Contemporary Event Structures // Europa International
The Introduction:
Contemporary Event Structures’ young and dynamic team is widely perceived to be a breath of fresh air in the events structure hire market.
The business specialises in supplying a range of inflatable and temporary structures for indoor and outdoor events; boasting exceptional standards of quality, delivery and service in everything it does.
Here, Director Gavin Miller talks to us about one of his favourite events to date - supporting Molson Coors UK during the unveiling of its new light larger, Pravha, at one of the largest launches in its history in partnership with Czech brewery Staropramen.
The Story:
First things first, let me set the scene. It was another busy day at CES’ headquarters. The planning team were focused on planning, the delivery and installation team were out delivering and installing, and our project management team were deep in conversation with various prestigious and high-net-worth individual clients.
The phone rang and the call was answered with speed and professionalism (nothing unusual there)… Little did we know that our journey with one of the most recognised brewers of beer in the world was about to begin.
(You can but imagine my delight…. Business and beer!)
The Brief:
The Venue: The NEC in Birmingham;
The Date: 28th April, 2016;
The Client: Molson Coors UK;
The Audience: 400 internal Molson Coors staff (including the company’s CEO);
The expectation:
To design and deliver an event that boasted five separate break out areas including a sampling area where guests could try the product alongside competitor brands; a ‘key target account zone’ kitted out like a trendy inner city bar; point of sale equipment areas; speaker platforms where delegates could learn about the history of the brand and brewery;
To find super cool suppliers to help make the various zones look top notch;
To deliver everything to perfection with less than a month to go!
(No problem!)
The Logistics:
As the brewer of internationally recognised brands - including Carling, Coors Light and Cobra Molson – the Coors UK staff know a thing or two about the ‘perfect pint’; and at this juncture let me tell you that their expectations when it comes to event aesthetics are similarly high.
We wasted no time leaping into action, and within 24 hrs of receiving news that we had been awarded the contract a team of no less than 10 CES representatives were assigned to deliver the project.
A comprehensive checklist to keep us on track was a must (a CES speciality, as anyone who has worked with us in the past will know); and once that was in place we were ready to go.
A 24m dome to also act as a projection screen for movies and video content… CHECK
A funky cool area dressed as an inner city bar boasting trendy exposed brick… CHECK
The design and production of two 7ft models of the new Pravha glass… Umm, CHECK
The list went on, and before long the general layout of the event was pretty beerilliant, if I do say so myself.
(Now, time to bring in our partners!)
The Partners:
When it comes to creating an event with eye-catching structures and zones that help to guide and entice delegates to different zones we like to think we’ve pretty much got it sewn (or blown???) up!
But we know where our expertise lie, and we’re not afraid to reach out to a handful of reliable (equally creative and dynamic) partners when the needs of our clients dictate. And on this occasion we leant on our pals over at Europa International – the furniture, carpet and panel hire people.
We provided them with a brief outlining our vision for the event, as well as the logistical requirements and expectations of the client. In next to no time at all they had come back to advise on which products would be most suitable.
Fast forward a week or so and the company’s delivery experts dropped off more than 200 funky bar stools and in excess of 70 bar and general tables to the NEC; as well as a number of rattan seating sets that really helped to create the ‘outdoor environment’ we were hoping to emulate.
The two teams worked together seamlessly, and the event went off without a hitch.
(But don’t just take my word for it!)
The Testimonial:
Traditionally we tend to keep things in house for all our internal brand launches and forums. When launching the latest brand to our portfolio, Pravha, we took the decision that quite simply we wanted to do something ‘different’. Having seen some of the work that Contemporary Events had done elsewhere, and had initial meetings with Gavin and the team, we took the decision to partner with them for this launch.
“This turned out to be the best decision we could have made as what was delivered was truly transformational in terms of how we would normally do one of these events. The reaction from right across our business, especially our sales teams, was universally positive, with everyone leaving saying it was the most engaging and exciting session of its type that they had attended.
“In the words of our Sales Director, we have ‘set a new benchmark’ in terms of how we now approach these events. We will certainly be looking to utilise Contemporary Events for similar style events in the future.”
Richard Cooke
Senior Customer Marketing Manager – Molson Coors
The Summary:
Anyone working in this industry knows that when a brief lands that basically reads ‘get creative’ you have been blessed; but when you happen upon a partner with similar dedication to customer service and reliability as you AND you get to work with them on said project, it’s time to pay homage to the event overlords for their kindness. Maybe even get them a little gift. A fruit basket or something.
On this occasion everything ran like clockwork, and that’s no coincidence. The client wanted this event to look different, feel different, BE different… and between CES and Europa we absolutely hit the nail on the head (disclaimer: all nails are banned from our events due to the blow up nature of our products).
So it’s with thanks to Europa’s MD, Steve, and his team of dedicated Europians, and to my fabulous team of dynamic young event structure enthusiasts, that I raise an ice cold bottle of Pravha. Cheers to you all, and here’s to next time!
The Afterparty:
Steve Murphy, MD of Europa International, said: “The coming together of CES and Europa was akin to the stars aligning. Just like when Harry met Sally (only without the fighting, and without ‘that’ scene).
“We’re forever banging on about how important customer service is to us, and it was immediately evident that Gavin and the team took a similarly strong stance on the matter. And although CES was technically our client the fabulous team of ten ultimately had their own client to consider, so we were delighted to be able to help them make such a great impression with the end result.
“We loved working together and are very much looking forward to next time (though I’m hoping that time around the party will be at our gaff… and it WILL be fancy dress!)”
www.europainternational.com/vi
