Among our foundational environmental, social and governance goals, we aim to become a climate-neutral, environmentally conscious business—and a catalyst for change in our industry, leading by example and helping brands become more sustainable themselves. So while programs like carbon offsets are steps in the right direction, the key to meeting sustainable goals is to design operations that limit carbon emissions to begin with, and our live remote production workstream fits the bill.

Sustainable workstreams shouldn’t be a tradeoff.

Sometimes the road to being green can feel like making a series of concessions, but working sustainably often means working smarter. When reliance on digital grew throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, we adapted by designing a remote broadcasting workflow that limited the number of people needed on location. This production pipeline, with Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its backbone, did more than help us deliver incredible, live digital experiences to people everywhere—like immersing audiences in a VR Post Malone performance that transforms the experience of listening to an album. It also significantly reduced our carbon footprint.

Our live remote production connects teams to broadcasting software, eliminating the need for gas-guzzling broadcasting trucks on location. It also cuts out the need for specialized talent to travel to shoot an event: we’ve reduced our number of on-site broadcast talent by 83%. Adding to those benefits, our primary workload is based out of the AWS Northern Virginia region, which was powered by over 95% renewable in 2021.

Who wouldn’t want to trade lugging around energy-intensive equipment prone to breaking down—be careful not to trip on a wire and shut down the whole show!—for the cloud? This pipeline recently earned us the coveted Sustainability in Leadership award at NAB Show, the leading conference dedicated to the evolution of broadcast.

The benefits extend to talent as well. Gone are the long, grueling hours spent on set. The ability to collaborate remotely broadens our talent pool, ensuring the best person is cast for each job, even if they’re working across the country—or in a different one. Our experiential team has also developed a suite of tools like LiveXP that furthers the connection between audiences and the action beyond the screen.

One key benefit of live remote production is risk mitigation. First, the greatly diminished environmental impact reduces the social risk of a brand missing their pledged environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments. Second, cloud-based tools are also more reliable. Traditional broadcast production teams have only a finite set of equipment that may break down. In the cloud, we can plan for redundancies and quickly spin up a new virtual machine should something happen to an existing one. You can learn more about what live remote production looks like on Amazon’s blog. 

Let sustainability be the byproduct of innovation.

Sustainability and innovation go hand in hand, and our low carbon, live remote production uniquely enables compelling virtual and hybrid experiences—filling a crucial whitespace in broadcasting as the culture shifts to more immersive and creator-led channels.

“Broadcasting is culture. It’s the vehicle by which culture spreads,” says Smithingham. Increasingly, culture is happening within immersive, interactive spaces like gaming, social feeds and metaverse worlds—behaviors that are challenging broadcasting to adapt. “A core undercurrent across all of this is if something is not interactive to younger generations, it feels broken and it feels disconnected.”

Look at award shows for example. Exclusive and invite-only, viewers must watch the fun from a mediated distance, chattering in backchannels like social media. We flipped the script by partnering with Logitech For Creators to host the first music award show in the metaverse—The Song Breaker Awards—which invited everyone to not only attend but actually become part of the show in Roblox.

What about hybrid experiences? When it comes to sharing an esports experience with audiences around the world, you’d be forgiven for using traditional sports broadcast as a blueprint. But with sports facing a decline in young viewership, it’s clear the formula is worth shaking up. In celebration of Valorant’s first anniversary, we translated the game’s rich lore into a recognizable IRL environment, then pit attendees against livestream viewers in a challenging bout. Viewers could frustrate on-site players by sharing hashtags in the chat that triggered traps—setting a new precedent for gamified broadcast experiences.

Both experiences were designed to connect with consumers in ways that weren’t possible before. If an experience calls for disruptive ways of working, why not use that as a forcing function to move a part of the operations to a low-carbon approach?

Live remote production balances efficiency and sustainability.

By leveraging live remote production, our experiential team can deliver interactive experiences that drive culture and ROI with incredible efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the process. The best part? Those benefits contribute directly to brands’ ESG goals and industry mandates. This is a win-win as we connect with consumers in innovative ways, contribute to carbon reduction goals, and reduce risk along the way.

As consumers increasingly demand sustainability from the brands they engage with, offering environmentally friendly solutions becomes an urgent need. And because sustainability challenges us to accomplish our goals in new or different ways, it can unlock innovative ways of reaching audiences. So, whether it’s a matter of saving the planet or simply saving consumers from boredom in fresh ways, we’re down for the challenge.

