From something as simple as lion dance, kabuki drop, pressing a button to trigger a movement accompanied by a confetti gun and music, to more complex acts like using Shaolin kung fu monks to perform aerial acts, splitting an ice sculpture to unveil “something” within, a man flying down from a false ceiling to a flying car—the fascination of the Chinese audience on having a “wow” launch moment truly intrigues me. Since the day the China office opened, we have come up with more launch moment ideas than all of our team members had in our entire history of event experiences put together.
I remembered once when we pitched our umpteen opening moment to a client, and it was finally accepted after previous attempts that included ideas for raining pallets, a model of a building rising from a trap door, using a remote control inflatable flying rocket, and mixing of different liquids to trigger a reaction to symbolize unity. Result: a troop of 88 dragon drummers, occupying an area of approximately 160sqm.
Irrespective of the scale of the event — more often than not, the winning formula still hinges on how big and unique this “wow” moment is. In China it’s as much about “the moment” as it is about “the message”.
Rebecca Lim, General Manager China, Jack Morton Worldwide
