By Eleanor Popham
Vivid Sydney is more than just an annual event that illuminates our CBD for three weeks in winter. It’s a major boost to tourism, but more importantly, a celebration of creative thinking and ideas.
Have you visited Vivid this year? It has been running for the last seven years and with the increase in social media usage, it is very common to see a sea of people all taking the same photo to post up on Instagram. This is very similar to the increase in competition to produce intriguing media content. With the change in the mediascape now having a networked audience, we no longer purely consume content but also produce it. This is very important for public relations practitioners to remember, as it encourages interactivity into all campaigns, whether it be live tweeting at an event or hash tagging about a product.
Vivid’s success can be attributed to its interactivity, with festival goers walking around light trails to view the variety of installations. The Vivid app launched in May and highlights how interactivity and social media are key facets of successful events. Vivid app users are encouraged to share their photos, own route and view others’, and this interactivity is evocative of social media and aspects of public relations that must be capitalised on.
The ‘You Are Here’ installation sponsored by Indeed.com and created by Hammer Lighting is a 4 metre sculpture centred on the concept of interactivity. Effective public relations is all about two way conversation, reciprocity and feedback. The installation reads #HowSelfiesWork and encourage users to upload pictures using the hashtag.
Despite sounding basic, ‘storytelling’ is an aspect of communications; both for journalism, public relations and advertising. Emphasis to create an angle that can be interpreted by a target audience is reminiscent of Vivid, turning the Sydney CBD city into a canvas.
Vivid Sydney is a reminder of the constant need for creativity in public relations. It’s clear that social media is a huge part of our daily lives with companies incorporating social media strategy into events. This enhances interactivity that should be a focal aspect of PR campaigns.
Be sure to check out Vivid, which wraps up on June 8th.
Image Credit: https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/11182090_968139866553464_7353582660312666004_n.jpg?oh=b6af91fa3025e87afaef89431f0e1770&oe=560CA056
http://www.vividsydney.com/sites/default/files/styles/570×320/public/How-Selfies-Work.jpg?itok=jq3x9ea1
