July 2010

The annual Business in the Community Awards were once again staged at SWALEC Stadium and having been engaged to deliver both the evening's event and the filming of the award winners we are proud to say that our understanding of corporate responsibility has been further enhanced by the impressive scope of the exciting initiatives being undertaken across so many Welsh businesses. Our favourite moment of the night was listening to the huge cheer from Magnox truly expressing sheer delight when they heard they were the winners - their was even a tear in our eye!

June 2010

We were delighted to support The European Group Conference of Selected Independent Funeral Homes Conference with our recommendations of Paul Ragan of Collateral Thinking and Sarah Cornelius-Price of The Joshua Foundation to present to the audience, some of whom had traveled from the USA to be at the event. Feed back was exceptionally good with both speakers being highly acclaimed for their delivery. Paul addressed the audience on the subject of Daddy knows best, or does he! Most pertinent to an audience of family businesses and Sarah spoke to the spouses about her journey from founder of the charitable cause on behalf of her son to her most recent launches - Edge Magazine and Welsh Women Mean Business Awards.

May 2010

There was no spanner in the works at our Ladies' evenings with Natasha Liddle of Wessex Garages on hand to offer a number of hints and tips to female drivers on the best way to keep their vehicle in tip top condition. Five presentations, at four locations across two weeks saw almost one hundred invited women receiving complimentary car washes on site, plus four lucky ladies won a highly valued Permashine treatment for their car. And of course all jokes about female drivers were banned!

April 2010

Bear with us while we tell you this one! Three heads are better than one so when we were engaged by HW Corporate Finance to plan a 6 month promotion campaign to help them spread the word about the service they provide we engaged the assistance of Yogi Creative. A win-win solution all round! Our initiative included a number of ideas and suggestions for HW to reach their audience in a variety of ways and Yogi's interpretation of our brief was spot on. The moral of the story - use the professionals. HW sourced us for out of the box thinking and an innovative approach to promotions and we bought in the creative luvvies to help rock their world!

March 2010

This years' International Women's Day Jail n' Bail Dinner was held in conjunction with our new client's event The Welsh Women Mean Business Awards. The evening has been hailed as a great success by Sponsors, Jail Birds, Judges and Award Winners . . . oh yes and the guests too! Having Ceri Dupree as the compére for the evening ensured Dame Edna, Cher and Shirley Bassey all graced the scene and centre stage was a nifty little pink Fiat (and one lucky winner!) Pineapple dance studios provided the celebrity touch with SKY TV hot on the heels of Debbie Moore. The charitable causes were Cardiff Women's Aid and The Joshua Foundation and a grand total of almost £16k was raised.

February 2010

Who do you turn to when your 150 years old with a number of events and an international conference to host? We’re delighted that Tovey Brothers of Newport asked us for help. Our consultancy service provided a complete end to end review of all that the company were planning to do and then we added some new interesting ideas, a range of new initiatives and of course a healthy dose of attention to detail and the all important wow factors. Not forgetting some inside knowledge on cost saving tit-bits. We know we’re only as good as our next booking and we are proud to say that there is more business already in the bag from this contract. Win:win for all parties. PS Don’t forget to visit on their open day – there’s a fascinating 6th generation story to hear!

January 2010

Back to school was the theme of the day for Vistage International and The Joshua Foundation. Both companies asked us to run specific training sessions for their teams involved in staging a wide variety of events. Across the morning session, having had lots of thumbs ups and cries of 'Brilliant' we are pleased to report that the follow up plan has already begun and further bespoke models are currently under construction.

December 2009

The great and good of South Wales Businesses came together for the annual Christmas Business Lunch, this year sponsored by Wessex Garages and Abarth. The lunch attended by over 300 guests at The Mercure Holland House Hotel on Friday 18th December saw one lucky winner walking of with an Abarth for the week and 150 presents were donated by guests attending the event to Red Dragon's, Help a South Wales Child Charity.. The event included Ian Irving and Rod Woodward providing the comedy entertainment; Brent Pope of Cardiff Devils was host for the afternoon and St David's Catholic College Choir added a traditional festive touch.

