Background
Corporate Events have been working with Heineken on their Sales and Marketing Conferences for the past 4 years. Each year Heineken look to excite their employees with both their commercial and brand plans, whilst putting their customers at the heart of the event.
With the conference being the largest one to date and 450 delegates attending it was clear that the management, venue choice and theme of the event was going to be key to its success.
Solution
The event consisted of two fully immersive environments; a pub styled conference and ‘HFest’, a unique festival experience incorporating themed areas from individual Heineken brands. Every element focused on the key event message – ‘The customer is at the heart of what we do’.
Working with the client, our creative studio created two individual event identities which were used throughout the delegates’ journey across the two days. A relaxed seating area for customer interviews and a fully functioning bar were installed on stage. Bar stools were used for panel discussions and the delegates were seated on authentic pub furniture in keeping with the theme. A 30-foot blended screen which was brought to life using live relay and bespoke content gave the effect of a TV studio adding a unique and dynamic dimension to the set and stage.
The biggest challenge was that the conference set needed to be removed for the evening’s festival but be ready again for the second day of the conference the following morning. The two-hour turnaround time left no margin for error, so it was key that the project management team planned every detail meticulously. It was executed without mistakes and ahead of the seemingly impossible schedule.
Outcome
Heineken’s key objectives were to recognise and reward staff and give them the opportunity to engage with the different brands and sample the products that they work with day to day. In turn this gave Heineken the chance to evoke each of the brands’ key messaging. We worked with each individual brands’ agency to create the real-life festival space. Utilising the complete space, the venue was transformed to include a fully rigged main stage, AstroTurf flooring throughout and individual sets for each premium brand.
The full festival experience came to life with each brand coordinating different activities throughout the evening. These were kicked off by Bulmers ‘Live Colourful’ dry paint colour festival hosted alongside the main stage acts who included DJ Izzy Trixx, Gospeloke and headlining act Noasis. With so many elements to co-ordinate; from the two-day conference to the evening festival and the logistics of all delegates, we are delighted to say the event was a great success. The need to be flexible and proactive is essential at an event of this calibre and the Corporate Events team didn’t disappoint.
