Entain: A TV format to overcome conference challenges

Client: Entain

Scope: Video and animation

Understanding the client

As the parent company of Ladbrokes and Coral bookmakers amongst other brands, Entain has a disparate, field-based workforce of more than 24,000 employees.

Talking directly to shop staff located from Aberdeen to Southampton was a particular challenge during coronavirus restrictions, but we used all of our experience to help achieve it in a creative way.

Gathering insights and expertise

Before COVID-19, Entain would get its retail colleagues together for a face-to-face conference, delivering key messages and driving engagement. Conscious of pandemic challenges and mindful of the way in which businesses have switched to more environmentally-friendly delivery techniques, we worked closely with the client to understand specific challenges and develop a better solution. That solution was ambitious but impactful – a pre-recorded, TV-style conference, featuring a live studio audience, that could be watched directly by Entain’s retail network back in their own stores.

Collaborating to meet objectives

This was much more than a corporate video. Using four cameras with autocue and a live audience of selected Entain employees, the ‘show’ was filmed over one day at the Royal Society of Arts in London. Every detail was carefully planned and delivered by the CWA team, from event logistics and lighting, to prompts and camerawork – right down to the comedian to keep the audience entertained during technical breaks.

The objective was to deliver a TV-style format that would feel unscripted, but that came with inevitable challenges. Shooting with a live audience - in a venue that was not designed to be a TV studio - really tested the calibre of our experienced video team.

Delivering added-value results

Going above and beyond the client’s expectations at the outset, CWA produced a stunning two-hour video that was broken into 10-20 minutes chunks to be played in stores across a week, each focusing on a different area of the business. A bloopers video was also developed, adding extra personality to what was already an engaging campaign.