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Marisa At this year’s CASE District II Conference in Baltimore, Phil and Marisa presented alongside our clients from Syracuse University, Kim Infanti and Chris Velardi, about the 16 hour broadcast we produced for last year’s Syracuse University Giving Day. It was our chance to get in front of folks at other institutions and talk about how and why producing a live show enhances a Giving Day!
The SU team was presented with a daunting task: to think BIG when it came to their 2023 Giving Day – which was, at that time, called Boost the ‘Cuse. So, why not go live all day, every hour on the hour? SU had the unique opportunity to incorporate a host that knows all about this: Scott Hanson. He is the host of NFL RedZone and a Syracuse alum. His involvement made securing buy-in from across the university and other alumni easier!
There are many reasons that producing a live show for Giving Day was beneficial for SU. Mainly, it allowed them to highlight impact across the entire university by hearing directly from alumni, faculty, and students. It gave people a platform to speak about the cool things that were going on at SU whether it was about research, new programs, athletic success, or highlighting what alum are doing in the world. This also gave them an excuse to connect with these alums, and get their foot in the door for further conversations about giving. Overall, the live show showcased giving in an exciting and celebratory way. It created a unique excitement around the event!
To start, Syracuse came to us with a dream list, basically their ideal wants for the show. People they wanted to involve, topics & themes they wanted to cover, videos they wanted to incorporate, etc. From there, our team created a cohesive rundown that grouped all of these things in a way that made sense. Then, SU started outreach and scheduling to confirm everyone’s involvement and solidify the show. Our rundown changed DAILY. Both the SU and 5TP teams had to be flexible and communicate effectively to keep organized (because keeping track of 16 hours worth of content is a big undertaking…)
Over the course of 16 hours, we conducted 32 interviews (live and pre-recorded) with over 30 guests. SU tapped into their wide network of notable alum, as well as talking to deans, coaches, students, and professors. Those who couldn’t sit down for an interview recorded short “hellos”, or shoutouts, that we rolled into the show. Sometimes, these involved tapping into the alums’ specialties. For example, one alum, who is a singer, submitted a video of himself singing Happy Birthday to the university. In one of our live interviews, an alum who is a chef made guacamole while being interviewed by Scott. It was all about finding other interesting ways to feature the people involved in the show.
The show also incorporated student performances, live hits from around campus (and from an alumni event live in Boston), pre-produced content, and more. We hosted the show from 2 different sets: the first was home base in the television studio with Scott Hanson, and the second was in the student center with a student host. It was one big SU day celebrating everything that it meant to be Orange!
Want to know how you can enhance your day of giving like Syracuse did? We’d love to help out!
And check out our presentation from CASE below!
