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“When you know more,
you can do more"
When the North Carolina Joint Underwriting Association (NCJUA) needed an event production partner for their critical board meeting, they turned to Encore to deliver a seamless two-day hybrid event that would connect and engage their important participants. Enter the tech-savvy Joanna and her team!
Joanna Brady Matthews
- 20+ yrs. of AV / technology event experience
- Thrilled by live productions
- A “classic country girl”
- Four-wheeling enthusiast
- Helps care for two close family members
- Has six adorable (outdoor) cats
The Challenge
When NCJUA’s remote audience increased from two to ten, and the in-person board member needs adjusted around the “U”-shape setup, Joanna and her team knew adapting their technical support would be crucial to deliver a seamless production experience.
A seasoned technician, Joanna understood the customer’s needs, from the distance of the in-room split screens and different views, including a robotic camera that caused switching complexities and readability issues, to elevated internet requirements and the right in-person table-top microphones to handle private side-bar conversations during live presentations.
The Solution
Passionate about solving challenges, Joanna anticipated needs the customer hadn’t originally expressed! She and her team recommended customed solutions to set NCJUA’s event up for success:
- In room, they included everything from a 55-inch confidence monitor and versatile push-to-talk microphones for the adjusted head count to hard-wired internet for secured speed and stability.
- For the dual-audiences and seamless board meeting, Joanna partnered with NCJUA’s IT Coordinator to build confidence and trust as she stepped in to cue up and advance content for a dynamic, switching production experience.
| Key Solutions Used in This Story | ||
|---|---|---|
| Production / Show Management | Technology / Audiovisual Solutions | Infrastructure Services |
| Staging Services Show Management | Audio Solutions Presenter Support | |
The Result
Thanks to Joanna and her team’s forward-thinking mindset, expertise and personalized solutions, NCJUA’s board meeting elevated from standard to standout! When the event had wrapped, the customer stated, “Everything went even better than we could’ve expected!”
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From routine challenges to the moment of truth that threatens to derail your event, our people solve them flawlessly. Explore their stories.
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“There is no problem without a solution"
For decades, Encore has helped bring the Annual InterContinental® Miami Make-A-Wish® Ball to life, making it bigger and better each year. The challenge for the 2022 festivities? Make the event more magical than ever by immersing the participants in an unforgettable experience to increase levels of excitement and inspire greater donations. With Alberto and team on the task, consider the wish granted.
Alberto Castillo
- Thousands of events
- National Ambassador for Encore
- Developed/runs local workshop for Event Managers
- Loves ATVing in the Everglades with his daughters
- Always entertaining guests at home
- Family and faith are his guiding forces
The Challenge
For the 27th Annual InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball, Alberto and team were tasked with making the gala event more magical than ever in unique, immersive and memorable ways — with just three compressed setup days. The creative ask:
- Stage an engaging opening reception, including a branded publicity “step and repeat” backdrop and reception with silent auction areas.
- Create a “supernature” themed experience between the reception/silent auction areas and the grand ballroom gala event space.
- Bring to life an immersive “NY aquarium” in the grand ballroom for the main dining and open auction event.
- Delight participants with live performances and an iconic entertainer.
- Further surprise guests by executing an afterparty featuring a multi-act cabaret show and nightclub experience, requiring a major room flip in just two hours.
The Solution
Alberto and team worked closely with multiple stakeholders from the hotel, the Make-A-Wish Southern Florida chapter and their third-party designers to make the dream come true.
Solutions included:
- Sourcing people and gear from 20+ regional venues, with Encore working 24/7 shifts over three days.
- Creating a transitional experience between the opening reception/silent auction and grand ballroom that featured a mesmerizing “supernature” LED tunnel depicting the New York subways overtaken by nature.
- Producing the grand ballroom event, including a 140-foot LED wall to create a “NY aquarium” experience with coral-like décor, beautiful lighting and ambient audio that brought the underwater world to life.
- Creating an outfitted performance stage for the live auction and applause-worthy entertainment.
- Quietly flipping the prior reception/silent auction rooms into a surprise afterparty with a multi-act cabaret show and DJ while guests enjoyed the grand ballroom event.
