Poets & Writers Gala

In our second year working with Poets & Writers on their annual gala, we translated the successes of the virtual pre-recorded program in 2021 to engage both in-person and online audiences at their elegant affair at Pier Sixty and livestream to YouTube. Throughout the pre-production process we advised the event team on show flow and content to achieve the organization’s audience retention and engagement goals. To retain online viewership we implemented tape-delayed playback of host and comedian Seth Meyers’ opening remarks, allowing us to avoid any pauses in programming for livestream viewers while in-person attendees were served dinner. We also helped Poets & Writers incorporate videos to keep the program dynamic for both audiences throughout the night, including a montage video highlighting Poets & Writers’ impact and programs, as well as speeches and readings from honorees Sonia Sanchez and James Patterson, who could not attend in person.

For the 2021 pre-recorded virtual gala, we produced a tightly paced event, edited to have the look and feel of a live program. In addition to remotely producing segments with host Stacey Abrams and P&W leadership, we incorporated guest performances and created four montage segments from self-filmed videos provided by distinguished authors across the country, all edited to flow effortlessly with an interview segment featuring honoree Oprah Winfrey. 

 

Thank you for your brilliant work on P&W’s gala. We couldn’t be more pleased with how everything came together, and the livestream far exceeded our expectations. The biggest complaint we heard was that the event was too short—which is something we never thought we’d hear about any gala, let alone a virtual one. We’ve had multiple board members tell us it’s the best job the organization has ever done in telling the story about the work we do.

—Rachel Schuder, Director, Development & Marketing, Poets & Writers