Event

The Client

EY's Local and Public Services Team, London.

The Brief

EY engaged Goho to produce and deliver a fringe event around UKREiiF, The UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum Conference which happens annually at The Royal Armouries in Leeds. EY wanted to entertain a number of key public sector attendees and clients who would be attending UKREiiF. They wanted something relatively laid back and informal and less structured than previous events we have done for them, where their guests and attendees of the conference could drop in over the course of the evening which would suit the set up of UKREiiF.

Our Approach

We started by looking at opportunities that were different and exciting in Leeds town that would begin with the journey to the venue, such as a boat trip along the River Aire or bus trip through Leeds town and then on to the venue. We soon realised the conference itself had acquired many of the options locally for boats and all of the venues in and around the Royal Armouries where UKREiiF conference was being held. We therefore had to adopt our usual Goho attitude, be resilient and think outside the box. We discovered a few hidden little gem venues in Leeds town and after a visit to Leeds by Stacey, we put these options on hold and forwarded the suggestions to the client. We also found a fantastic vintage open top bus company for the event that had been used on many many film and TV sets, especially in the North of England.

SALT was the venue that the client decided to go with, being one of the most popular bars in Leeds and right on the riverfront of the Aire, we agreed that it was a great option to host this event. EY also loved our vision with the vintage open top bus. We suggested that we could get a huge banner branded in EY branding and decal vinyls for the windows so that it was abundantly clear to UKREiiFF attendees who were hosting the journey by bus to the venue.

We then acquired a fantastic roaming band that we have used at previous Goho events and they were happy and game to play their first set on the bus to help attract our audience to the bus.

We supported EY in the months preceding the event to send invitations and monitor the same. This was followed up by weekly calls to monitor responses and to ensure there were the amount of attendees signed up that they wanted. We managed this process efficiently and promptly making the process very straightforward and easy for our client, taking all of the legwork out of it for them.

The Results

With the forecast for the day being an amber weather warning and severe delays getting up to Leeds due to huge train delays, it didn't begin with the most hopeful of starts. But, we are Goho and we are not easily dissuaded by bad weather and delayed trains! Once in Leeds, thankfully not much later than originally planned, we made our way to the venue where we decorated the outside with EY branded bunting and huge 7ft feather flags that we acquired for them. With the roaming band in tow, we headed to the venue to meet the bus and decorate it with the branded material we purchased. In the pouring rain we secured the huge banner across the front of the top deck of the bus and the decals to the windows and although the band were unfortunately unable to play on the open top, as the bus had a step on back, they could still very much be heard on the back of the lower deck. Lollipop signs in hand, bus ready, band playing, the conference attendees, our client EY and our guests hopped on board where they were whisked over to SALT while serenaded by the brilliant Malaga Roamers. Once at the venue, a full bar of drinks, delicious smorgasbords and pizzas fed and watered the guests. The band continued on to lots of dancing and fantastic conversation. The evening, despite the incumbent weather, was a huge success with a good turn out and resulted in beneficial leads for our client. Definitely not our easiest event to execute, but we are tenacious, resilient, determined, we are Goho!