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Feature - Corporate Hospitality
Article - Andrew Cook, director of sales
at leading prize promotion specialist, Unmissable,
argues that few among us would rather spend time in
say, a planning meeting than being wined and dined
(or else flown, driven, massaged or taken to a prestigious
sporting event) which goes a long way to explaining
the ready success of corporate hospitality as a gambit
for incentivising and rewarding. From the traditional
to the downright innovative and exotic, Unmissable
takes a look at all that’s best in the world
of full-on business pampering…
Simply put the reason corporate hospitality is successful
is that no matter how sophisticated technology becomes
there is no substitute for face-to-face contact to
nurture client relations…
- It’s a great forum for personal interaction
and a chance to ‘press the flesh’ and
cement relationships.
- It makes clients feel special / important and
to a degree panders to their wish of wanting to
be treated like a client.
- It provides a useful networking exercise between
your clients as they can catch up with fellow industry
figures.
- It enables people to get out of the office and
to watch / take part in something they enjoy so
not only will you invariable get a good response
to the invitations but your clients will be in good
spirits when they get there, which will help developing
the relationship.
Fundamentally our ethos of the corporate hospitality
/ entertainment market is to steer away from the mainstream
table of ten at Twickenham or seats at Wimbledon.
We don’t doubt their effectiveness in entertaining
clients our question is ‘How does one stand
out from the crowd?’ Hospitality providers are
a dime a dozen all flogging the same product to the
same buyers, who in turn are inviting the same clients
to the same events year in year out. Would they not
gain a bit more credibility from their clients if
they came up with something innovative, which other
companies hadn’t invited them to? Therefore
our aim is to offer exciting events and experiences
that our clients wouldn’t ordinarily be able
to get access to, this in itself makes our clients
feel special as the solutions we provide are not readily
available on the corporate hospitality high street.
Should our clients look specifically for a major sporting
/ cultural event then we can easily accommodate them,
however we would endeavor to maintain our philosophy
of including an element of the package which makes
it genuinely stand out such as celebrity interaction
or a VIP pass.
Are big budgets involved or can even the smaller
companies treat their business partners and staff
to fun experiences? Clearly every budget is different
and not everyone can afford to spend big bucks on
entertaining their clients, many of the experiences
we would provide can be catered for large groups or
smaller numbers thus reducing budgets. Similarly we
can provide solutions which are less expensive but
will take in the big events for example instead of
taking clients to Germany for the world cup next Summer
you can take them to a private venue in the UK with
big screens / champagne receptions and sporting football
celebrities in attendance which will be a fraction
of the cost.
Alternatively hire a box at the horse racing but
instead of going for the expensive major racing days
go for a summer evening meeting, which is far less
expensive. Fundamentally there are several events
/ experiences which can be catered for regardless
of the size of budget which will be enjoyed by your
clients.
Case Study
Brand: The Works Consultancy
Activity: Charity Private Screening of The
Lord of The Rings – ‘The Return of the
King’
To celebrate a year of working with one of their
clients – and realising she was a Lord of The
Rings nut – The Works decided to organise a
night to remember at one of the most talked about
movie launches in recent years. The Private Screening
was in aid of the Princes Trust Charity and was held
at the Odeon Cinema on Leicester Square.
The evening included:
- Drinks reception in the Crescent Room at the
Radisson Edwardian Hampshire Hotel
- Finger buffet & open bar
- The Charity Film Performance of The Lord of the
Rings – “The Return of the King”
- ENDS -
For further information,
please contact:
Jane Lowen, The Press Office, 01580 764721
jtlowen@aol.com
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