Want Countless Views for Your Virtual Occasion? Just Include Shaq and Gronk.

July.
30,2020

5 min read.

By now you have likely seen the viral minute when NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal did what he does best while playing a game of HORSE against three-time Super Bowl Champion Rob Gronkowski: He ripped the damn rim off the backboard. Video game over.

It was all part of the livestream event Shaq’s Enjoyable Home vs Gronk Beach, which included the epic characters squaring off in a series of goofy challenges, with appearances by DaBaby, Snoop Dogg, Steve Aoki, Diplo and more.

The event, which raised cash for the NAACP and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and provided 1.25 M meals to Feeding America, was produced by Medium Rare, a live events and brand name activation company.

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Entrepreneur consulted with Medium Rare’s co-founders, Joe Silberzweig and Adam Richman, about what it requires to manage an event like this, and what they see in the future for the live occasions industry. Here are a few of the highlights of that conversation.

Life in the live occasions company

Adam Richman: It hasn’t been talked about much, and there aren’t any expenses from Congress actually targeted at assisting show promoters or people in the live entertainment market. We understand a great deal of our associates and buddies who are truly hurting. It’s truly been tough for them to do anything throughout this time, and that’s sort of where we stood a couple of months earlier. We were sitting there stating, “What are we going to do?” And that’s when the lightbulb went off. “Let’s go virtual!” It worked so excellent with Gronk and Shaq’s two special brand names. We don’t understand precisely what the future will generate terms of in-person or hybrid events, however whatever we’re planning for November and December will be 100 percent virtual.

Virtual occasions can be more than a glorified Zoom call

Joe Silberzweig: There have been numerous live streams occasions given that the pandemic hit, but most of them are Zoom calls or Instagram Lives with pretty janky quality. We actually saw the opportunity to do something bigger, more sleek, more produced, and that’s where we see the future of streaming going.

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AR: We really took the effort of promoting and marketing and this like it was among our in-person events. We didn’t just post a link and say, “Hey, we’re going live tomorrow at 10: 00 PM. Ensure you check us out on Instagram or Twitter or whatever.” We truly did a full-on project. We had a nationwide press conference, did a full-on social campaign, email blast– really treated it like we would any of our big occasions. And we believe that permitted us to shine through. It provided customers the confidence that this wasn’t going to simply be another fundamental live stream.

Unforeseen obstacles

JS: The music skill we dealt with are utilized to performing in an arena with a million dollars of production behind them. So you can’t just say, “Hey, can you rap in front of your living-room couch?” This challenged us to figure out ways to make it look like a music video, not simply something streaming off someone’s phone. We knew we required to the highest production worths possible while keeping personnel and talent safe.

AR: And for huge live occasions, an obstacle can be ensuring artists are at the location and prepared to go on time. It was a little shocking that for a virtual event, it is sort of the exact same thing! You know, where we FaceTimed a couple of the artists to bring them onto the screen, and they get and they are in their vehicle driving. So some things never change!

Remaining calm in the storm

JS: Throughout the game of HORSE in between Shaq and Gronk, we had a tech concern. Adam and I were freaking out. I believe 5 million people viewing at that time and it was all pretty nuts. However our group resolved the issue and got it working and instantly at that moment, Shaq swindled the rim. And that was truly the biggest, most viral minute of the entire livestream. Now, I say we were going crazy, but that was on the within. On the exterior, you require to stay calm and collected and lead your group through difficulties like that.

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The practicality of virtual occasions

AR: We consider ourselves quite lucky that we have actually been able to quickly make this pivot to streaming. We did lose hundreds and numerous live events due to the pandemic, however it is encouraging to see how many artists and personalities are welcoming the possibilities. And it’s truly great to see sponsors playing in the space as well and transitioning and believing in this model.