Event Marketer Spring 2022 - 32

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IDEAS
SNOW DAY IN L.A.
Behind the scenes of NBC Sports' one-day winter wonderland activation
TOTALLY CHILL: NBC
Sports celebrated its 'Once
in a Lifetime' campaign by
producing a once-in-a-lifetime
weather event-snow in L.A.
IT WAS A TYPICAL " 72 and sunny " kind
of day in Los Angeles on Jan. 31-unless
you were passing through the main courtyard
at Santa Monica Place. The L.A. hot
spot was transformed into a winter wonderland
with real-life snow on the ground,
and snow intermittently falling from the
sky. But this wasn't a freak weather phenomenon;
it was an intricate stunt delivered
by NBC Sports and its production partner,
GDX Studios. The activation was inspired
by the overlapping of this year's Super Bowl
EARLY JANUARY
GDX conducts a series of Santa
Monica Place site visits to ensure
the stunt can be pulled off in that
location. The team ensures the
broadcast set can be oriented
for maximum effect, the proper
power sources are in order and
that there are secure points on
the multi-level mall's rooftop to
install snow cannons that create
a snowfall effect.
JAN. 30 | 8 P.M.
JAN. 28 | ALL DAY
The snow cannons are
installed and hidden on Santa
Monica Place's third-level roof
well ahead of the stunt to keep
the production schedule on
track. Their snowfall capabilities
are tested out.
It's go-time. Trucks roll up,
and the team begins loading
in tools and materials. Santa
Monica Place closes at 7 p.m.,
so the crew waits an hour for
the open-air mall to clear out
before beginning work. A faux
gridiron turf is the first activation
element installed.
JAN. 30 | 9 P.M.
Large props, like a custom Super Bowl
LVI/Winter Olympics logo installation
built by 760 Display, and audiovisual
equipment, are unloaded and installed.
At this time, the team has to coordinate
ingress and egress access for trucks so
that a vehicle doesn't get blocked by the
next truck when it's time to depart.
32
EVENT MARKETER SPRING 2022
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with the Winter Olympics, both of which
were broadcast by the network. The rare
convergence of the two tentpole events
served as fuel for NBC's " Once in a Lifetime "
campaign, which included the L.A.
snow day-a once-in-a-lifetime weather
event for Angelenos, many of whom had
never touched snow.
Thanks to a partnership with the
" Today " show, the snow stunt was amplified
nationally. Weatherman Al Roker reported
live from Santa Monica Place in the wee
hours of the morning (the show is set to
East Coast time) as the snow fell, kicking
off the experience before consumers were
invited on-site. Local news stations and
affiliates followed suit, reporting live from
the winter landscape, and helping to scale
the activation's reach. Adding to the buzz
around the stunt were snowstorms pounding
the Midwest and Northeast regions of
the U.S., making L.A.'s own snow day that
much more relevant.
When the site opened up to the public,
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Event Marketer Spring 2022

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