Making a corporate event feel like TV
Scripting a shiny floor talent show host and announcer voiceover
The client
Sledge and O2
The challenge
O2 hosted an internal talent competition called “O2’s Got Talent” to find their most gifted staff members. Our events agency client, Sledge, wanted a celebrity presenter to host the show, who could generate excitement and build a supportive environment among the head office employees watching - and the thousands tuned in online. With a tight deadline and on-site support required, it was our job to write a script that captured the presenter’s style and held the show together.
The solution
After watching lots of clips of Rylan Clark-Neal on This Morning and X Factor, and listening to the legendary Alan Dedicoat talk about lottery balls and dancing, we got down to work. We created a script that captured Rylan’s cheeky, chatty and bubbly style. We poked fun at the show’s derivative format, Brexit and of course Rylan himself. We also made sure that the host encouraged the audience to be as complementary towards the amateur acts as possible – after all, it was an internal staff competition! All this teed up a positive atmosphere for those involved and for those watching in the studio and online.
The writing
"As you can see, this is a completely original - and in no way derivative - talent show.
Which is great, cause there’s some rubbish on TV these days isn’t there?!
These celebs who are famous for being famous… I mean…"
The results
The event won a silver Evcom award for Internal Brand Communications and we had one very happy client.
“Thanks so much for all your help on this event, it has gone down brilliantly with O2. It seems everyone is still talking about it! You and Fraser have been a dream team working on this; you nailed Rylan perfectly and have been so accommodating with all the changes! I really can’t thank you both enough, it has been such a pleasure to work with you on this.”
The credits
Copywriting agency: Barnaby Benson Copywriting London
Copywriter: Barnaby Benson and Fraser Coupland
Agency: Sledge
Client: O2
