How do you tell the story of a Children's Charity in a fun and refreshing way?

1. A Collective Vow Is Made
An experiential branding
case study by Lee Changzhi
www.leechangzhi.com
Info@leechangzhi.com

2. If you are planning for a year,
sow rice; if you are planning
for a decade, plant trees; if
you are planning for a lifetime,
educate people. – Chinese Proverb

3. The Goal:
“Create an event that will
help us raise pledges for
local children’s charities.
”
The Concert Cousins Foundation in 2010 engaged us to create an experience
that will raise the amount of pledges made in previous years. They wanted an
event that would not only look pretty but conceptually interesting and get guest
to participate to contribute to the evening.
We decided to brand the event ‘A Collective Vow’ - to celebrate the possibilities
that come when people work as a collective, and vow towards a common goal.
To Facilitate the event, we started by crafting the guest’s journey through
words and actions. We looked at how they could participate in building some-
thing symbolic as they made their donations. From there, we put it through the
CZA&D 4 Step Guide to see how we could develop the event’s infrastructure.
Rather than just look at financial pledges, the creative team took the word
pledge one step further and uncovered how guests could make resolutions to
themselves and to others.
Quick Facts:
Scope:
Experiential Branding / strategy & Event Production
Client:
The Concert Cousins Foundation in partnership with NTU Singapore.
Challenge:
Encourage guests to make a pledge not just financially but through good
deeds and personal resolutions.
Event design and installation budget:
10,000 Dollars

4. Crafting the audience journey
We began the creative process by distilling the word PLEDGE into three stages. There is the
stage of possibility, when we are aware of a situation that needs to be changed. A pledge
only happens when we decide to do something about it and make possibility a reality. The
final stage of a pledge is a commitment to ensure that reality sustains and flourishes.
1
The Realm of Possibility
Unleashing possibility
Hope, Silver Lining
Unrealized dreams
Intangible, floating
“To pledge is to make a commitment
Cloud
to a cause - it is to nurture, to take The process of Pledging transforms
the cloud into a flower. The ‘Flower
care of, to guide and grow a vision Cloud’ emblem also goes on to serve
as the brand mark for the event and
the fund-raising campaign.
into fruitation.
”
The clouds shower the Beautiful, blooms
Home, Shelter plants and give life.
3
Planted, rooted
A place of LOVE Greenhouse Flower
Making Reality a Commitment Precious
Warmth, Incubator
2 Life, alive
Making Possibility Reality
Fragile

5. Event Methodology
1) Who is expected to attend this event? 3) What are the symbols and props we can
1) Individuals who identify with larger society and its social causes, who are passionate use to facilitate emotion?
about helping others, linked to religious or non-profit organizations.
2) Individuals who are patriotic, emotionally connected to their community, 1) A dominating structure, to anchor the entrance space is needed, to begin the narra-
and want to give back to society. tive: Construct a greenhouse.
3) Individuals who are from the higher income brackets of society, and treat this as part 2) Plants are a great way for symbolism: Center the visual identity around a flower and a
of their annual social calendar. cloud.
4) Individuals with Corporate Social Responsibility, public image enhancement for good- 3) Create mementos that guests can take back after the event to remind them of the
will and public relations. There will be individuals who will attend this event out of obliga- night itself, and their contributions.
tion and for business to business networking. How can we reach out to these people
too?
5) Friends who come together to raise money for charity.
4) What transformation would
we aim for post-event?
2) What are the emotions we want 1) We want greater contributions than previous years, but we also want guests to talk about the
the audience to feel? charities. We want guests to feel that they had a very tangible part to play, and we want me-
mentos to remind guests that there are always people in need, and that they should contribute
their time and finances when ever they can.
1) Possessive - We want our guests to feel they have a part to play. We want guests to feel 2) We want guests to feel more committed to the charity and to the act of giving in general.
they own this event and it belongs to them. We want them to know they play an indispens-
able part in the charity.
2) Immersive - We want to create an immersive environment so that guests can feel at ease
to enjoy the atmosphere of their fellow contributors.
3) Participative - We want an element of participation to unfold during the event. How can
guests take part in something beyond the generic toast?
4) Expressive - We want guests to feel they have a way to express themselves through writ-
ing, drawing, or speeches.
5) Cumulative - Can the event space flow in such a way that a full story is being told?
6) Anticipative - Can guests feel there is something to look forward to over the course of the
evening or even after the event?

6. The Event Narrative
The event narrative serves as the staging process of the entire eve-
ning from start to finish. It is the story we aim every guest to grasp
through the use of symbols. These symbols will be translated into
props and theatrical elements.
Clouds and rain ...
...into fragile flowers.
With the help of a greenhouse filled with ...flowers one day become glorious trees.
...make seeds grow... warmth and love and some tender care...

7. The Solution 1) Guests enter the greenhouse that dominates the Cocktail / welcome space.
2) They are encouraged to take a cloud from the sky, and transform it into a pledge by
writing what they vow to do and plant it into the flower bed.
3) They will have the opportunity to make a donation at the same time before exiting
into the Cocktail area.
The resulting solution, was to design the event centered
4) In the main dinner hall, plants would have grown into full trees, where guests would
around the concept of the greenhouse, made
be treated to a visual treat, symbolic of their contributions being put to good use.
entirely out of used office paper.
2
1
3

8. On the day itself, 160 gala guests
walked through the Greenhouse
into a magical garden of paper
clouds and flowers.
Following cocktail, guests were
ushered through the greenhouse
into the adjoining dining hall for
the fund raising dinner.

9. It is all in the details
Detailing is used to create a magical at-
mosphere fused with wonder and excite-
ment. In order for us to keep decor costs
low, ensuring the bulk of the evening’s
proceeds go to charities and not decor,
we enlisted the help of various architec-
tural firms to donate used office paper.
Over 10,000 sheets of 8.5 by 11 was used
to construct the greenhouse.

10. A special moment
Guests interact with each other as they
make pledges by plucking clouds and
planting them into the ground.

12. A spectacle to behold:
Guests were treated to a visual feast the moment they
entered the dining hall with tree center pieces filled
with thousands of hanging flowers.

13. Take home gifts:
Guests were also given a book by the foundation for them to take
away at the end of the night. We created a cover and jacket that
bore a close resemblance to the event decor. Other items for auction
included watering cans in white, little jars with paper flowers and
T-shirts with the event’s branding stamped on.

14. The Results:
“Over 300 vows were made
and pledges exceeding what
we ever imagined came in
because of this event.
”
Hoong An Wong - President, Concert Cousins Foundation
“This is truly an ingenious
way to use recycled materials
so that funds can be directed
to where they need to be -
the charities.”
James Lee, Guest
Conclusion:
This event set a new chapter in the way fund-raising dinners are conducted. No longer do guests
feel they are coming to be entertained, but they have a tangible role to play in making the evening
a special and unique one for themselves. Visually, they get to understand how crucial their finan-
cial contributions play in making the charities a reality.

16. About Lee Changzhi
Lee Changzhi is passionate about creating experiences that bring
people together, because the best gifts in life are never things...
...they are the moments we share with community.
He has a strong interest in pursuing a career in theatre, environ-
mental, exhibition, scenographic and large scale event design. He is
an avid researcher of Nation Branding concepts including the Olym-
pic Games, Musicals, Theme Parks and World Expositions ;
all expressions of mega brand experiences.
Lee currently lives in New York City, and was raised in Singapore.
Web: www.leechangzhi.com
Write: info@leechangzhi.com
Call: +1 917 302-9372
Connect: www.linkedin.com/in/leechangzhi