Just when you think you’ve done more or less everything in the world of live production, an event like this for a client like Lush comes along…
An event like no other. Lush was looking to showcase their new products in the most fantastical way imaginable. A fully immersive event where staff and customers alike could resort back to being kid-like again and enter what would seemingly feel like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, but for the world of bath and body products.
The Lush Creative Showcase was a two-day event for both staff and the general public in London’s iconic, Grade 1 Listed Old Billingsgate building. Working closely with the in-house Lush Events Team and Design Studio we designed, built and installed all aspects on the main floor of this huge experiential event.
We worked closely on the design with Lush from the point of conception, through to sign-off – producing the entire exhibition in just over two weeks. A three-day fit-up then followed, with the event live for members of staff on the first day and the general public on the second day. A 24hr breakdown period and twenty-three trucks saw Old Billingsgate returned to the way we found it.
WE'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING RIGHT?
Challenges included multiple level public access structures on a fragile venue floor, a flowing scented river driving a giant waterwheel that produced power to charge mobile phones, an entire wobbling floor with integral lightboxes for displaying jelly products, a bath bomb marble run and a double giant birch ply slide that dropped guests into a ball pit from the mezzanine floor.
THERE'S MORE
If that wasn’t enough, we also supplied a complete technical package to the event – lighting, sound, video and rigging. Some of the technical challenges involved any one of twenty-three video sources being routed to any or all of nine display devices at any given time, multiple PA systems across the floor and interactive mechanical and electrical experiences; whilst the entire event was streamed live across the internet.
EXPERIENTIAL AT IT’S BEST
The event was designed to allow staff and customers to interact with Lush products and the manufacturing process more closely, and get really hands-on with the ingredients. Visited by various household names including Brian May and Jeremy Corbyn, the event was totally unique, spectacular and bizarre – in true Lush style.
View of the bathbomb run from above
Bathbomb run with bubbles
View from the top of the custom-built slides
Performance area
Pallet clad stage with screen behind
Custom-built product display
Video space for demonstrations
Here at PDS we love working with Lush – they’re constantly surprising, challenging and open to crazy ideas. Check out some more of the work we have done with them below.