News

(Annapolis, MD) Annapolis-based advertising agency Liquified Creative, in partnership with Giant Foods, recently transformed Washington, DC food and music festival, The Giant National Capital BBQ Battle, into a virtual experience.
Developed in response to the global health crisis and strict social distancing restrictions, event organizers made the decision to move the event to an entirely virtual format spanning the month of June. To create a truly immersive virtual event experience, Liquified Creative joined forces with organizations such as USO- Metro, Giant Food, Monumental Sports, the Capital Area Food Bank, along with many other national brands that normally participate in the festival.

The new and exciting virtual format created numerous social engagement opportunities including interactive programming, cooking contests, cooking demonstrations, award-winning recipes, numerous music stages, children’s activities, prizes, and daily giveaways. It was important to include event elements that were consistent with highlights of the live and in-person experience. That’s why, in partnership with The Kansas City Barbeque Society, the virtual experience included a competition portion. These virtual cooking competitions were sanctioned by KCBS and judged by barbeque legends such as Myron Mixon, Tuffy Stone, and Moe Cason from Destination America’s reality television show BBQ Pitmasters. As opposed to previous years, all contests were free to enter and open to the public in order to provide a truly engaging experience for virtual event visitors.

For music fans, the Giant BBQ Battle Virtual Experience featured elements such as Giant’s Ultimate BBQ Battle of the Bands where a variety of artists performed virtually on the Famous Dave’s Music Stage and Pepsi-Lays Sound Stage to compete for votes and prizes. Additionally, the Monster Energy Stage featured exclusive streamed performances from headliners Elle King and the Dirty Heads.

The Giant Kids Zone was also taken virtual this year and featured family-fun activities, contests, and more. Monumental Sports provided family-friendly videos and recipes from players and sports legends of the Washington Wizards, Capitals, and Mystics.

The Giant National Capital BBQ Battle has raised millions of dollars for its event beneficiaries over the years, including over one million dollars last year alone for USO-Metro. This year’s event benefits both the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore and the Capital Area Food Bank.

The Giant BBQ Battle Virtual Experience will be live through July 2020 so that virtual event attendees can continue to explore all of the exciting content the event has to offer. Visit BBQinDC.com for more information.