#LoeriesRankings2017 with... Sisters Act
The real-life sisters behind 16-year old experiential events and activation management company Sisters Act – Elanit and Sarit Levin – are old school to a ‘T’, listing a fax number instead of social media handles on their website, but they certainly have a finger on the pulse of the local experiential events sector.
While they definitely don’t fit into the strategic or traditional agency box, the risk-taking siblings have proven time and again they’ve got what it takes to create complex experiential concepts that wow clients and their consumers alike.
Proof? They were briefed by Distell to create an intimate activation on 28 September 2016, for the launch of the Three Ships 15-Year-Old Pinotage Cask finish – the oldest whisky to launch in South African history. They supersized conceptually before briefing to expert partners for implementation and pulling together a team of the best in the country. Sisters Act’s creative vision saw Lucan Visuals take home life crafts craft gold and live events bronze at the Loeries this year for the visual mapping component of the activation.
Live projection perfection
Inspired by Skullmapping’s French Le Petit Chef ‘projected grill’ dining experience that gained global attention, Sisters Act was determined to use visual technology to similarly elevate the experience locally.
And so, they briefed Lucan Visuals to create a 3D projection-mapping ‘visionary tasting’ experience that effectively brought the whisky-tasting mats at the event to life at the intimate event, with a guest list of just 30 people. Content was built around Master Distiller Andy Watts and the making process, then projected onto guests’ tasting mats, giving the illusion of 3D animation.
Guests wore headphones so they were fully immersed in the audio aspect of the experience, with Sisters Act’s event partner Andrea Foulkes of Dish Food and Social ensuring they had the added sense of taste, with dishes like squid ink salmon eclairs, Trompette-crusted fillet of beef and dark chocolate-gorgonzola torte with pistachio syrup specially created to complement the whisky. See for yourself:
The Levins were thrilled with their resulting Loeries accolades, which include being ranked seventh in the small agency (1 to 40 employees) Loeries Ranking table, as they had a vision for the event and report that it was incredible to see it come to life. Even better though, they say, was to have it rewarded and acknowledged at such a high level.
I spoke to the Levins – currently working on a series of road shows and conferences – to find out how they put the winning work together and who they admire most in the industry…
What were the specific challenges of the event?
One of the challenges was getting the alignment of the projectors perfect, in order to ensure that the images displayed were clear. With such beautiful content, it was imperative that the guests could see everything clearly. Secondly, we wanted to find a space that had never been used for an event before. It took some searching, but we managed to find the perfect untouched location – the Kramerville, where the clean white space provided the perfect backdrop for their concept.
What was the client’s reaction to the finished product?
It was an exceptional evening for both our client and guests. We wanted to celebrate and honour the release of a world-first whisky, with an experience to match.
The result was personal, curated and visually truly amazing. The cherry on top was the event trending on Twitter that evening, a true testament to the impact the experience had on the intimate crowd!
What do you attribute the campaign’s successes to?
Upon receipt of any brief, we pride ourselves in constantly pushing the boundaries and our ability to transcend traditional ideas into creative, cutting edge, never-done-before projects.
The key to constantly innovating is a collaborative pursuit between our suppliers and more importantly, our client. We believe that the role of creativity within innovation is the merging of different ideas and technologies. Our client understood and, more importantly, trusted us to work in a different way to create and execute this campaign.
Explain how clients can better resonate with their customers.
Our clients share the same vision as Sisters Act, where the general sentiment about our clients’ brands, is no longer manufactured by the corporation, but largely created by their customers – we have to be ready to respond.
It’s important to remember that it is emotion – not merely data – that connects people and gets your audience engaged. One of the most powerful ways to drive emotion is through storytelling and we endeavour to evolve and keep on developing non-conventional event type capabilities, while partnering externally for leading-edge technology.
Tell us who you personally admire in the industry.
We have always admired Colin Cowie – he’s an ex-South African who has made an impressive name for himself in the events industry internationally. A small fish in a big pond, it is admirable what he has achieved and what he keeps achieving.
Seems Sisters Act is making a similar splash in the local events industry. Click through to our Loeries’ special section for more, here for more on Sisters Act, visit their website and follow them on Facebook.
About Leigh Andrews
Leigh Andrews AKA the #MilkshakeQueen, is former Editor-in-Chief: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com, with a passion for issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, and of course, gourmet food and drinks! She can be reached on Twitter at @Leigh_Andrews.