November 2009

The room was packed, the energy was high and there was no stopping the enthusiasm for participating in a fun filled afternoon of team building for Lloyds Banking Group. With 14 highly competitive teams it was an action packed session of singing (and that was without alcohol!), trips down memory lane and great communication skills. At one point we had a team with a minus score but they fought their way back with a valiant effort; sadly not good enough to take home the magnum of Moet. Congratulations to all who took part!

October 2009

Service with a smile was the order of the day for St David's Shopping Centre when they booked us to help launch their new mall. Our dedicated team of 37 covered four time zones, five event roles, 3 weekends, 10 days and almost 6000 hours; as well looking after over ½ million customers - wow! A definite feet aching event if ever there was one! Not to mention the top marks we scored across the 136 Mystery Shopper questions.

September 2009

Having sourced many a venue solution for Constructing Excellence, this year we were delighted to deliver their annual award ceremony at the Cardiff City Stadium. A great time was had by all and Roy Noble did a sterling job in looking after the 400 plus guests on the night. We're pleased to report that our guest management programme brought in some new leads too so a great win result all round.

August 2009

Following the successful launch of Wessex in the City we were once again asked to work with the dealership to help with their local offsite promotion at Sainsbury's supermarket.. This time the setting was a little more traditional and naked models sporting logos weren't the order of the day but as you can see from this launch publicity Wessex certainly made their mark in Cardiff that night and we're really pleased that this on brand experience seemed to go down very well with all guests who attended the evening's event.

July 2009

We were delighted to be asked to stage The Business in the Community inaugural awards dinner at the SWALEC Stadium and we were bowled over (no pun intended!) when the guests rose to their feet to give a standing ovation to the evening's entertainment Ysgol Glanaethwy Choir - there wasn't a dry eye in the house! Mind you we should have guessed the impression they would make when they arrived in Cardiff via Arriva and bought the train station to a stand still with an impromptu platform performance. No pressure, but we now have a very pleased client and an exciting challenge of how to do better next year - answers on a post card please!

June 2009

The whole brand message for the TES Aviation Group opening launch was quality. Having planned out a great event program in house which included bespoke catering and beverages, various presentations and coordinated private tours TES wanted to ensure they had crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's, and that's where we come in. Acting as the icing on the already very delicious cake, TES engaged in our consultancy service. Just by adding simple things such as serving Bellini's and Mimosa's in trumpet shaped glasses as an alternative to Bucks Fizz , bringing along a badge machine to ensure that any guests who had forgotten to RSVP were not walking around with a hand written badge and ensuring that all hosts were looking after guests as opposed to worrying about blocked toilets and smashed glass; we helped TES turn a good event into a great one.

May 2009

We were delighted when the Cardiff Blues asked us to help out again this year with their inaugural player of the year awards. This evening was doubly special, as not only was this a dinner which recognised player achievements; but we were also witnessing the end of an era as the boys set foot on the Cardiff Arms Park soil one last time for their final game before moving to their new home. It seemed fitting then that we celebrated player achievements by staging the event inside a bespoke marquee set up on the Arms Park grounds. The red carpet was laid and the champagne was flowing as the local stars arrived to enjoy an evening hosted by Francis Donovan. All guests left the event filled with pride and hope as we sent our boys off to do us proud in South Africa.

April 2009

It was planes, trains and automobiles at the ready when DVB Bank SE embarked on Wales this month for their 6th Global LAM Conference. We were delighted when they came to us and asked if we could be their destination management company for their trip to our beautiful country. After being chauffeur driven from the airport to the Marriott St Pierre Hotel, and spending 2 days hearing about the challenges and opportunities facing DVB in 2009, guests then experienced the buzz of Cardiff Bay, splendor of Llansantffraed Court and even had time and energy left for a bit of team building. Language barriers were quickly overcame as guests from all over Europe joined together to try to solve the murder mystery set in the mansion of Lord and Lady Botley. Unfortunately the crime still remains unsolved but team spirit was in over drive as guests' tried to exchange information, withhold vital clues and even hide from our resident police!

