Then, add the almost infinite, real-time interactivity and gamification that modern tech affords any virtual conference attendee. Now you can glimpse the possibilities of a life-affirming (or at least death-defying) on-screen experience built on a creative platform instead of being rooted in a corporate communications imperative.

This is not as difficult as it sounds. As I mentioned in a small section of the excellent book, The Beautiful Constraint by Adam Morgan and Mark Barden, it is the primary job of a professional creative to transform a communication imperative into a compelling piece of meaningful messaging for the target audience.

Of course, when I say it’s easy, it’s only easy when you’re employing the best in the business. Not every Shakespearean playwright was Shakespeare*. The best communicators in the industry understand the importance of embedded strategy, high concept, performance, show rhythm, composition, programme design, pacing, content development, attention span, eyes-on-screen, contrast, music, surprise, irony, human psychology, titling, teasing, entertainment value, interaction and of course genuine storytelling.

So, if the idea of producing another deadly online event leaves you feeling numb with webinar fatigue, think of it as a television programme instead.

And if you’re interested in refreshing the inevitable future of corporate eventing and conferencing, then I recommend contacting any of the following heavyweights:

Pulane Boesak – Head of Creative Development – Okuhle Media

Even if she is too busy to help you herself, she the brightest star at the centre of a galaxy of stellar producers she can introduce you to.

Stan Joseph – CEO – Ochre Media

The creatively intelligent and intuitively insightful executive producer of award-winning TV programmes across every genre.

Spero Patricios – Executive Producer – The Launch Factory

Has been cutting at the edges of what’s possible regarding audience engagement both live and on-screen for decades.

Terri Brown – Creative Strategist – The Logical Truth

The original and best creative strategist in multimedia employee engagement, internal marketing and change marketing in SA.

Joe Shaerer and Philippa-Hudson-Bennet – AOMI

Two of the hardest-working and intrinsically insightful producers of multimedia events and conference experiences you can find.

Caroline Pretorius – Executive Creative Director – VWV Group

One of the most elegant thinkers in the events industry, with an inspired handle on the latest trends and technologies available.

Garon Campbell – TV and Video Director – Breadbin Productions

This gentle genius runs a superb crew capable of bringing humour and humanity to any project they accept.

Beau Lines – Video Editor – Done Media Solutions

This super-nimble and creatively able editor can see a story thread and weave it together with a world of associated music, sound design and imagery.

Hein Kotze – Graphic Designer & Animator – VidoVisual

One of the most gifted and hardworking visual solutions providers in his field, he can manifest any image or titling sequence in any dimension.

Pixi-Hudson-Bennet – Digital Creative – Brave Digital

This man and his team can do ANYTHING in the digital space, including apps, interactivity, gamification, plus superb visual design.

Gus Silber – Author, Copywriter & Journalist – Freelance

One of the most diversely skilled, widely informed and gifted writers across any medium – get this guy.

Even if you can’t get any of these people on your next corporate communications project, there are many brilliantly talented creatives and producers that can turn a logistical limitation into an expression of creativity. Just make sure you hire a Shakespeare and not a Robert Greene*.

Good luck!

Nick Warren

Writer, Creative Director – Creative Clarity

P.S. Robert Greene would be forgotten had he not written the only surviving comment by a contemporary. In his social allegory, Groatsworth of Wit Bought with a Million of Repentance (a catchy title in 1592), Greene referred to the young Shakespeare as an ‘upstart crow’.

P.P.S. Please reply by adding great creatives and producers you know and trust to this list and share it…