Hosted by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the Advertising Hall of Achievement recognizes top young thought leaders making a significant impact on the advertising industry and their communities. To bring the annual awards ceremony to a broader audience (and because of COVID-19), the formerly live event shifted online in 2020; we were challenged to conceptualize and deliver an emotional and engaging virtual program that honored each 2020 inductee while providing space to recognize sponsors and highlight the mission of the AAF.

For this project, we had two key objectives. Firstly, transform the event into a virtual experience without losing the emotion of witnessing an inductee being recognized in person. Secondly, bring the program to a broader audience, including top media agencies, advertisers, and families.

To achieve these objectives, our approach included:

• Concepting and producing the 90 minute awards show video broadcast live on YouTube
• Managing the speaker briefings to guide inductees and emcees through writing and recording their acceptance speeches and scripts at home, capitalizing on their emotions
• Creating a three minute opening animation video to kick off the show and recognize sponsors
• Creation of AAF branded graphics and animated interstitials
• Final edit of all content for online premiere
• Create a space for audience engagement during the broadcast via a live comments feed

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