Client: John Lewis
Location: Birmingham, London, Edinburgh
Type: Live in-person and streamed online
Expertise: Employee Experience – engagement & culture
Services: Consultancy, creative campaign, event, creative content & storytelling
all projectsmcm were asked to deliver a relevant, fun and exciting focal point event for 10,000 staff that would recognise the milestone achievement of a 150th anniversary – celebrating success, embracing heritage and making reference to the future.
the challenge
The biggest concern of the client was to ensure that the celebratory element of the event didn’t overshadow the core message and importance of recognising such a significant landmark anniversary. To ensure this demand was met we crafted the content of the 2 hour show around two key words – education and entertainment.
As a solution, every part of the programme had relevance to the brand, with the company’s history told in a series of five-minute performances featuring up to 100 actors, dancers and performers interacting with high definition screens and archive imagery. Entertainment was delivered by musical artists who had recorded tracks for the brands commercials – headlined by Paloma Faith
The sheer scale of the event – 10,000 seated guests in the arena, alongside upwards of 50,000 employees watching at home or in their branches – added to the complexity of the challenge. In addition, two remote locations were also linked live into the main arena show.
the results
The project was deemed a great success. The event won the C&IT Internal Communications Event of the Year & Overall Creative Event of the Year. There was an incredibly high level of positive feedback from attendees on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, along with a high level of demand for the DVD and online views post event.
“a truly magnificent milestone in the history of John Lewis – the stuff of legends
John Lewis
Director of Communications
