Returning to the same gig year after year is never a straightforward task. While the temptation might be to rip up the blueprint and start afresh every year to appease the external demands for constant innovation, often a more prudent and logical approach is to build on the foundations that were laid in previous years. This was certainly view of People CEO, Tim Elliott, whose company was recently invited back to produce the Opening Ceremony of the UAE President’s Cup for the second year in a row.
“We started this project last year knowing that the story of the President’s Cup was not one to change every year, but one to evolve over time,” he began. “We believe that the ceremony and the content around the ceremony can be consistent and become recognised and known for being the essence of the President’s Cup. We don’t want to reinvent the wheel every year, but rather build on what we already have.”
The People team started the creative process for this year by first looking at last year’s starting point, which was around aligning the President’s Cup to the values of the then new President, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan. Building on those values set out in last year’s show, they developed three “messaging nuances” – lifelong learning, diversity in sport, and friendly rivalry – that would underpin everything on this year’s ceremony. “Taking those three key messages, we continued from last year to create a consistent show,” Elliott recalled.
Photos: People
