The Client

Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Walt Disney Studios) and ABC.

What were the client’s primary objectives for this event or experiential program?

To create a hip/unique themed Media event for the official DVD release of LOST: Season One. The key objective was to generate maximum awareness and interest for the DVD Box set, scheduled to be released in 3 weeks.

Who was the target audience?

Our target audience was Press, Show Talent and VIP’s to create news compelling to consumers about the LOST Season One DVD. Ultimately, the coverage provided by the Press would be seen by fans of LOST and begin “seeding” anticipation for the DVD release.

EVENT CONCEPT

To celebrate the DVD release of LOST, we created an event that tied a variety of themes found in the show into a truly spectacular LOST experience. Our party location, situated beneath the natural canopy of a giant Banyan Tree on the Turtle Bay Resort property, was specifically selected due to its remote nature which critical to the look and feel of the event. Since the most crucial part of making this Media event a success was guest experience, our goal was to be clever and create “the unexpected” for our attendees.  

The “journey” began with a tongue-in-cheek “Oceanic Airlines” tram-ride to the event location, featuring “OA”-branded boarding passes for pre-assigned “departure” times from our airport ticket counter (erected in the resort’s valet area) with kitschy-scripted flight attendants to set the mood. Once guests arrived at the location surrounded by lush, jungle- foliage, they witnessed a spectacular party brimming with mysterious imagery from the series. From themed food areas to a “wine bar bunker” inspired by “the French Woman,” in the show, our guests were awed by the level of detail; including a live caged wild boar, random baggage and scattered items amongst the trees, scrolling LED “lotto numbers”, shaken trees with random screeches emanating from the jungle and a rocking performance by local band (and cast favorite), “Slug.” This was truly a party to remember and the Media coverage supported that enthusiasm.

GETTING THE WORD OUT

In a truly brilliant move, Disney arranged travel for major entertainment anchors to the resort from around the world and matched them up with local camera crews for technical support, thereby reducing travel costs while taking full advantage of the resulting coverage. Moreover, they secured sponsorships with the Turtle Bay Resort, Red Bull and Hypnotiq further reducing the event’s overall costs.

In addition to the attending media, the event was filmed by a B-roll crew and broadcast via satellite VNR packages to the top 150 markets across the United States and Canada.

Any other important factors that were meaningful to the success of the program? What was unique? What was wild and new? What technology was leveraged?

PRE-ARRIVAL:  “WELCOME TO OCEANIC AIRLINES”

When guests arrived at the Turtle Bay Resort, they were given an “Oceanic Airlines” ticket and welcome packet which Disney pre-staged in their rooms. Assembling near the valet area at a pre-assigned time, guests were greeted by costumed Oceanic Airlines flight attendants, who directed them to Oceanic Airlines ticket counter attendants (BVHE staff) who separated the perforated tickets and placed their boarding pass into a clear passenger lanyard, serving as the Event Pass to enter the party.
 
Unsure of their final destination, guests were pleasantly surprised by an open-air tram abruptly pulling onto the “runway” (also branded to Oceanic Airlines), with yet another smiling stewardess to welcome them aboard. The onboard attendant invited guests to take their seats, while making a series of humorous announcements to set the mood.
 
Our sarcastically-witty “flight script” was timed to the 15-minute journey from resort to party, even warning guests of impending turbulence, for example, just before hitting a particularly rocky 10-second stretch of road winding out into the middle of the Hawaiian jungle.

AN UNSETTLING ARRIVAL: YOU’RE LOST!

Our guests “landed” to offload unexpectedly into a wide-open field of semi-darkness with a solo AirStar (a giant floating light balloon) officially pronouncing them LOST in large black letters, like some other-worldly moon.

A 300’ path of flickering tiki torches flanked by dark jungle led to the press area – so guests had to “navigate” their way by firelight whilst intimidating, beastly noises emanated from the surrounding wilderness via a distributed sound system we’d positioned along the walk.

Guests then encountered the press interview space, featuring a logo-branded step-and-repeat wall dressed out with camouflage netting. In keeping with the feel of the show, our “carpet” line consisted of bare earth, but specialty ENG lighting was employed to guarantee the best light levels for covering media. Press response was much higher than originally anticipated, but we were able to lengthen the press line part-way through the event (by resourcefully redeploying two Taylor Dunn Electric Utility Carts as additional press platforms with some duvetyn fabric masking).

