Back-to-back hurricanes? Are you serious? When you earn CEUs for mastering risk management and mitigation for events, they don’t teach this. Yet you know from harrowing news images that flickered across our screens in late September and early October—the doubled-over palm trees and vehicles and homes floating down rampaging floodwaters—that Hurricanes Helene and Milton did the double whammy on Florida (and elsewhere).
And you also know—because of what you do—that, in their wake, untold numbers of long-planned events were cancelled.
Of course, in the face of this latest climate calamity, the hospitality industry rallied to aid local communities, as usual. One example of many: Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach, during peak recovery efforts in October, provided accommodations for 200 utility workers who worked to restore city services. It also offered discounted room rates for residents.
But this is a case study in how an award-winning, full-service media production company in Orlando pivoted in less time than it takes a hurricane’s eye to pass through to create a successful event despite the weather emergency. The company, edgefactory, is no novice; it was founded in 1999.
Between Hurricanes
TravelMarket, at JW Marco Island Beach Resort in southwest Florida, is a major show for travel agents. Scheduled participants included 100-plus top travel companies, including airlines, cruise lines, hotels, coach, rail, tour operators and others. More than 40 speakers and industry leaders were also expected to attend.
“Our role at TravelMarket was basically to produce the entire event turnkey,” says edgefactory President and CEO Brian Cole. “We created everything for all general sessions and breakout content like opening videos, animated show looks and speaker title card animations, awards presentations, deck templates, plus voiceover and sponsor loops.” His team also procured and managed all AV event technology and created an immersive environment outside the sessions, including dynamic digital signage, plus lighting and atmosphere, themed furniture, registration and an expo.
Learn More: An Update About Hurricane Recovery in the Southeastern U.S.—and How You Can Help
The Affluent Traveler Collection Symposium (ATC), a gathering of luxury travel specialists and preferred partners, was supposed to kick off TravelMarket. But with Hurricane Helene having just caused coastal flooding and storm-surge effects in the region and Hurricane Milton on the way, TravelMarket made the difficult decision to cancel the event after the ATC Symposium.
Still, many attendees, exhibitors and speakers were still on site. The mood, as you might expect, was anxious and getting more so. Cole describes what happened next: “Understanding that the attendance would be disappointed after traveling all that way to attend, we helped them throw a last hurrah to entertain the guests who were stuck. We called it the ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane Party,’ and our design and motion teams were able to turn around ‘80s rock and roll-themed graphics for all of our screen content inside and outside of the party room, all within the same day. The guests loved our graphics, to which we synched lighting, and we were able to make the most of a tough situation.”
Read More: Case Study: Edgefactory Goes Festival-themed in California
Nicole Mazza, Travelsavers chief marketing officer for the ATC show, credits edgefactory with “turning the situation into a wonderful opportunity for us to engage more with our attendees. Their creativity, agility and composure under pressure allowed the production to continue and the final product exceeded all expectations.”
What lessons does Cole draw from the experience? “Our M.O. is to be prepared for anything. During any event, anything can change, from agendas, to sponsors, to speakers, to the weather and when that happens, we make sure to have people on standby to make those real-time changes to content. Having those digital artists on site at your event to speed the process up even more is also a very worthwhile investment.”
He continues: “This is yet another great example of how digital content has the advantage over print. Digital content is flexible and adaptable, allowing you to repurpose your ‘canvas’ in a multitude of ways throughout your event vs. placing a print graphic up that remains unchanged the entire time your attendees are onsite. Prints might seem cheaper at first, but you get much more bang for your buck with digital signage in the long run.”
