The fast-paced, fifth-annual executive awards event, attended by nearly 400 senior-level executives and other members of the association community, honored three of their own for their impact on their organizations, their industries, and the association community, as a whole.

The three categories at this yearly executive awards show are Trade Association CEO of the Year, Professional Society CEO of the Year, and Association Lobbyist of the Year.

In addition to building on the success from the previous year’s shows, CEO Update had several objectives for the fifth annual Association Leadership Awards show, including to make the program and honorees feel special, to elevate the CEO Update brand, to keep it to one hour, and to create an event that feels distinctive from past years.

Having worked on this event for the last five years, we know a lot about it and enjoy the challenge of keeping it fresh and engaging. Here’s how we continue to ensure this is a can’t-miss event year after year and continue to create anticipation for the next years’ event.

We knew we would get to do some fun graphics for this theme, so we needed a back drop that would make them pop! We opted for a projection-mapped, five-screen backdrop that gave us huge visual impact. Vertically-oriented screens hung in “steps” gave the stage dimension and made a huge, impactful statement in the room. Guests knew they had “arrived.” Then, all we needed was a podium for award presentations and talk-show seating for our hosts.

The five screens we’ve talked about begged for an amazing video. We challenged our video team and they rose to the occasion with an Archer inspired opening that pulled the silhouette detailing from the graphics package to introduce CEO Update’s CEO and editor-in-chief. Then, the team at LAI Video helped us re-think the traditional interview portion we’ve been including in the show for the previous four years. It’s nice to give honorees face time without long acceptance speeches and give the audience a chance to learn something from the winners. This year, inspired by the Hollywood Reporter Roundtable series, we got the honorees around a table in advance and turned the “best” of the conversations into a series of videos that ran as chapters throughout the show. This meant that the executives being honored didn’t have to prep for any kind of stage role at the event and could just sit back and enjoy the show.

Capitalizing on the theme, our team dove in and pulled the Mad Men vibe throughout the event experience. We sourced vintage mid-century modern sofas and chairs for the reception space to create unique conversation spaces, and consulted with our catering team to serve hors d’oeuvres like deviled eggs and shrimp cocktail. We also served bottled root beers and cream sodas from bar carts. Finally, to pull it all together, we hired a Frank Sinatra impersonator to sing on stage as guests arrived and give them a farewell serenade at the end. We pulled it off for the fifth year. Now what are we going to do for year six? (You’ll have to buy a table to find out…)

Do you have an upcoming event that the LAI Live and LAI Video teams can help with? Let us know by calling our team at 202-783-0300 or live chatting with a member of our team right now.