Next – Level Partnership: Shoot the Moon Productions Adds Virtual Muscle and Wows a Client

The challenge

An agency’s star client was determined to take their annual conference virtual—but the production team’s specialty was in-person events.

The solution

Production pro searched far and wide for the perfect platform—and found the ideal partner in Brandlive.

The impact

An over-the-moon client, an engaged and delighted audience, and the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Production pros face paradigm shifts

Shoot the Moon Productions (STMP) has been in the biz for 28 years. The company offers a full array of production services—including project management and budgeting for fully staffed audio-visual productions for corporate business theatre events. Their seasoned pros do it all: staging and design, content production, projection, sound, lighting and more. But when longtime client Hamilton Wood Type Museum decided to take their conference virtual, STMP needed a new crewmember: a top-notch virtual platform.

Brandlive + STMP = metamorphosis managed

JP Porter, STMP’s owner, knows production—but she needed a partner to translate her team’s events expertise into the virtual realm. After vetting over 50 platforms, Brandlive rose to the top of her list. She put the Brandlive team through its paces— and it was clear they had exactly what her client needed. The conference was a runaway success, and the client was thrilled! Now STMP’s crew is fully prepped for a virtual future.

Challenges solved

1. A like-minded partner.JP Porter explained, “We’ve never had to have a platform person on my team before. With the switch to 100% virtual, I had all the other people in place—VMix engineer, audio, etc. I knew who to call for those positions. What I needed to have was a platform and their team to ensure the same high quality of service my client has come to know.”

   “When a client says to me ‘I trust you, JP. You know us better than anyone. Who should we go with for a virtual event platform?’ Well, that’s like asking ‘What car should I buy?’ There are so many—and that’s a question I take seriously.”

   Porter’s search for a platform was focused and extensive. On the virtual event platform selection process, Porter said, “I had a spreadsheet of over 50 companies. I started vetting—doing lots of demos. Features were similar. Response times varied. But I was looking for something for this specific client, the Hamilton Wood Type Museum. After exhaustive research, with a focus on my client’s needs, I got my list down to two. And Brandlive was at the top.”

2. Teamwork makes the virtual dream work.As the executive producer, Porter had targeted questions and concerns regarding virtual events. Her questions for sales teams focused on production-specific needs.

   “Here’s the lens I came at the whole process with: I don’t care about sales. I want to know about tech. Do you provide the stream, or do I? Are you sending me a box? How is this going to work on the day of the show? Who builds what? Do you know what I mean when I ask these things? Because I’m building the team and you will be a part of it…. You’re working with me, and I work for my client. Ultimately, I want to know we’re a team.” Brandlive’s shoulder-to-shoulder approach to partnership meant Porter’s team had embedded experts from Brandlive in the trenches to deliver for their client.

3. Old-fashioned customer service.Porter said, “Nick at Brandlive was the person that answered my questions better than everyone else. Whenever I emailed him, he would get back to me within 20 minutes. I was blown away.”

   As work on the event started, Porter knew she had made the right choice. “It’s a relationship. And Nick, Caroline, Kanchana at Brandlive? They are exactly the kind of partner I wanted for this process. I’m in a people business. I had a gut for realizing the Brandlive folks were the right people.”

4. Making production seamless.Porter also explained how some large organizations could have increased success with their virtual events, saying, “On the corporate side, often companies ask someone in IT to find the perfect platform for their event. But the IT person doesn’t necessarily know the right questions to ask with regard to the production and content.”

   “Virtual conferences have become like TV production. I’m one of many producers out there trying to build new trusted partners on the platform side that I can use to be part of my team.”

   While many clients sit back and let the agency build the event, Porter said, “My client was unique. As artists and designers, they wanted to be more hands-on and work with Brandlive on the virtual event build-out. The weekly meetings that the Brandlive team set up for my client, Hamilton Wood Type Museum, were great! Those freed me up to work on the production aspect of the event.”

Big wins

1. Highly engaged audience = over-the-moon client.orter was confident that the Brandlive features and layouts would ensure her client’s conference, as well as their fundraising efforts, were a success. “In terms of fundraising goals, Hamilton Wood Type is over the moon—with not only what it was able to raise with this event, but they and the attendees were very happy with the whole conference itself.”
2. Leveling up with a fully branded virtual event.Porter said that her other clients who may have previously hosted big-budget live events and conferences are starting to see that it’s possible to create a memorable, polished event in the virtual space—and not just rely on Zoom or Teams to do it.

   “What used to involve an event space, travel, hotel rooms, catering, décor—in addition to the staging and audio-visual component—these can run into the millions of dollars. Continuing to educate, motivate and communicate with everyone working from home has been a challenge for these companies,” Porter reflected. “So with a little help from their trusted production friends like me, we can elevate these experiences for them. Having a partner in this with Brandlive is key to providing this next-level experience. Clients are really starting to figure this out.”

3. Beating the Zoom blues with a cinematic experience.Porter knows how it goes with Zoom fatigue. “Everyone is so used to flipping on their camera in Zoom. We got by with sloppy Zoom meetings during summer 2020, but now clients realize—they want more polish, like we would give them in a ballroom, so they’re turning to us to help raise that bar.”
4. Virtual attendance = huge bump in reach.Seeing the increased reach her client achieved with their pivot to virtual, Porter predicts the events industry will move toward hybrid. “Moving forward, I believe in some cases, events are going to be hybrid. Because of the deeper audience reach, virtual is not going away. Yes, everyone is dying to be with each other to share a cocktail and network. But in the past, events like Wayzgoose had to cap the attendee list.”

   “So yes, we’re still going to have your big national sales meetings and product launches live and in-person after the pandemic subsides. But with a hybrid event, you’ll have the potential to reach so many more virtually. Corporations with their eye on a budget will recognize it’s well worth it.” At Brandlive, hybrid includes virtual and in-person, as well as live, pre-recorded, live online, asynchronous, off-platform, highlights, replays, and more.

5. Helping agencies deliver for their clients.STMP’s partnership with Brandlive allowed Porter and her team to expand their services into the virtual realm and deliver results for their client. Dive into the details of how it all came together for Hamilton Wood Type Museum’s Awaygooze conference.

   Brandlive works with agencies of all types through our reseller and referral partner programs. Agencies and production companies partner with Brandlive via wholesale platform pricing, platform access for pitches, and a close working relationship to deliver a custom-branded virtual event platform directly to their clients or to secure bonuses for referred business.