A word from the editor

Here we are in another busy autumn season and already the Revelation team have been busy with award ceremonies, parties, conferences and exhibitions. Shows such as Decorex International, the launch of the Great British Pub Awards, anniversary parties for ALD's 50th and PPMA's 21st celebration, the Baking Industry Awards, the Astratech conference and an Oktoberfest gala dinner! With plenty more still to come...

But it isn't just production that have been busy, there is lots of activity within the client team talking to a number of prospective clients about their up and coming events too which is making this season look very encouraging despite all the worries about the current climate. Alongside this the marketing department have been busy sending out their Chilli plant mailers - if you got one of these then let us know how you get on with it (if you haven't found the seeds yet, they are in the cap!), why not send us a photo of your growing chilli plant. We were very excited about this particular gift, as not only was it part of this years sustainable gift campaign but we were able to work with a new company to offset the carbon footprint created from producing them and sending them out by investing in a UK afforestation programme. This programme is about well-managed, long-term forestry which make a real contribution to local communities and biodiversity.

We have two new additions to the team since the last newsletter so I would like to welcome new members Andy Staley and Mike Hill both as Project Managers. Both Andy and Mike come to us with previous long term experience in the event market place and will both be an asset to both Revelation and our clients. Also huge congratulations to Andy and his family as they celebrate the birth of their baby daughter.

Another piece of news it that Rob Uphill has been promoted (again) to the Global Operations Manager, so congratulations to him. Rob is overseeing both the UK and the Middle East offices in all aspects. As part of his new position, Rob is in Abu Dhabi to spend some time with the team there to ensure the smooth running of its operations, and ensure UK standards are met. Plus with new business opportunities arising out there too it was the perfect time for Rob to make the trip.

I hope you enjoy catching up on what we've been up to.

Fiona, Editor
It's a Revelation...

Herman Miller Designer Saturday

For the first time in over 20 years a group of world leading office furniture design companies opened their showroom doors to showcase innovation in office design. Herman Miller was one of those companies taking part and they appointed the Revelation team to event manage and produce their event at their showroom in the London National Design Centre.

The theme for the event was Formula 1 and the venue was transformed using themed props and lighting. The showroom was split into zones where visitors could enjoy different types of interaction for the Herman Miller experience. The environmental zone was directly geared towards younger visitors, another area was like a pit stop where visitors had to build the 'Sense' table as quickly as they could and then their names were put onto a Top Gear style leader board of which the fastest assembler on each day won a Herman Miller iconic chair. There was also an eight lane scalextric game to entertain guests during their visit.

Revelation acted as the event management and production agency as well as managing the catering and providing event staff and security for the weekend event. The Herman Millers International Marketing Executive was very pleased with the outcome of the event and commented that one thing Revelation did exceptionally well was 'taking complete control as required and being completely flexible with any late requests'.

Great British Pub Awards

This was the re-launch of a completely re-branded show at the Park Lane Hilton, London which was deemed a huge success. Working with longstanding event client William Reed Business Media, our team provided a full event production service which included the build and dressing of the stage and set, along with the provision of graphics, projection, screens and lecterns. As the show was co-located with the Morning Advertiser Top 100 Awards the technical team took on the task of creating a seamless set change part way through the event. By providing a tailored lighting package we were able to transform the look and feel of the stage at the touch of a button using Gobos of the event brand logos projected onto the stage with red, white and blue lighting for the Great British Pub Awards and then a faded change to MA Top 100 logo and red lighting when the focus changed.

As well as providing a tailored sound package, the Revelation video production team filmed the event so that it could be relayed live on screen at the event but also so a post event DVD could be produced to promote the event to potential sponsors and stakeholders of next years ceremony.

Procter & Gamble - Mission Possible III!

Revelation were asked to add some wow factor and fun into the Procter & Gamble Mission Possible conference & gala dinner, as it was their third time running the event the name Mission Possible III was adopted. We set to work adding some great lighting effects in the drinks reception and designed gobos of the brand to fill both spaces with interest. In true Mission Impossible theme style the team also transported some top of the range Triumph motorbikes and an AC cobra into the room!

For entertainment we provided a DJ and a massive fun racing track plus an inflatable course complete with racing toilets! All very good fun and of course a complete success!!

ALD 50th Anniversary

ALD Automotive, a fleet management services company with operations in 39 countries, located close to our offices in Bristol, appointed us to event manage and produce an event for all their UK staff and partners to celebrate their 50th anniversary, whilst also taking the opportunity to thank all long serving colleagues. The Revelation team took on the entire management role for the event from venue sourcing and liaison through to full production and theming.

As the event was held at the Celtic Manor it was important that transport was also provided so that staff from each area of the country could get to and from the party. The onsite team managed all the guests' needs as well as the logistics to make the night run seamlessly.