March 2009

This years International Women's Day Dinner was another success for the IOD and we're delighted to have secured sponsorship from O2 and Fiat and Wessex Garages for this auspicious occasion. Anita Dobson was a firm favourite with the guests and ITV's weather girl Ruth Wignall did a sterling job in hosting the fundraising efforts. Our jailbirds did us proud with their jail n' bail event and all in all, despite the dreaded crunch environment, we raised almost £12k for Cardiff Women's Aid. Girl Power - bring it on!

February 2009

Our Destination Management Service was a great help to Marriott St Pierre when they were seeking assistance for a new client, DVB Bank SE from Germany. Having covered many miles of Welsh roads and countryside a bespoke programme of logistics, hospitality and team building was constructed and we're delighted to report that the feedback on our attention to detail and knowledge of what Wales has to offer was highly commended - Yachi dda!

January 2009

Nearly 50 Cardiff businesses came together for the New Year Better Breakfast forum, the last in the series for RBS. The debate topics of Pull rather than Push Marketing and Cash Flow created lots of interesting discussions around the room with delegates commenting on the value of the advice, suggestions and ideas they had heard. The morning was complimented with presentations from Equinox PR on the importance of Public Relations in the currant climate and The CPA provided some useful advice and guidance with their bespoke Credit Control Service.

December 2008

Ruby was waxing lyrical at the inaugural Cardiff Business Lunch, staged by Eventure UK at the Mercure Holland House Hotel. More than 400 guests joined the festive occasion with guests all primed to bring presents to leave in Santa's grotto for the selected children's charity. An impromptu traditional festive sing a long ensured everyone left in high spirits. Roll on 2009 - don't miss it!

November 2008

Where better to host an event for a large contingency of male guests looking for a good time and quality networking, than The Brewery in London. The FIA AGM and luncheon was organised for 11th November and post lunch entertainment was provided by Clive Coleman. Guest feedback was incredibly positive and surprisingly enough nobody wanted to leave - thank goodness the venue kindly extended our departure time at no extra cost!

October 2008

UWIC hosted The Design Management Europe Awards, the cornerstone of this year's Cardiff Design Festival, at the Wales Millennium Centre. The event, staged in the UK for the first time, was attended by senior management and design teams from some of the most innovative companies and organisations across Europe. The awards, which were opened by the First Minister for Wales, Rhodri Morgan. recognise businesses that use design to achieve commercial success. There were over 200 entries from 22 different European countries.

September 2008

Cardiff businesses have come back from their summer holidays with a bang which was evident as another Better Breakfast got underway at the Copthorne Hotel this month. We saw more and more companies coming through the doors ensuring they were making themselves known to all the potential customers within the room. The event has an ever growing reserve list which shows no signs of slowing. So, as we open the booking line for the next event on November 12th we know that Cardiff businesses will be out in force at the Better Breakfast. Sponsors of the event NatWest, IoD and Displays to Go and, of course, the Eventure UK team in the gorgeous blue pyjamas, look forward to welcoming as many of you as we can fit through those doors.

August 2008

RCT Homes based in Pontypridd opened their doors for all to see the new office building Ty Pennant this month. An open day that welcomed speeches from the chair person, the Minister for Regeneration and the innovative chief executive revealed the new plans for RCT Homes. Sponsors, tenants and staff came together to show support for the new era of the organization. Exhibitions, guided tours and networking all helped to ensure the new message was clear for all to see. The "Ty Pennant Tipple" (non alcoholic cocktail of course!), coned canapés and perfect production showed RCT Homes are open for business and striving for excellence.