- Perfectly planning and executing everything from staging, video and audio to complex lighting, rigging and power for an astounding start-to-finish event experience, using three highly skilled project managers across rooms and a stage manager for the big show.
| Key Solutions Used in This Story | ||
|---|---|---|
| Production | Technology | |
| Staging Services Scenic & Décor Show Management | Audiovisual Solutions LED Walls Audio Video Infrastructure Services Rigging Power | |
The Result
The inspirational event left both the customers and charity ball participants in awe. The guests were so moved by their experience that it was a history-making year with a record-setting $5.4M raised in just one night. This was more than twice as much as the previous charity ball! For the customer’s vision and charitable event goals, it was truly a larger-than-life dream come true.
Explore More Stories and Solutions.
From routine challenges to the moment of truth that threatens to derail your event, our people solve them
flawlessly. Explore their stories.
We See Solutions.™
“We are here to support
the client and earn
their trust”
With a customer’s most important dinner of the year coming up, they wanted to ensure the event would be memorable. Their vision? Elevate a traditional dining experience into a festive year-end celebration gala, integrating storytelling, gastronomic, visual and acoustic elements to wow their important guests.
Enter Miguel and team, ready to help deliver a multi-sensory experience set to impress.
Miguel Sanchez
- 18 yrs. of experience
- 1,000+ events and counting
- Loves spending time with his 6-year old son
- Loves playing billiards and video games
- Active gym-goer
The Challenge
Develop the idea that the client envisioned to create a whole experience and not just serve a traditional dinner. Part of the challenge was to achieve synchrony at the time of the service for the 380 guests, thus merging gastronomy with technology, in addition to matching the size of the venue with the hanging points and the space between each table.
The Solution
With the technical experience of Miguel and his team, it was possible to have the same signal that would simultaneously reproduce the content at the 38 tables and individually for the 380 diners.
With professionalism, it was possible to maintain excellent communication, successfully coordinating all those involved (venue, business partners and our production staff),
By capturing the different elements in a layout, it was possible to adapt the technical needs to the infrastructure and hanging points of the venue.
| Key Solutions Used in This Story | ||
|---|---|---|
| Creative | Production | Technology |
| Event Strategy & Design | Audiovisual Solutions | |
The Result
Thanks to Miguel and team’s technical expertise, collaboration with all parties and innovative mindsets, the gala was a memorable celebration for all attendees. Due to the team’s collaboration and dedication to each detail, the more than 380 guests experienced a truly unique gourmet dinner adventure. The attendees left impressed by the year-end festivities, and the customer was equally pleased, delighted at how Encore had helped plan, synchronize and transform their critical event into a unique sensory experience.
Explore More Stories and Solutions.
From routine challenges to the moment of truth that threatens to derail your event, our people solve them
flawlessly. Explore their stories.
We See Solutions.™
“Our team can
accomplish amazing
things together”
Our team was tasked with creating five events for a Papal visit in five locations over three days for more than 200,000 people – with just 45 days to prepare. Enter Chris Baker and team.
Chris Baker
- 16+ yrs. of experience
- Thousands of events
- Married with a rescue dog
- Disaster relief volunteer
- World traveler
- Adrenaline junkie
The Challenge
The request came from the Canadian Catholic Council of Bishops for Encore to help produce the Pope’s visit to Canada. Our team was tasked with creating five events in five locations over three days for more than 200,000 people – with just 45 days to prepare. The Solution
The challenges and requirements for each event location were completely unique. Enter Chris and team. Using Encore’s extensive resources available across Canada and North America, the team designed a plan including hundreds of people, individual crews for each site, lots of infrastructure, tons of gear, large LED walls with delayed audio, plus an eight-hour cargo flight across country to Baffin Island, the last stop. The Result
While the challenges had short turns and were immense, the people of Encore saw solutions, and enabled the Pope to present his message to more than 200,000 people in five different locations. In short, it was a miraculous success.
Explore More Stories and Solutions.
From routine challenges to the moment of truth that threatens to derail your event, our people solve them
flawlessly. Explore their stories.