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The Event Process: A Strategic Approach to Developing Creative Concepts

Photo of eventThis year, we’re sharing some of the incredible events we’ve worked on which highlight both our proven operational capabilities and our expertise in other areas of the event management process.

The next step in the event process is developing creative and concepts through strategic planning.

The client – New Horizons

New Horizons is the experts in wellbeing, with specialist services spanning disability, mental health, youth, aged care, Indigenous and homelessness.

When the Australian Government introduced changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), New Horizons needed to find new and innovative ways to market their services and build brand awareness.

SoldOut was engaged to create an event and marketing campaign that would achieve this.

Our approach

Firstly, SoldOut worked with New Horizons on their strategy to identified their business goals, target audience, and desired outcomes. This formed the foundation for SoldOut to then develop concepts that were aligned to the whole business. Instead of just pitching some ‘cool event ideas’, the strategic review and planning process allowed us to refine the concepts and ideas so they were relevant.

We developed the concept of connecting New Horizon’s clientele, many who have difficulty travelling and are often confined, with the great outdoors, through the use of Virtual Reality (VR) technology. By using VR, people with a disability were able to visit National Parks around Australia including the Great Barrier Reef; places they may never have been able to visit.

While New Horizon’s digital agency Mammal Advertising created the technical elements, SoldOut used its network to engage stakeholders in this world-first concept including Google, Tourism Australia and QANTAS to assist with content, and created a public awareness event.

The event – New Horizons’ Parallel Parks

SoldOut transformed Martin Place, Sydney into a virtual park where members of the public could explore Australia’s finest National Parks. New Horizons then used the technology in their wellbeing programs.

The outcome

Google praised the initiative as one of the first leading applications of VR in medical treatment.

New Horizons won the “Best use of Technology” award at the Parks and Leisure Australia Awards of Excellence. Parallel Parks was hailed as Australia’s first VR project to enable people with disability to experience previously inaccessible parts of Australia’s National Parks and feel immersed in nature.

By working with the client at the strategic planning stage, SoldOut were able to provide concepts and ideas that not only met the client’s goals but that were strategic for event partners and event delivery.