July 2008

Drums, water and a dragons head! There is only one activity that could combine all of these things and that is Dragon Boat Racing. HBOS teams went head to head competing for the best times in heat races and also for the pride of featuring in the ultimate final showdown at the end of their teambuilding day. Dragon boat racing allows everyone to get involved from drumming to keep the rhythm, the synchronised team rowing or simply cheering from the sidelines. The HBOS teambuilding day was concluded with a summer BBQ, a few sore muscles and a few sore throats!

June 2008

A teambuilding event in the sun, it must be a first! The gorgeous rays of June fell on a fantastic jungle style event called I'm a PwC Celebrity……. Get Me Out Of Here. The team at PricewaterhouseCoopers were in for a test of survival and many of them had to overcome personal fears to get through it. The event included 70ft tree climbs, bug grub food duels and shelter erecting, just to mention a few things. The group spent the evening around the campfire, singing songs and enjoying some well deserved drinks. It did not end there, the teams spent the night in traditional jungle style camping beneath the stars. A truly unique challenge that sent the guests back to nature and they are now hot on Mick Dundee's tail to become the next outdoor survival heroes.

May 2008

Cardiff Blues players, sponsors and guests were welcomed to the Vale Hotel Golf & Spa Resort this month for the celebration dinner which recognised player achievements. With the hotel exterior lit blue and the red carpet rolled out the evening was a glamorous affair. The Castle Suite was decked with fantastic blue flowers, a stage set big enough to house the strapping rugby players, and of course a guest list that the paparazzi dream about. The awards were presented by Jason Mohammad of the BBC and the evening concluded in fits of giggles with Owen Money taking to the stage. The players left the event filled with pride wearing the caps they had been honoured with and for award winners' trophies in hand. The next Rugby season looks set to be a big one, so thinking caps are already in place to ensure next years event is Bluer than ever!

April 2008

15 Nurses, 3 vehicles, and over 75 magic of Motown hits. No you haven't just walked into a hen party. It was in fact the team exhilaration day for the nurses at Llandough & the University Hospital of Wales. An action packed day full of team challenges that pushed even the most daring in character to the limit. The only information the guests had prior to the event was the survival guide, they had no idea what we had in store for them. A scavenger hunt, gully bashing and a campfire were all on the days agenda. And to conclude a big glass of wine serenaded by the sounds of Motown, actually that should be re-phrased; dancing on the tables to the magic of Motown!

March 2008

Following the success of the International Women's Day Dinner in 2007, March 2008 was eagerly anticipated. Our client IOD Wales and their guests were certainly not disappointed. This year Cardiff hosted the fabulous Eve Pollard who captured the audience with her comical anecdotes and tales. The dinner sold out in days and the jail n' bail fundraising together with silent auction and raffle raised almost £17,000 for Cardiff Women's Aid. We extend our gratitude to all the guests, sponsors and jail birds for their fantastic generosity. Bigger and better next year, watch this space….

February 2008

Take one fun loving group from HBoS! Add several ounces of laughter, a few shakes of hilarity and some strong competition between men dressed in multi coloured wigs with circus props and you've got a great afternoon for all to enjoy. There were so many interesting and amusing photos from this event that we had trouble choosing our favourite. From feather balancing to balloon modeling and from plate spinning to magic lessons an entertaining time was had by all. Our Big Top Team Building was a great success and we're delighted to report that the lion taming was fatality free!

PS - No it's not blurred, they're just moving quickly!

January 2008

Please forgive us for 'Waxing Lyrical' about the event we staged for OPCO Ltd to celebrate the penultimate phase of their Dunballs Road Experience. Having had great feedback from our client and the guests the icing on the cake was a glowing letter of praise from Ruby Wax of which we are all enormously proud. The event was staged at The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and our celebrity guest lost no time at all in making a humorous connection between herself and Charlotte and Gavin's latest delight. We would also like to say a big thank you to St David' s Hotel and Stratstone of Cardiff for their help in extending superb Welsh hospitality to our celebrity guest.

