Objective
This group of Texas automotive dealer owners like to go big! We were tasked to create a “larger-than-life” after party that was non-traditional, unfolding in a succession of surprises from the minute guests left the hotel.
Challenges
- Every vignette for the evening needed to be surprising, exclusive, and entertaining.
- Dining at the beautiful Butchart Gardens required working with heritage-style architecture and lack of infrastructure to support audio and lighting.
- After dinner party at the Fairmont Empress Hotel meant working in a non-traditional space with built-in features including lots of pillars.
- Our “Alice in Wonderland” concept appealed to the decision maker, but it could be a risky choice for Texan Automotive Dealers.
- Our client contracted headline entertainment separately which didn’t particularly go with the theme or the small footprint of the venue.
Strategy
- To deliver the unexpected, we thought about how this evening would unfold from the guests’ perspective.
- We surprised guests with float plane to Butchart Gardens for an elegant dinner event.
- After dinner, the return luxury coaches pulled over to pick up two ‘hitchhikers”: our friends Tweedledee and Tweedledum in full costume and character.
- Guests were delighted by the whimsical story characters throughout the entire event.
- Large props added magic to the space and animated the “Alice in Wonderland” theme.
- The band’s rider and requirements provided an interesting opportunity to re-think what was possible and resulted in an exclusive and intimate experience for guests in a colourful, fun atmosphere.
The Result
This lavish, Mad Hatter themed finale was the highlight of a three-day incentive program that transported guests through the looking glass and into a colorful, whimsical world where surprises waited around every corner. Guests danced amongst oversized props with the Mad Hatter and Alice, posed with the Queen of Hearts for photo ops, and reminisced to the sounds of REO Speedwagon. Our client trusted us to tie each element of the program together seamlessly, and the result is an experience worthy of the history books.
