Caps in the Air: UD Celebrates the Class of 2020 Virtually
Blue Hen Celebration: Honoring the Class of 2020:
May 30, 2020
The event
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13 days from start to showtime
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1 day
The success
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16,400+ total event views
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7,400+ guests
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2,500 audience comments
The challenge
The Class of 2020 was set to don their graduation gownsâbut COVID-19 threatened to keep caps from flying.
The solution
An interactive, innovative virtual event to honor the graduates and their loved onesâin just 13 days.
The impact
A rich celebration of achievement featuring heartwarming photos, global engagement, and happy memories.
Pompâand an unusual circumstance
As the First Stateâs flagship university, with a history of pioneering achievements, The University of Delaware (UD) is committed to providing excellence in educationâemphasizing innovation and discovery. In the spring of 2020, UDâs graduates couldnât wait to walk across the stage in all their academic finery as friends and family cheered them on. But when the pandemic put everyone at risk, the university needed a new plan, pronto.
When we decided to honor the Class of 2020 in a virtual format, we knew we needed to make it very special and memorable. We wanted students and their families to experience a real University of Delaware celebrationâone that looks and feels like the University is hosting it.
Making the grade with Brandlive
University students and leaders rose to the challenge with the innovative spirit that defines their school. They decided to postpone a traditional commencement ceremony, but wanted to celebrate their hard work and big milestone with a virtual event that would allow everyone to celebrate safely. With time running out, Brandlive partnered with UD make their vision a realityâin just 13 days.
Challenges solved
- Looks like weâre pulling an all-nighterâjust 13 days to go virtual!Graduating students jumped right in to envisioning and creating a unique online eventâdubbed the Blue Hen Celebrationâcoordinating the planning with University leaders. Produced in partnership with Brandlive, the celebration gave UDâs newest graduates a chance to reflect on the moments that shaped them and look forward to their bright future as alumni.
Beth Brand, Vice President and University Secretary, explained: âThe Blue Hen Celebration isnât meant to replace commencement, but we still wanted to take a moment at the end of the academic year to recognize and celebrate all of the amazing accomplishments of the Class of 2020.â
With Brandlive, UD built a unique, pioneering celebration, incorporating all of UDâs specific needs, in just 13 days.
- Welcoming grads around the globe.When planning the event with Brandlive, the UD team had a specific vision. First, it would feature select members of the Class of 2020, as well as appearances by University leaders, prominent alumni, and special guests. And the guest list was very longâit had to accommodate all studentsâ loved ones.
April Doughty, Digital Project Manager, explained, âWe needed to find a platform that would support over 10,000 live attendees across the globe.â
The Brandlive Events platform, which supports over 1 million attendees across locations, was a perfect fit. And for full accessibility, UD chose closed-captioning to make sure every single one of their thousands of guests felt welcome.
- Making it memorable for new-diploma feeling.Beyond the technical needsâand perhaps most importantlyâDoughty wanted a memorable experience for guests.
âWhen we decided to honor the class of 2020 in a virtual format, we knew we needed to make it very special and memorable. We wanted students and their families to experience a real University of Delaware celebrationâone that looks and feels like the University is hosting it.â
To that end, the Brandlive Production team partnered with UD to create a design strategy that aligned the eventâs visual appearance with the UD brand.
- Totally prepared to ace the final.With such a quick turnaroundâand so many attendees to handleâDoughty appreciated having the opportunity to test the event page. âWe loved the test site the day beforeâto see how it would go,â she said. âWe invited all the University leaders and tested featuresâchat, video, uploading photos, engaging with each other. Being in a testing environment of the event platformâit puts your mind at ease.â
I was thrilled to not only still have the opportunity to celebrate such a wonderful accomplishment...the Brandlive platform was the perfect fit and I thoroughly enjoyed working with the professional, helpful and fun team there.
Big wins
- A big blow-out bash, plus an on-demand after-party.On the morning of May 30, 2020, over 7,000 members of the UD Class of 2020 and their families attended the virtual Blue Hen Celebration. For family members who were unable to attend the virtual event in real time, the UD team wanted the broadcast to be accessible on-demand. Using Brandlive made it easy, with post-event viewing functionality built into the Events platform and available to all guests with secure login credentials.
- Doing it for the âGramâand nailing engagement.UDâs tailor-made celebration was a success, featuring several interactive and creative ways for loved ones to celebrate with graduates. UDâs custom-produced pre-roll video was closed captioned and uploaded by the Brandlive team to the event page.
In addition, social media posts tagged #UDGrad2020 were aggregated in a custom section right below the video player, affectionately dubbed âvirtual shout-outs.â
- Applause and engagement in real time.The Blue Hen Celebration employed creative and adaptive Brandlive engagement features to drive audience interaction. For example, in place of clapping for graduates, organizers directed guests to use the chat feed to applaud, and the intermittent âclappingâ gave the virtual event energy boosts throughout. Event guests also used custom University gifs.
Another requirement for UD was a way for friends and family to congratulate the graduatesâin real time within the virtual event. Brandliveâs live chat feature was the perfect way for guests to cheer for their loved onesâthey shared over 2,500 comments singing the gradsâ praises. The UD team also liked the ability to moderate the chat in real time, saying it was âa huge proâ to ensure a smooth and successful event.
- Class picture day!UD wanted engagement even beyond chat functionality, and asked Brandlive for a personalized experience. The solution: family and friends submitted photos of the graduates in the comments section, featured as an exclusive stream on the event site.
Guest Alexis Pavlis of Philipsburg, NJ, posted a photo of her smiling niece, Sia, dressed in full graduation garb, and commented, âCongratulations to my beautiful niece/goddaughter Sia Gabrilis! I am so proud of you!!! Love you so much!â
Brandlive Account Executive Nick Ehnot attended the virtual celebration and said, âIt was still early in the morning, and thousands of people were at this event. All those people uploading photos of grads on the steps of their home, in their yards, smiling. It was really cool to see the celebration go on.â
Navigation
- Challenge, solution, impact
- Blue hens partner with Brandlive
- Challenges solved
- Big wins