A multimillion-dollar ribbon cutting—streamed live by a team that had never streamed anything before.
đź“Ť The Situation
After years of planning, construction, and community fundraising, Sparrow Health System was preparing to unveil its brand-new, state-of-the-art Cancer Center—a flagship facility representing hundreds of millions of dollars in donor investment.
The marketing team had done tremendous work in the lead-up. My team’s final charge was clear but daunting:
“Live stream the ribbon cutting.”
This was 2016—pre-Zoom era, pre-TikTok era, and long before live streaming became a one-click commodity. We had no experience, no equipment, and no margin for error.
đź› My Role
I led a small crew—just myself, one video team member, an intern, and our agency partner—to figure out how to make it happen.
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Tech Stack Buildout: We researched, procured, and configured all the necessary gear from scratch. This included camera systems, audio gear, streaming encoders, and network redundancy.
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Self-Education: We invested in training and ran a half dozen test events internally to debug the process, establish stream quality standards, and build team confidence.
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Event Execution: We successfully streamed the full ribbon cutting live via Facebook Live, hosting several hundred virtual attendees across our social following.
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Content Repurposing: After the event, we clipped and repackaged the video for use across Sparrow’s other digital platforms, sustaining campaign energy for weeks.
đź“Š Results
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Hundreds of live attendees—more than could’ve fit in the physical event
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Dozens of positive comments and shares across Facebook and beyond
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Extended ROI on the launch through months of repurposed video content
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Established Sparrow’s early credibility in digital engagement long before it became expected
🪞 Looking Back
We weren’t influencers. We weren’t livestreamers. But we became them—fast. This wasn’t about trend-chasing; it was about meeting the moment and making the launch as inclusive and far-reaching as the new Cancer Center deserved.
I’m proud that we figured it out on our own, under pressure, and made something memorable out of what could have easily been “just another ceremony.”