Bringing Grammys prestige to
a keynote space
Each month, we’re celebrating 15 moments from the past 15 years that capture the magic, the challenges, and the unforgettable wins of the Proscenium journey.
This month, we’re taking a look at an award show for Lowe's that rivaled the Oscars.
Same room, totally different show
Every year, Lowe's flies store managers in from across the country for their national meeting. There are keynotes, leadership presentations, all the things you'd expect. But at a certain point in the week, we step in and transform the space for Manager of the Year (MOTY for short), an awards night where nominees know they've been nominated, but nobody knows who won.
Same screens. Same stage. Same space the attendees had been sitting in for days. Our job was to put on a show that made them feel like they'd been transported somewhere completely different.
It reminded us of the Academy Awards, so we treated it as such.
And the award goes to…
Christian Bayonet, our head of design, led the overhaul. He started by studying real award shows — the Grammys, the Oscars — looking at the aesthetic decisions those productions make to create a glamorous, elevated environment. Then he brought that thinking into the Lowe's space through color palettes (including a luxurious Blue Carpet), lighting, and graphics that traded the daytime keynote energy for full awards-night elegance.
One year, he designed a photorealistic, rotating 3D version of the MOTY trophy as the anchor graphic on the centre screen, inspired by how the Oscars make their statuette the dominant visual element.
We brought in roaming cameras to capture the reactions of nominees as the winners were announced on stage, projecting those emotions to screens around the room. Just like a live awards broadcast, the audience became part of the show.
Their night to shine
The performances added another layer. One year, a vocalist performed "Ring of Fire" against a backdrop Christian designed: an actual ring of fire wrapping the screens behind the performer. Musically talented Lowe's employees took the stage too, performing as part of "Lowe's Has Talent."
The blue (not red) Lowe's-style carpet, the cameras, the graphics, the performances: it was all in service of creating a very special night for managers who'd worked hard all year to earn their place.
Christian said it best: "To have had a hand in what this experience is going to be for them and how it's going to look and how it's going to feel… it's very special."
