Award Ceremonies: Go For Baroque

My colleagues at The Morning Call, who are also members of the Greater LV Ad Club's ADDY Committee, have worked tirelessly with me this year on a theme of 18th Century French style. The catch phrase chosen was "Go for Baroque", which I absolutely love. Some other ideas I had were "Come be Adorned," "The Feather in Your Cap," Oh My Gaud," and "Baroque as a Joke." These were the result of extensive Mind Mapping and daydreaming immediately after my first ADDY Awards last year: theme was MadMen (which was the theme of so many other ADDY awards that year.) I wanted a theme that was elegant, but not as likely to be imitated. I personally love this style of gaudy fashions and it seemed like something that could be easily done. I researched and found some amazing inspirations. I made some illustrations, and Sarah made some amazing mailer pieces and take-home pieces. Many sketchbook pages later, Sarah, Tanya and I came up with the idea of props for fun photo playtime at the event, including home-made masquerade masks, and other surprises. We also created some feather bouquet centerpieces. Photos to come.


If I learned anything from this large event planning experience, it is that one must understand the importance of the little things and the viewpoint of the attendees. When planning an event, I've noticed that committees think of the event in terms of themselves, how can we fit this into our budget, how can we make things run smoother, do we really need this or this, what's our next step; always keeping in mind the time and money that it will cost them. 


I propose that it's about the experience. What are the people going to this event going to remember? What are they going to take home with them? Will they talk about it? Will they come back next year because of the good time that they had or do they just see this as an event that they wouldn't mind skipping? If all of the fun little goofy things that people enjoy are taken away because of cost and time, it's obvious that the people planning DO NOT CARE about the people attending. 


So here's the main idea: The experience is what it is all about. Everything leads up to that one night. All that work will have been for naught if everyone thinks the ceremony is boring and lame. And no one wants to attend a stuffy event that feels like a business meeting, sorry (especially if they are PAYING for it!!!!). Bare minimum isn't gonna cut it. Not every budget needs to be cut. Some things are worth spending time and money on. If you don't care, then why are you even bothering?


So at the ADDY Awards this year, we hope you have fun. Take goofy pictures and play with our hand-crafted props. Make noise, be rowdy, and appreciate the cleverness. We tried really hard, with not much of a budget, to add some funky flair and debonair design to an event that is FOR DESIGNERS. 


We hope you win something and we hope you enjoy our idea: Go For Baroque!!!