This year FSC Interactive is helping Loyola University New Orleans bring the Convocation conversation to new heights – literally! Like many of our favorite New Orleans Saints players, graduates, faculty, family and friends will see their faces on the larger-than-life Pro Star Video Display Boards that hang inside the Mercedes Benz Superdome during the May 10th Ceremony. Visual marketing software, Pixlee, will enable FSC and the university to collect, manage and display the user-generated photos submitted via the #Loyno2014 hashtag and by email: loyno.loyno2014@pixlee.com, on the Superdome’s screens, as well as the two screens that flank the stage and the concession monitors throughout the Superdome.
Although a Jesuit University reflecting the more than 450 year Ignatian tradition, the Catholic University prides itself on innovation and the future. “Technology is a tool to be used as we develop thoughts and ideas. In this information age, we must help students learn ways to distinguish information from knowledge” said Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., University President at the 2013 President’s Convocation. As early adopters of social media marketing communications, it was easy to convince university representatives to take advantage of “the Selfie” to commemorate the wonderful celebration and achievements of Loyola’s Class of 2014 and as news came out earlier in the month that many schools were banning selfies, Loyola received a very satisfying message on its Facebook page from a local Fan Page, LA Vie (photo at right).
FSC couldn’t agree more! Understanding the timeliness of online trends is extremely important and shows the genuineness and culture behind a brand. Loyola’s YOLO April Fool’s Day prank is a prime example of this and even made TIME Magazine’s Top April Fool’s Pranks of 2014.
As part of the new Pixlee installation at this year’s Commencement, the university has also done away with their yearly PowerPoint showcasing graduates throughout their four years at Loyola. Instead, the Class of 2014 photos have been loaded to an Instagram account and tagged with the official graduation hashtag, #Loyno2014, and will be displayed on the big screens before Commencement begins.
Along with the live event photo display, graduates and their families can relive their special moments on both Facebook and the university’s website with the addition of Pixlee social hubs to both locales. FSC will be on the ground live-covering the event and monitoring each photo that is published in real-time. It will be so fun to watch the graduates’ faces when they realize the photos they took a few seconds ago make it to the big screen in the Superdome. We’re hoping the Class of 2014 speaker, David Gergen, adviser to four presidents and senior political analyst for CNN, will get in on the fun, as well as former New Orleans Saints football player, ALS advocate and social media rock-star, Steve Gleason. Loyola is the only university in the New Orleans area to showcase live social media posts on multiple giant video screens throughout the Mercedes-Benz Superdome during its spring undergraduate commencement ceremony and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of it.
Let us make your next event social! Contact us for more information about live-event coverage or social media installations.