For years running, a rinse-and-repeat approach was taken toward our city’s flagship advertising awards gala hosted annually by American Advertising Federation.
Despite the fact it’s meant to celebrate the best creative ideas produced in Fort Worth, the inspiration around this event has withered.
We’re all busy people — so let’s settle on a theme, throw together a poster, print and mail the invitations, find a venue, settle on a menu, yada yada yada, get through the event. Whew … done.Not quite good enough for the Alcorn team. We all had become frustrated with this approach and the loss of purpose for coming together: creative celebration and inspiration. Just as we do with our clients, we need to look from other angles and gain different perspectives — so that we may deliver an event fully acknowledging the teams that create magic together.In 2018, when Alcorn had producing responsibilities, we sat down and discussed the “why” of the event. To celebrate excellence, right? How do we go about doing that? We thought it was important for people to feel not just like they were attending but, rather, participating in this event. So we looked at creating an inclusive experience that pulled attendees in from the moment they opened the invitation, visited the website and walked into the venue. Collaboration with other creative groups and individuals was a big part of that (and we’ll talk about that in another article very soon). But we began with holding up a mirror and inviting a bit of reflection.The idea behind the mirror? Taking a good look at ourselves and the work of which we were most proud was a start. We wanted all agencies to revel in their talents and, through a bit of self-judging, assess the projects that represented them at their best. We followed through on this idea using a mirrored invitation with the theme of “You Be The Judge” — and even carried the “mirror” idea over to the website, where attendees could activate a camera that invited them into the page. And, on the evening of the event, attendees entered a warehouse via a mirrored tunnel emblazoned with three-foot-high letters, proclaiming, “NOW IS THE TIME FOR REFLECTION.”
We created spaces within the warehouse controlled traffic even as they built anticipation, with the largest of the spaces dedicated to an area where guests could chat as they enjoyed their food and drinks. Pieces created by a local artist specializing in reflective media were positioned throughout the event — both as an homage to the beauty of creation and to anchor the evening’s theme. After a time, guests were encouraged to enter the next space: a gallery including the Bronze, Silver and Student honorees. Eventually another curtain parted to let attendees filter into the Gold Gallery, where winning entries were hanging from the ceiling, portrait-style. Finally, for the denouement, guests were ushered into the “Best of Category” Theater and took their seats to view a documentary that included interviews from the winning entrants.
The reasoning behind creating a documentary for this was to imbue a “Best of” win with the proper amount of prestige and importance. However, as interviews and filming continued, we realized it also provided a valuable window into understanding the challenges — and the innovative thinking around them — that ultimately ended in a win for a particular agency.Was it a lot of work? Saying “yes” would be an understatement. Did we get a creative kick out of providing fresh shape and texture? Absolutely. But, in the end, our goal was to present an evening that would excite, inspire and remind all of our attendees why they do what they do every other day of the year.