The theme of the entertainment for the night was The Blues Brothers and guests were treated to a fantastic tribute band which really rocked the place! Everybody had a fantastic evening and feedback about the event has been very positive.

Piramal's Oktoberfest

During the time that Piramal were exhibiting at the Messe Frankfurt exhibition centre in Germany they wanted to host a gala dinner for their clients for which we decided on the theme of Oktoberfest. Revelation was responsible for sourcing and managing the entertainment for the event which was a traditional German 'om-papa' band. We also took care of decorating and dressing the venue for the evening with giant Bavarian flags and blue and white material draped around the walls, as well as colour coordinated table settings, candles and table centres. Pre event the team also sourced locally produced gifts in the form of Bembel's and Stein's for each of the guests to take away with them, and of course the UK event manager was also on site to ensure the smooth running of the event.

PPMA 21st Anniversary Celebration

Background

The Processing & Packaging Machinery Association (PPMA) is the UK's trade association for suppliers of processing and packaging machinery to the UK market and currently has over 350 member companies responsible for the majority of machines sold in the UK each year.

Started in 1987, PPMA wanted to celebrate there 21st Anniversary by sharing it with the colleagues, member associations and guests. As the PPMA Show was running at the NEC over three days in September/October it was agreed that this would be the perfect opportunity to host the event and so on the second day of the show they had a Burlesque themed evening and gala dinner.

Solution

As event management and production company for the event, our team were responsible for theming the room in a 'Burlesque' style, specifically three open sides of the room were draped in red velour. The set incorporated two projection screens, and two 'silhouette screens' for burlesque shadow dancers to dance behind and entertain the audience as well as setting the scene for the event. We also provided tiffany lamps on each of the dinner tables, the draping, the set and the stage, as well as providing lighting, audio and projection packages.

During the evening, there were a number of burlesque acts performing on stage such as a fan dance, present dance (where the dancer emerges out of a box!), and the finale was a 4-girl can-can routine.

Speakers were relayed on to the screens, as was the entertainment. The headliner act was the comedian/musician Brendan Healy from the north-east, who the audience loved.

We also provided ambient effect lighting in the drinks reception area, which the burlesque girls hosted. We also produced a '21 Year Review' movie file, showing still images of the highlights from their history.

Results

The event was a huge success and PPMA felt that Revelation had interpreted their requirements fully, were helpful and performed excellently onsite. When asked, PPMA said that they met all their objectives for the event and would like to work with us again in the future.

The CEO of PPMA commented "As an industry we are not easy to please but the Revelation Team 'hit the nail on the head' when they developed the theme for our 21st Celebration. The Operations team on the day were with us every inch of the way and not surprisingly, the party was nothing less than a roaring success!"

co2balance

Co2balance is a company that we have recently worked with on our marketing mailer and we think the work they do is fantastic. They were introduced to us through their partnership with the Event Industry Alliance (EIA) in advising & supporting the event industry.

Co2balance offer an offsetting service which works by investing funds in both UK and overseas projects that absorb or prevent the release of a tonnage of CO2 (carbon dioxide) equivalent to your carbon footprint. This means that the impact that your campaigns or events have on the environment can be minimised or eliminated through investing in the wide range of offsetting projects that they offer. These projects are broadly split between efficiency-based offsets and forestry-based offsets so there is plenty of choice and also you are guaranteed that all co2balance projects will be accredited under the Gold Standard and Voluntary Carbon Standard.

We are very happy to arrange this for all clients that work with Revelation, let's try not to leave our footprint on this wonderful world we all live in.

AEO Conference

Six years on and we are very proud to still be producing the aeo (association of event organisers) conference in November this year again. Revelation is managing and producing the entire event, and heading back to the Hilton Brighton Metropole where the conference has been held twice previously.

Delegates are invited to an icebreaker that is being hosted on the Brighton Pier the evening before the main event and then the one day conference itself along with the gala dinner will be held at the Hilton. This year's conference will address the changing commercial environment for events and presents a number of keynote speakers from a range of industry backgrounds. www.aeo.org.uk/conference

A few of the key areas the Revelation team will be responsible for are the liaison and management of the venue, delegate and speaker management as well as helping to bring in key sponsors for the event. We will be providing all the key personnel onsite whilst working alongside the onsite AV management company.

Watch this space in the next edition of the newsletter…

Blues Brothers

As mentioned, for the ALD 50th Anniversary celebration we ran with a Blues Brothers theme. We had an amazing tribute band that got the crowd up and dancing and having a great time. They looked and sounded the part and for us were really easy to work with. The idea worked really well and so if you are stuck for a theme for your event then this could be the one for you.

Give us a call if you need a hand with inspiration or if you are interested in more information on the tribute band that played.