During the pandemic doldrums, we all saw how difficult it can be to translate the magic of in-person events from the stage to the screen—but increasingly immersive platforms solve these challenges by enabling a sense of presence within. While not a replacement for the experiences that inspire them, these activations can level up their ambition and become strategic, long-term additions to a brand’s digital strategy. Here’s how two brands were able to transform iconic IRL experiences into significant, long-term elements of their digital experience strategy.

Start with community.

 Metaverse spaces serve as environments where people can connect with one another in real time, much like events in the real world. In fact, communal experiences are a hallmark of successful metaverse-related activations and Web3 projects, making community building a key design consideration. This was the case for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which we marched into the realm of Web3 with a virtual recreation of New York’s Fifth Avenue—the IRL route for the parade—and a series of galleries featuring NFTs inspired by the parade’s iconic balloons and other popular projects like Cool Cats, VeeFriends and more.

Throughout its history, the parade has brought more and more people together through mass media channels: originally broadcast locally in New York in 1939, today more than 44 million people watch the parade each year. By building an immersive space where people can interact and engage with one another, even more attendees could enjoy the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in a totally new way no matter where they are: the event brought in over 90,000 users.

And for some virtual attendees, that’s just the start of the journey. With the ability to buy NFTs from some of the most popular projects, each with their own communities built around them, those who make a purchase are initiated into new entrepreneurial or artistic social circles.

Add value and cohesion through interoperability.

Culture doesn’t happen in a silo, so neither should a brand activation. One of the key promises of metaverse and Web3 technology is interoperability, or the ability of two or more systems to exchange and use information. Interoperability can mean enabling compatibility between different platforms or—perhaps more compelling for virtualizing IRL experiences—seamlessly bringing together both the real and virtual worlds.

For that latter point, look at ComplexLand, a 3D digital platform inspired by ComplexCon—the cultural mecca bringing together the Complex Networks community, the hottest cultural trends and hype-fueled brands. Reimagined in a virtual format, ComplexLand provided a seamless shopping experience so attendees could fill both their physical wardrobes along with their virtual ones. Attendees could even unlock food deliveries by interacting with virtual food trucks parked throughout the world, bringing a little piece of the IRL festival experience to audiences from afar.

When it comes to interoperability in the more technical sense, the virtual Thanksgiving Day Parade was designed for attendees to take a little something with them across the metaverse. After purchasing an NFT, visitors could carry them into other worlds thanks to blockchain technology. They also had the chance to vote for which NFT project on display deserved to become a balloon in next year’s IRL show, further bridging together the real and virtual world (Cool Cats ultimately won).

Build towards the future.

As metaverse spaces mature and the hype cycle winds down, brands are beginning to look beyond one-and-done activations for ways to build meaningful interactions that fuel long-term value. From setting the foundation for new revenue streams to iterating toward increasingly sophisticated metaverse experiences, reimagining an event can become a springboard for innovation.

You can trace this concept in action through the evolution of ComplexLand, with each annual edition building on those of previous years. Originally launched in 2019, the first ComplexLand was a single-player experience, though the following year added more opportunities for attendees to engage with others: sharing drops, having one-to-one conversations and interacting with branded non-player characters. This year’s version added Web3 capabilities—like minting NFTs—to enable new forms of connection and creative expression. The journey has led ComplexLand to become Complex Networks’ second-largest source of revenue and a key part of its events strategy.

The virtual Thanksgiving Day Parade similarly builds on Macy’s earlier Web3 efforts. Last year, the retailer celebrated the 95th anniversary of the parade by launching a series of 9,500 NFTs based on classic balloons. The addition of the immersive parade route and NFT galleries not only brings the magic of the holiday season to people everywhere; and introduces new audiences to both virtual spaces and NFTs.

Build in authenticity by seizing the spirit of the event.

Finally, consider the overall purpose of your event or activation. Reinforcing a sense of purpose helps build authenticity into the overall experience. Macys captured the spirit of Thanksgiving with their virtual parade by donating all proceeds from NFT purchases to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting mentoring relationships for youth.

From the abstract world of ComplexLand to a virtual Fifth Avenue, both Complex Networks and Macy’s were able to expand the reach and relevance of their iconic IRL events. At the very least, these reimagined experiences offered moments of surprise to those familiar with their original in-person iterations. But more significantly, they serve as iterative steps that symbolize both brands’ willingness to continue building maturity in Web3 and the metaverse. By folding their core values into features that are inherently unique to the space, both brands authentically set the stage to meet digital-native audiences where they’re at.

