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#MarketingEventsAwards 2021 highlight: The Lions Home taps into the hybrid scene with 40th anniversary book launch

#MarketingEventsAwards 2021 highlight: The Lions Home taps into the hybrid scene with 40th anniversary book launch

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Back in the day, the seniors in the community contributed heavily to the country's workforce. Despite giving their all for the country's economy, these individuals had no place to turn to when they grew older. The journey for The Lions Home started when a member grew concerned of the large number of elderly people sleeping on wooden planks that were supported only by stools. These elderly individuals were also surrounded by dilapidated living conditions. 

Established in 1980, The Lions Home has grown over the years after its first community home in Ang Mo Kio. With a mission to always enable the elderly to lead enriched lives through holistic and integrated care, the home decided to celebrate its 40 years with a book launch. With its determined spirit and innovate ideas, The Lions Home managed to impress the judges and clinched the Silver awards for Best B2B Event: Conferences / Meetings / Seminars and Best Event Ambience at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s Marketing Events Awards 2021. The home also managed to clinch the Bronze award for Best Event on a Budget. 

Challenges

The nature of a society can be judged by how it treats and respects its elders. In Singapore, the Lions Home for the Elders sets a very high bar as it carries out its mission to not only provide for the physical needs of the elderly, but to also help them enjoy a vibrant life.

In 2020, the Lions Home celebrated 40 years with its “40th anniversary book launch” to tell the story of the home, its residents, staff, volunteers, and the individuals who have donated time and money. The book was then launched across 47,000 clubs around the world. 

Initially, the home decided to have the book launch in Marina Bay Sands, together with 20,000 Lions members, who would fly in from all over the world to attend the event.

When the pandemic hit, the home was forced to undergo a massive undertaking which postponed the book launch to 2028. Furthermore, the home was dealt with constraints for the book production as the team had limited access to the elderly and interviewees. In fact, the home almost decided to scrap the book launch and go ahead with a simple affair instead. 

Strategy 

Despite the challenges the home faced, it was still adamant it wanted to celebrate this significant milestone. With this in mind, Lions Home and LOUPE Singapore worked together to co-create a different kind of event.

According to the home, there were three prongs to this strategy: the venue, event format, and the activity planned. In regards to the venue, the home already had a venue partner in mind, which was Marina Bay Sands. Instead of scrapping the entire event, the home and the agency sought to find a shared value where Marina Bay Sands would be able to host a number of people within the safety management measures. 

On the event front, the home and the agency were faced with the challenge of having to guest the individuals from different countries who were invited to the event. To combat this issue, it was decided to have the event in a hybrid format. The event was hosted in a hybrid broadcast studio, which allowed the agency to host and film the event as if it was a live television broadcast. 

Last, on the activity front, the home struggled with client participation as it seemed like bad timing to be celebrating during a pandemic. While most clients had the idea of scrapping the event, they also understood the importance of boosting morale and overall productivity. Reaching a consensus, the home, and agency, decided to add an award ceremony to the event to make it more personal and close to the heart. The award ceremony was also used to highlight the courage of the front liners, and the contributions of the people featured in the book. 

With this approach, the home and agency found a way to turn this corporate affair into an intimate one. There was a sense of serendipity as some of the senior staff, some of whom have worked there for more than 20 years, were going to be awarded for the first time. This, in turn, gave an overall boost to morale.

This would also be a personal touch to the event as it would exemplify the passion the home had not only for the elderly, but also for its staff. This way, it would be another shared value for the stakeholders involved. 

Execution

As this was a first-time hybrid event held for this audience size, the home and agency had to take into consideration the number of international people who were tuning in. For this event, there was an estimate of at least 500 people from more than 20 countries.

To combat this issue, the home worked with communications company Zoom to accommodate a latency-free broadcast. In addition, the team also worked with the broadcast crew in Marina Bay Sands to broadcast the event to be similar to a live TV show. A film crew was also brought in to record the event and create a highlight video to commemorate the book launch. 

The next step was to consider the number of physical attendees for the book launch. According to the home, there was a total of 50 attendees, inclusive of the crew.

The home and agency then sought to design an ambience to accommodate the attendees while adhering to the strict safe management measures that were in place. Though it was mandatory to have safety measures such as check-ins and temperature checks outside the studio, Lions Home made it a point to create an environment where the attendees would be able to relax and enjoy the festivities of the event while adhering to the measures. 

Lions Home and LOUPE Singapore succeeded in doing so with the following measures:

1. Instead of having regular tiffany chairs, Lions Home opted for cosy leather armchairs and coffee tables to act as a “separator” for the one-metre social distancing guidelines. The book, refreshments and a personalised name stand were then placed on the coffee table to make the arrangement seem intentional instead of a mandatory measure. To minimalise socialisation, Lions Home made sure every attendee was ushered to their respective seats. 

2. When talking about the lighting, Lions Home opted for a deep blue lighting that would reflect the corporate colours of the home. The lights were also intentionally dimmed to elicit a cosier feeling in the room. 

3. To set the mood, the home played a series of relaxing jazz music to create a feeling similar to a speakeasy bar when attendees entered the room. 

A successful event is also determined by the people who attend them, said The Lions Home. For this event, The Lions Home decided to invite journalist and DJ, Rachel Kelly to be the Master of Ceremony and record a message for the event. Also caring about sustainability, the book decided to print its book on PEFC-certified paper. As a result, the home also invited panel members such as the CEO of paper manufacturer OVOL Singapore, Genevieve Chua. 

Results 

The event was a huge success, with hundreds of attendees watching the broadcast in more than 20 countries around the world. Furthermore, the team even had to upgrade servers during a low-key section of the event to make sure the feed would be able to hold throughout the course of the event. According to The Lions Home, many journalists sang high praises about the book and the book launch. Lastly, the book was disseminated to more than 5,000 clubs around the world.

 

 

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