SELECTED CLIENT CASE STUDIES

In order to accomodate Meeting Planners under pressure, and Executive Assistants whose jobs are on the line, and Producers just looking for a good time, the following area has been designated as a

Joke Free Zone

GTE AWARDS CEREMONY

NEEDS	At GTE's President's Leadership Awards, many of the recipients were nervous before the awards ceremony. GTE wanted to set them at ease and help them relax before the show as well as give them guidance as to how to respond during the ceremony.
APPLICATION	At the pre-ceremony luncheon the Docs entertained with original comedy sketches about the history of the telecommunications industry. At the ceremony, the Docs warmed up the crowd with a human "dot race" through the aisles of the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, before concluding the program with a comedic spin on the "How-To's" of awards ceremony etiquette.
RESULTS	The participants were put at ease, and they no longer felt nervous preceding the awards ceremony. In addition they were instructed in proper ways to accept an award, e.g., not turning their back to the presenter and not being afraid to celebrate their achievement.

FLUOR DANIEL GLOBAL SALES CONFERENCE

NEEDS	Fluor Daniel, one of the largest design/engineering/construction companies in the world, held a four-day Global Sales Conference for all of its multi-national executives. The client needed to emphasize contractual, commercial and cultural issues to the various ethnic attendees and wanted to incorporate some of its own executives in the sketches.
APPLICATION	Mirroring the theme of the meeting, the Docs developed a series of "confessional" sketches, where F-D executives would "confess" their corporate sins on the selected topic. The material pointed out in a humorous way the seriousness of these subjects and the importance of such areas as reading the contract, getting favorable financial terms, and empowerment. The Docs even performed a sketch with Gov. John Sununu, doing a Crossfire parody at a special luncheon event. Following the sketches at each morning General Sessions, each topic was covered in detail at individual breakout sessions.
RESULTS	This was the second time the Docs had worked with Fluor Daniel, and they have unofficially become part of its corporate culture. Characters and phrases developed during these meetings are destined to be repeated at future events. These three days of performances provided an excellent example of how the Docs can set the tone of a multi-day meeting by taking a serious agenda of topics to be covered and putting a humorous slant on it in order to get the attendees ready to tackle difficult issues.

TU ELECTRIC "E! THEATRE"

NEEDS	TU Electric was looking for a different way to have a presence at the State Fair of Texas to entertain the public and at the same time inform them about electricity and energy conservation.
APPLICATION	The Docs conceived, wrote, produced and performed a 30 minute variety show about energy conversation. Using a myriad of characters, songs and improvisation, "E! Theatre" told the story of a super-hero from the "Power Efficiency Zone" who traveled time and came to Earth to demonstrate the secrets of energy conservation. The show ran four to six times a day during the three week run at the State Fair in the TU Electric Exhibit. The concept was so successful, TU Electric revived it at the Ft. Worth Stock Show.
RESULTS	For the first time, there were no complaints by consumers of high electric bills at the TU Exhibit. The show was well received by the Fair audiences--not only were they entertained but they also learned the virtues of storm doors, caulking, insulation and heat pumps. In all, the Docs have performed this show over 350 times at the State Fair and the Ft. Worth Stock Show in two years.

IBM INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE SALES RALLY

NEEDS	IBM held its annual International Software Sales Rally in Atlanta, during which it would announce a major strategy shift in its approach to the computer industry: focusing on software and service. It had recently acquired Lotus Corporation and was making two software products, Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino, the cornerstone of its networking tactical approach.
APPLICATION	For the rollout of IBM's new software strategy, the Docs conceived, wrote and staged a "larger than life" epic, complete with pyrotechnics, spectacular lighting effects and topical humor. To parallel the theme, the Docs presented their version of "Netwars" a Star Wars parody complete with a group of super heroes and the obligatory bad guys (the evil Empress "Ms. Dos" and her minion, "The Gateskeeper").
RESULTS	The Docs kicked off the 4 day meeting with a bang setting the stage for the rest of the conference by succinctly, energetically and humorously revealing IBM's new strategic emphasis on turning network computing software into a competitive advantage.

FRITO LAY RENAISSANCE WORKSHOP

NEEDS	Frito Lay wanted to get their top management people together for a workshop to bolster creativity. The purpose was to show the participants that the only dumb idea was the one not spoken.
APPLICATION	Through the use of improvisation, we were able to demonstrate how ideas can be created from seemingly nonsensical suggestions: how teamwork could transform a free association stream of consciousness into a single cogent idea. The Docs also invented several bogus products, not only to be funny, but to demonstrate that an idea that might seem ridiculous at first could lead to product enhancement or development of something new and different.
RESULTS	Frito Lay took a chance on this type of workshop. It was something that they had never done before. Conservative managers began to think outside the box, resulting in one of the most creative, fun-filled and productive seminars they had ever experienced.

GTE MOBILNET INCENTIVE AWARDS

NEEDS	GTE Mobilnet had its annual incentive trip and awards show in Cancun, Mexico and wanted something different for the ceremonies that would keep the attendee's attention during the two hour event.
APPLICATION	Given the upcoming Olympics and the venue for the event (a quarried stone amphitheatre), the Docs developed a theme for the show - the original Greek Olympic games. Using the regional vice presidents as actors in supporting roles, the Docs wrote a series of sketches  (e.g., how the javelin was not originally designed for an Olympic event, but rather as the first method of wireless communication) which were interspersed with the actual awards presentation.
RESULTS	The ceremony was lively and did not bog down with an endless recitation of names. The comment heard most after the show from the audience was that it was the best and most entertaining awards presentation they had ever attended.

This is only a sampling of the some of the ways that 4 Out of 5 Doctors' creativity can enliven your event.

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