IMPACTFUL PARTY ELEMENTS

A series of "AirStars" tucked into the tree canopy to achieve a "moonlight wash" over the area, and these large balloons featured custom covers with the LOST logo. High-tech moving lights were supported by the existing Banyan Tree branches, so LOST logo projections would scan across the jungle floor and up into the canopy.

White, fitted tablecloths with high-contrast black LOST lettering adorned the seated tables. Cocktail stand-up tables made from Sono-tube housed internal light sources reflecting through plexiglass branded with the LOST logo to resemble the eerie series' opening sequence.

Interactive food stations staffed by chefs in full formal white regalia (another unexpected visual) included many types of cuisine: a Wok station found deeper inside the jungle; an exciting live Sushi prep station; and a designer smores station that could only be discovered by exploring the beach path down to a massive bonfire, where guests roasted marshmallows before combining them with unexpected ingredients, lavishly displayed in formal silver serving-ware atop pristine white linen.
 
We created a unique wine-tasting environment, themed to the mysterious “French Woman,” Danielle. The wine bar featured sommeliers in a bunker-like cavern formed by the Banyan Tree and propped out with barrels and other wreckage items. Guests sampled Australian and Californian wines (a wink to the show’s fateful flight from Australia destined for Los Angeles), while Danielle’s SOS “transmission” was subtly broadcast in the background, repeating en français in a continuous loop.
 
Another exciting element was the LIVE WILD BOAR housed in an enclosure made entirely of “scavenged” materials, such as bamboo, rope, chicken wire and even some sticks off the ground.
 
The centerpiece of the party was a large stage, backed by a massive plane fuselage, custom-fabricated with a wing section and branded to LOST. Go-Go dancers attired in boots, tank top and camouflage shorts (like the Evangeline Lily character), rocked out atop platforms near the plane’s remains, where stark light beams and smoke effects emanated from within the smashed fuselage, creating a dramatic “crash backdrop” for our band.
 
The highlight of the evening was a live performance by the hip and extremely popular local band, “Slug.” In keeping with Sawyer’s “rebel feel,” the band performed a combination of cover songs and original music, all in the vein of Southern Rock. (Through our research, we’d discovered that this particular band is a cast favorite!) A DJ playing tongue-in-cheek airplane-themed music, (“Leaving on a Jet Plane,” etc.) provided additional audio ambience for the party until the band took the stage to play.

OVERCOMING LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES

The party concept and venue were kept secret from all but our client. Nobody knew what to expect beyond being told to arrive at the valet area at an appointed time for “departure.”
 
Departures had to be precisely staggered for guests (boarding passes came in extra handy) as there were only two open-air trams, each seating 60 people. Further, the trams required prohibitive space to turn around, which required establishing a one-road-in/one-road-out approach to prevent collisions with celebrity limos for the 13 cast members also accessing the space.
 
Typically used strictly for filming LOST, our Media event was the first ever held in the massive Banyan Tree space. Although this film location was a great press hook for our event, we were tasked with coordinating this event without impacting its visual integrity for LOST filming (due to resume in about a week’s time). Consequently, much went into pest abatement, natural debris removal, and even re-grading some surfaces for guest safety.
 
The party perimeter was established through placement of scenic elements around naturally occurring end points – fitting the stage between a fallen tree and a thicket of brush, etc - so that guests could not accidentally wander off and truly become LOST in the jungle themselves!
 
Several planned light positions had to be relocated due to dead branches that could not hold the weight; however, the dust was an even greater issue. Of course, we managed to work out the lighting in the end, but our crew looked like they had been rolled in dirty flour!

Lastly, the remoteness of this location necessitated bringing in portable everything - restrooms, power generators, catering tents, and much more. In the end, the extra effort for this location was truly effective in setting the mood.

THE RESULTS

The event was tremendously successful in achieving Media coverage for the LOST DVD. We generated over 159MM consumer impressions with press coverage on key media outlets such as “Access Hollywood,” “USA Today,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “KTLA” (who broadcasted live from the venue), “Extra,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” etc. Furthermore, our Media event was more than 10 times effective than a straight advertising buy. As a result, our Media event successfully created “heat” for the DVD release and helped propel LOST Season One DVD to the #2 selling TV-on-DVD in 2005 and the #1 Network Drama DVD release of the year.

Importantly, the Press coverage featured enthusiastic reviews by the show talent and creators who expressed their excitement about the DVD’s upcoming release. By teasing some of the secret “bonus” features that were contained in the LOST Box set, the Press coverage created enormous, “viral” word-of-mouth impact among viewers and fans of the show.