VIVA Creative, the Washington, DC Region's Leading Media and Event Company, to Produce "The Call to Unite," a Global 24-Hour Streaming Event on May 1

WASHINGTON, April 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- VIVA Creative, the Washington, DC region's leading media and event company, announced today that the agency is producing THE CALL TO UNITE,  a 24-hour global streaming event bringing together over 200 cultural, spiritual, civic, and community leaders who offer gifts of hope and healing. The Call to Unite begins Friday, May 1 at 8pm EDT.

The Call to Unite will stand in solidarity with those experiencing pain, fear, loneliness, and grief — and offer hope and support as we build a new future together. Throughout the 24-hour event, global leaders will join citizens of the world in sharing practices, lessons, songs, performances, reflections, and more to help viewers turn the pain of this moment into possibility for tomorrow. The event will feature "UNITERS" including Oprah Winfrey, President George W. Bush, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Garner, Maria Shriver, Deepak Chopra, Quincy Jones, Yo-Yo Ma, Rob Lowe, Martin Sheen, among other leaders and everyday people from all over the world who #answerthecall. The lead convener of The Call to Unite event is Special Olympics Chairman, Tim Shriver.

"The vision for this 24-hour experience required a creative and technical partner with big thinking and a big heart. We knew from the start that VIVA Creative had world-class creative and technical expertise, and when we learned that their mission is to use events as a platform for human connection that improves the world, we knew we found our perfect match," states Tim Shriver, UNITE's founder.

While the team at VIVA Creative delivers live and digital events and content for brands like Norwegian Cruise Line, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, American Express, and Weight Watchers, this 24-hour global streaming event leveraged their expertise and talents to new heights.

"Streaming events is an intimate medium, yet viewers don't always think about what it takes to get that content onto their devices. From creative storytelling to technical production, audio/visual engineering to social media integration, the team at VIVA has been working around the clock for five weeks to get it done – working 100% remotely in quarantine," says Joe Talbott, President, Global Content & Creative, VIVA Creative.

Using remote work tools like Zoom and Box, VIVA levelled-up collaboration to craft compelling stories, capture video content, create social media videos and graphics, and design and build a robust technical production implementation team to amplify the goals of this event. 

VIVA Creative has been working hand in hand with Jon Klein, CNN's former president, and Roni Selig, former executive producer at CNN. "Think about the amount of content for a 24-hour broadcast. VIVA brought in an entire team of storytellers, including dozens of segment producers, directors, editors, and motion graphic artists. I'm repeatedly awestruck by the camaraderie, professionalism and raw talent they bring to this expanded team," states the Emmy Award-winning Selig.

Simultaneously, VIVA Creative's technical teams developed new ways to deliver this program on a global scale, on any device, while working, building, and testing from quarantine.

"There's a magic that happens for those of us who create and integrate the technologies that power human connection. To use technology for good is extremely rewarding. We're helping those affected by COVID-19 through Impact Partners GiveDirectly and Points of Light, while promoting the global power of community, unity, and action," says Dusty Heinzman, Executive Producer, VIVA Creative.

"That's where purpose and passion come into play," says Emily Greene, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, VIVA Creative.  "It takes a certain kind of team to do this work, and all the people working on THE CALL TO UNITE will be connected for life by our commitment to bring hope and healing in this time and #answerthecall."

VIVA Creative continues to #answerthecall in its own industry by helping brands connect to their audiences during the pandemic by moving canceled live events into new online format and by hosting informative and uplifting summits that teach event organizers how to adapt to new digital technologies.

"For these reasons, The Call to Unite is a metaphorical call to be a beacon of light through these challenges," states VIVA Creative's CEO, Lorne Greene. "We thank Tim and the entire UNITE team for the opportunity – and want to thank our expanded team of world-class partners who helped execute this unprecedented experience:

• Big Whig Media at the Willard Hotel, Washington, DC -- providing the infrastructure to connect to the world
• AI Media- Closed Captioning
• C2 – design support
• Creative Technology - Broadcast Truck to allow for social distancing
• SES and DCI – Satellite Connectivity
• Tagboard - Broadcast Social Media Aggregation
• Telescope- Website Social Media Aggregation
• Vision Technical Group and Agrekko:  Temporary power
• Zoom - communications

All this behind-the-scenes work will culminate in livestreams on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Twitch, SiriusXM Stars Channel 109, and UNITE.us from 8 pm ET on Friday, May 1 to 8 pm ET on Saturday, May 2. Spotify will provide segments from the event on demand within the 24 hour-period and afterward.

About VIVA Creative:
Founded in 2001, VIVA Creative is a global leader in the creative development, technical direction, and production of live and online events. VIVA's work is amplified by its innovative and award-winning content creation studio where industry leading talent design, produce, and share compelling stories that create profound moments of meaning - in any medium. VIVA's creative and technical teams work with brands, celebrities, artists, and influencers across the globe to create extraordinary experiences. Learn more at http://www.VIVAcreative.com

About The Call to Unite:
The Call to Unite is a 24-hour global livestream event that aims to unite people across the world to celebrate our shared humanity.  Over 200 cultural, spiritual, civic, and community leaders will offer lessons, performances, conversations, and more – to support all of us in coping with the challenges of this moment in order to emerge from this crisis better than when it began.  All participants and viewers will be invited to #answerthecall by giving, serving, and sharing their stories.  Everyone is invited.  And everyone belongs.

The Call to Unite is presented by UNITE, a new collaborative founded by leaders from all walks of life — and dedicated to creating and supporting projects that address universal challenges we can only solve together. UNITE is led by Tim Shriver, the long-time Chairman of the Special Olympics. The Call to Unite is made possible by the generous production support of VIVA Creative. http://www.unite.us 

Press Contact: Gayle Mathei, 301-670-9700 ([email protected])

SOURCE VIVA Creative