By Sarah Silva

As COVID-19 cases climb in the U.S., we are all getting used to the idea that no matter what phase your city is in, large group gatherings aren’t going to be on the approved list. So how can we get our social fix when we can’t congregate in our usual spots?

Party like it’s 2045.

Having a party with as many friends as you want over the internet sounded like a dream in 1999. But after a work week of showing your face across Zoom, Teams, Skype, Chime, and FaceTime, the last thing a lot of us want to do is spend more digital time with others.

Here are a few tips to generate excitement for a digital party, happy hour, or networking event:

Create a theme

Similar to a party IRL, having a theme can make your digital gathering stand out from the weekly sales call. Encourage people to bring a themed beverage or create a unique background for the party. Got clothes or a prop that match the theme? Bring it on.

Time it like an actual party

When you invite people to an event, you will have punctual eager beavers, and those who like to be fashionably late. To keep things feeling more natural, share a light agenda. If the party starts at 6:00pm, let people know you’ll be greeting folks until 6:15pm. Once you’ve reached critical mass, move on to the main event. Set an end point for the party, giving folks who want to hop off a natural exit, and those who want to keep socializing a time to start the after party.

Limit the guest list

Normally it’s “the more the merrier” but at a digital event, more people can mean more awkward starts and stops to conversation. Think about limiting the number of guests to 15 so conversation can flow more naturally. Need to invite a larger group? Consider creating breakout rooms. Give them clever names that match the event or theme, and then watch as people have a side chat in the “kitchen.”

By Sarah Silva

Everyone loves a good origin story. We’ve all been captivated by how a small but mighty spider could turn a teenager into a crime-fighting phenom. But great beginnings aren’t just for superheroes—meet Joe and Tom, creators of Fruit Punch belts.

Joe and Tom were architects by day, but color fanatics and craftsmen by night. Using Joe’s talent for working with leather, and Tom’s eye for great color, they created their own matching belts with bright blue powder-coated buckles. Garnering ooohs and aaaahs all over town, they decided they might be on to something, and experimented with other color combos. Their super power was creating a highly coveted, well-made belt that stood out in a sea of drab accessories.

Joe and Tom came to 2A because they needed a brand that told their origin story and captured the spunky spirit of their belts. Inspired by the beautiful, yet artificial, colors of their powder-coated buckles, we came up with the name Fruit Punch. If you look closely at the logo, you’ll notice our designer Radhika added some juicy droplets, playing on the sweet name.

Using our marketing superpowers, 2A created influencer kits, compelling web copy and a spunky tagline to build excitement about the Fruit Punch launch. We created the Fruit Punch Studio website that focuses on customer usability, while still being fun and bright.

With a photoshoot and launch event under our belts ?, Fruit Punch was ready to buckle up for party. Joe and Tom were excited to launch in time for the holiday season and see their belts start to mingle with others. What started as a project among friends now inspires others to ask, #wheredyougetthatbelt?

By Sarah Silva

Watching March Madness can help you appreciate the importance of a good team. A basketball team can be highly ranked going into the tournament, but if they can’t execute, they can easily find themselves on the losing end of a Cinderella story (looking at you, UVA!) At 2A, we know a great team can make all the difference, which is why we love projects that bring together a diverse team of consultants, designers, animators, videographers, developers and project managers. And sometimes our team works together on Microsoft Teams, on a project about Microsoft Teams. Yeah, it can get pretty meta.

This month the Microsoft Teams group headed to the annual Enterprise Connect conference, which focuses on enterprise communication and collaboration. Microsoft Teams wanted to showcase all the ways that Teams is the hub for teamwork and celebrate the product’s one-year anniversary. 2A was excited to provide cross-functional support on a variety of activities including video recording and editing, web development, and production and project management.

We had videographer Andre on site to film a special episode of Teams On Air, the broadcast that showcases the latest and greatest from Teams and its partners. With all the great footage he captured on the floor and during interviews, we were able to quickly deliver a new episode. We might be biased, but we think his video and editing skills, combined with great hosting from our client, made this episode a slam dunk.

Our Teams On Air project manager, Mary, used her knack for organization to lead a smooth production process. She managed all things Teams On Air, from arranging speakers and preparing locations for live interviews, to mapping the show flow and getting social media content ready.

To allow people to watch the Enterprise Connect keynote remotely, Teams needed a website to host the keynote address from Bob Davis, CVP of Office 365. Our developers quickly created a website that could support all three phases of the livestream: count down to the keynote, livestream, and post-keynote video hosting.

2A loves working as a team and enjoyed executing a full-court press on deliverables for Enterprise Connect. Whether your next project requires technical web development, great multimedia, or a project management component, 2A has the dream team to take your project to the next round.

By Sarah Silva

When a friend asked me to come support her team at “The International” in Seattle, I was embarrassed to admit I’d never heard of the event. Turns out, The International (TI) is a multi-day championship tournament for DOTA 2, a free-to-play multi-player online battle game. In recent years, TI has drawn over 20 million online views and this year had a prize pool of $25 million. To put that in perspective, the prize pool for The Masters 2016 golf tournament was $10 million.  I was a total noob (as they say) when it came to online gaming and the world of esports but I was excited to learn more.

Hosted at Key Arena, the scene inside TI was exactly what you’d expect from any traditional sporting event. People dressed in jerseys and t-shirts supporting their team of choice. Sharply dressed commentators analyzing various moves and plays by each team. The crowds in the arena cheering for their favorite player after an exceptional play. What the teams were doing on stage was foreign to me, but the energy in the sold-out stadium felt familiar. Like traditional sports, you don’t have to play the game to be a fan. The enthusiasm in the arena was contagious and I was soon hooked and cheering along.

TI employed amazing storytelling to get someone like me excited about individual players. Between matches, humorous video clips played highlighting players from various teams. In two-minute videos I learned what players would bring to a deserted island (a PC and a girlfriend) or whether they were cat or dog people (cats were the clear crowd favorite). I can now see why esports has such a strong and growing fan base.

Esports  brought in over $493 million in 2016, a growth of 51.7% from 2015, and is expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2020.  A game you can play at home by yourself could translate to a real-life experience with thousands, bolstered by individual players stories and journeys. To make the event even sweeter, my friend’s team, Team Liquid, made it to the finals and won! They received an impressive first place prize of $10.8 million to be split amongst the gamers. While I started out not understanding the allure of esports, I’m a believer now.