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Nationwide Our Big Night In Virtual Awards Ceremony

Financial Award Ceremony Virtual
Nationwide’s annual awards brought employees and their families together for a Saturday night TV-inspired celebration at home, broadcast live from Studio 212 at DRPG’s Worcestershire HQ. With most of the workforce working remotely due to the pandemic, the virtual event made its 250 finalists feel recognised while giving the wider Nationwide team plenty of ways to join the fun.
A woman holding sellotape as part of the Nationwide Our Big Night In Awards.

CHALLENGE

With 76% of its employees working from home, Nationwide wanted to acknowledge their contribution throughout a difficult year and build excitement for the one ahead. The experience needed to give finalists the sense of occasion of a traditional awards night without anyone leaving their sofa.
A shot of people watching the virtual broadcast as part of the Nationwide Our Big Night In Awards.

INSIGHT

Bringing the awards into people’s homes created an opportunity to make the evening more inclusive, with family and friends invited to take part. Drawing on the familiarity of Saturday night television gave us a format that could balance meaningful recognition with lively entertainment and audience participation.

SOLUTION

Winners joined the ceremony remotely through Microsoft Teams, with each receiving a personalised poem accompanied by a bespoke animation created by our motion graphics team. Personal video messages from Nationwide’s CEO added another thoughtful touch, helping employees feel individually recognised.

To capture the energy of a Saturday night gameshow, we combined live and pre-recorded challenges featuring six Nationwide leaders and previous award winners. Water-balloon popping, assault courses and other playful challenges brought pace and personality to the broadcast while helping colleagues feel connected to familiar faces from across the organisation.

Viewers could predict challenge winners and vote through the event app, with their activity giving them opportunities to enter instant prize draws. Comments and selfies helped create a lively shared experience, while prizes ranging from toilet rolls to an extra day’s holiday kept the surprises coming.

A man singing as part of the Nationwide Our Big Night In Awards.
A shot of the Nationwide Our Big Night In Awards prizes.
A woman throwing balls as part of the Nationwide Our Big Night In Awards.
A woman behind a podium as part of the Nationwide Our Big Night In Awards.
A BTS shot of the Nationwide Our Big Night In Awards.
A man in a silver jacket holding a tennis racket as part of the Nationwide Our Big Night In Awards.

IMPACT

The event attracted a peak audience of 414 viewers, with strong participation throughout the broadcast. Of those surveyed, 83% agreed or strongly agreed that the experience made them feel valued for their contribution, while 92% watched their personalised message from the CEO.

PERSPECTIVE

"The run-up to our annual recognition event certainly had lots of twists and turns, just like your favourite Saturday night TV drama! From the moment we made the decision to switch to a fully virtual event, DRPG was on hand to deliver an awards do like we’d never seen before. Helping us to navigate a world of casting, intricate personalisation and an interactive game show. ​

Getting our delegates away from their desks and office environments was key for us – and the end result truly did feel like a night in in front of the TV for our delegates. From being able to include families in the nights activities, through to the level of personalisation in the run up to the event, DRPG helped us plan and deliver in a way that helped the delegates get that ‘special’ feeling of an awards night, from the safety and comfort of their sofa.” ​

"It has been a year of postponements and cancellations, but our Annual Awards night went ahead with a bang! What an innovative and amazing night we all had, it was brilliant. Well done to all the winners, runners up, finalists and everyone involved in putting on such a special night and when I think of 2020, I will be sure to remember this.”​

“Loved it all, the videos from colleagues, the band; I thought we'd just be watching TV for a few hours, but it was so interactive, and so much fun!” ​



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A BTS shot of the Nationwide Our Big Night In Awards.