Compared to other regions in the northern side of the world, Covid-19 vaccines are rolling out a bit slower in South America. Therefore, Brazilian brands may not deem it necessary to start thinking about in-person events yet. But sooner or later, the distancing rules established by the pandemic will be lifted completely—and by the time that happens, brands will have to be fully prepared to retake the physical scene, or fall behind their competition.

As Partner and Business Director at Media.Monks, I work hand in hand with our global virtual events and experiential team. I’ve seen how excited some brands are to give consumers onsite experiences, but I’m also aware of the countless benefits that virtualization has brought to our industry. There’s no way of knowing exactly how the upcoming months will play out, but one thing is certain: as we move forward, marketers will have to bring the best of both worlds to provide real value to their consumers. 

The Rise of Hybrid Experiences

When I look back at what we’ve accomplished since the start of last year, I can barely wrap my head around it. Together with my experiential team, we’ve developed online museums, virtual carnivals, hosted the World Press Freedom Conference and more. Each of these experiences were conceived at a time when virtualization was the only option; now, just think of the myriads of options we’ll have at hand once we add physical elements to the equation.

Take hybrid experiences, for example, a model that’s blurring the lines between the possible and impossible with experiences that haven’t been thought of before. By definition, hybrid experiences involve an in-person experience augmented with virtual elements. How these come together depends on your goals as a marketer: it’s all about leveraging the benefits of both online and offline experiences and adapting it to your requirements. The digital element can be as small as a digital exchange of contact information with attendees, or as big as a robust virtual platform broadcasting an in-person conference to remote audiences. 

Naturally, different setups will have different costs, but with a more flexible range of possibilities, brands don’t need the largest budget in the market to deliver compelling experiences. The right combination of in-person value and online amplification can be more cost-effective than just another broadcast or purely offline installation.

One Small Step for Marketers, One Giant Leap for Sustainability

It goes without saying that social distancing taught us a lot about how to both keep production going and engage with audiences remotely. Virtualization allowed us to bring people together in unexpected ways, tearing down the physical barriers to meet faraway audiences. That desire to fuel online amplification while safeguarding consumers’ ability to interact with a brand is what gave way to the development and release of LiveXP—our internal tool that connects audiences and performers by enabling true two-way communication. 

Tools like LiveXP allow brands to give virtual events a deeper level of interactivity, and have paved the way for digital events of the highest caliber. BRIC’s Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival is a great example of this: for its 2020 edition, one of New York City’s longest-running outdoor performing arts festivals became a digital destination where everyone around the globe could meet from home. The purely digital experience extended the local event beyond a single location—and when in-person concerts return, one can imagine the value in connecting people from afar will remain. I strongly believe these types of experiences are not going anywhere.

We can go hybrid on the production front, too. In the last year and a half, we’ve built up a muscle for getting the show on the road with fewer people on site and less need for traveling. Not only is this cost-effective; it also supports our commitment to sustainability, as travel is one of the biggest contributors to an event’s carbon footprint. Think about it: what’s the use of flying an entire team across the country when you can easily keep production going remotely? This will be a permanent change of mindset, not just a response to the pandemic.

Leaving the Door Open for Creativity

As we move toward hybrid experiences, sanitation guidelines will continue to play a bigger role. Commitment to safety will go beyond producing remotely; brands will have to make sure they’re doing everything they can to keep people safe in front of and behind the scenes, going as far as hiring a Covid-19 compliance officer. 

The implementation of sanitary guidelines can be intimidating for some, but don’t shy away from them. Think about how they can give way to creative opportunities and innovation. Only a few weeks ago, Pepsi inaugurated a permanent exhibition at a theme park in Pennsylvania that uses gesture-based technology. This experience, made in collaboration with Jam3, wouldn’t have ended up being as unique without the need for touchless interactivity.

Nowadays, both brands and audiences want to be more efficient with their time and resources, which is a key reason why hybrid experiences will take the main stage in upcoming years. With hybrid platforms, brands can virtually deliver more content with less physical or monetary constraints, while simultaneously combining the thrill and excitement of onsite action. Or they can leverage virtual platforms to include more diverse audiences through greater accessibility. 

Hybrid experiences are more than another option to add to the marketing mix. They’re the natural response to how consumers are interacting and engaging with the world around them, and a way for brands to meet them where they are. There’s a new, expanded universe of opportunities before us to connect with consumers, and technology is on our side to deliver those innovative experiences that will remain engraved on their memories—whether they experience it physically, virtually or both.

This article was originally published in Portuguese by Fast Company Brazil.