QUICK-THINKING COVID PIVOT SAVED LOCAL EVENT BUSINESS

When Melbourne’s first restrictions were introduced on March 13th, Woohah Productions, an audio visual production house located in Braeside, made a decision that would transform the way they work and ultimately keep the 19-year-old business on its feet throughout the pandemic.

It was estimated that cancellations in the Australian events sector would account for a $35 billion loss to the economy in 12 months and more than 92,000 jobs. With the odds stacked against them, Woohah Productions founder, Arosh Fernando, made a call that would pivot Woohah Productions into the world of front-facing event management and position the company as a leader in hybrid and virtual events throughout the pandemic. Back in March, it took four days for Arosh and his team to create Studio45, one of the largest ready to use broadcast studios in Melbourne. Through Studio45, Woohah Productions was able to pivot an upcoming client event on the brink of cancellation, the Arnold Sports Festival, into a hybrid ticketed event that streamed online to over 3,000 viewers worldwide.

In under a week, Arosh and his team had undertaken an incredible feat and the Arnold Sports Festival was the beginning of a new era of events for Woohah Productions. Over the coming months, Studio45 hosted a range of hybrid and virtual events from corporate conferences, award ceremonies, Easter Sunday church services, music performances, and virtual fashion show conferences for clients such as 7/11, Victorian State Government, Jaggad, Hype DC, Accent Group, Mushroom Group, Sunglass Hut/OPSM, Woolworths Group, and Carlisle Home.

When Stage 4 lockdown hit Melbourne in August, Arosh and the team had to leave Studio45 and take their event business totally virtual. By solving client problems and generating innovative solutions, the team created the Kasō virtual event platform, which hosted virtual conferences and award ceremonies through the use of 3D architectural programs and integrating with video-sharing platforms like Zoom.

In these branded virtual worlds, attendees could explore different rooms, watch speeches, visit exhibitor/ sponsor stands, play games, and engage with other attendees through chat and video links. In total, since initial restrictions began, the team has hosted over 88 virtual/ live events, connecting over 81,000 people from 104 countries across the globe.

With Australia beginning to move out of restrictions, Arosh believes that virtual and hybrid events will still stick around for a while to come.

“We’ve been truly overwhelmed by the response Studio45 and our virtual event platform has had during the pandemic. It’s not only enabled Woohah Productions to stay on our feet, but we’ve been able to collaborate with other companies in the event space to keep their teams working too,” says Woohah Productions’ founder, Arosh Fernando.

“As the country, and Victoria in particular, starts to re-open and physical events begin to make a comeback, we believe that virtual and hybrid events will still play a vital role in our company moving forward. We’re finding that companies who are investing in upcoming events are looking to mitigate risks and by creating hybrid and virtual events they’re setting up a fool-proof contingency plan. We’re proud to be bridging the gap and providing virtual experiences that are fun, interactive, and engaging and can be attended from anywhere in the world.”

www.woohah.com.au

ENDS

For further information about Woohah Productions, or to interview founder, Arosh Fernando about his COVID pivot and the innovative work the team is doing, please get in touch: Megan Chambers || megan@olivepr.com.au