December 2007

Forget mistletoe and reindeer ears; It was time for the Logica CMG staff to don their ‘Blue Sued Shoes’ and get ‘All Shook Up’ at their annual Christmas Party. Held in the recently renamed and revamped ‘Mordaith Bar and Grill,’ part of the Oceana nightclub, this was no ordinary festive dinner. Never a company to dismiss a challenge we were delighted to lay down the red carpet and take on the task of bringing Las Vegas to Cardiff. With the lights flashing, Elvis jiving and ‘funny’ money rolling in the gambling den, the main challenge for us was getting guests to leave at the end. With a sparkling cocktail in one hand a hot dog in the other and a Las Vegas showgirl on his arm, one guest was so delighted with the party that he refused to go. Luckily for us reasoning with ‘tipsy’ guests is all in a day’s work for an Event Manager and we had a taxi on standby ready to take him home safely.

November 2007

Is it a shop? Is it a space? Or is it our favourite unusual venue for Brewin Dolphin to hold their annual drink reception? Hailed as a major attraction in the festive calendar and once again taking first prize for choosing such a unique setting guests had the ideal opportunity to enjoy champagne and canapés whilst shopping in the privately booked food halls, perfumery and accessories halls. Feedback proves this is a must do event on the social calendar so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that a very happy client will be coming back to us in 2008!

October 2007 Whodunnit?

When Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association decided to test their team-working skills they chose a classic Agatha Christie style setting and staged an afternoon of intrigue, mystery and conspiracy. The scene was set as the home of Lord and Lady Botley and when one of the guests was found murdered the challenge was to discover the culprit, together with the motive, murder weapon and location of the crime. Although we were expecting the usual lies, deceit and trickery to unfold, we’re very pleased to say that all participants reported having a great time with the ultimate result drawing all teams together to win the £50 charity prize money on offer. Oh yes, and the large bowls of Haribo pic 'n’ mix helped to ensure a much needed sugar fix was ever present!

September 2007 East meets West

What better way to launch your new offices than on the evening of the Wales v Japan World Cup Game. This was a great opportunity for Atkins to invite clients and associates to relax in their stunning new offices whilst enjoying themed culinary delights and enjoying a glass of sake or two. The Win a Mazda safe cracking competition was a hit with clients and staff and although we didn’t have any lucky winners on the night we can report that one guest was only two digits out from the winning combination!

August 2007 Watch the Birdie!

Congratulations to HBOS who had to brave the most awful traffic conditions to make it to this event. Despite the early morning downpour which threatened to impede on the antics of our Falconry Team’s display all our feathered friends remained dry and ready for action. In addition to the first class service from Fonmon Castle (the freshly squeezed home made lemonade never fails to impress!) there was a variety of Country Pursuit activities to enjoy including pistol shooting, reverse steer driving, Honda Pilots and Archery. We’re delighted to report that the main man is already asking about the next event!

July 2007 Reduce your Carbon Footprint!

What better way to combat the impact of fumes galore when you want to transport 80 BT personnel on a bespoke treasure trail mission across the capital city. Cardiff Bus Company and Cardiff Castle were just part of the action packed day which centered around a pot pourri of communication based challenges which included six colour coded missions, 2 way radio controlled systems and the obligatory collection of recycled sheep droppings!

June 2007 Rain didn’t stop play!

Who needs sunshine to have a great outdoor event? Not us! Cravath, Swaine and Moore had a touch of Eventure UK sunshine last year so when their New York office called for our help again this year we thought an alternative event should be offered and what better than a spot of light drizzle to help those wheels churn up lots of damp grass and mud. Soggy fun was had by all and we can officially report the horrid wet stuff didn’t succeed in dampening anybodies high spirits!

May 2007 Magic Moments

It was a magic moment for Land Securities when they completed the phase 2 section of the St David’s shopping mall and who better to turn to than our most trusted and favoured magician, Phil Jay to help the celebrations go with a bang! No need to pull any rabbits from a hat, the guests were wowed with Phil’s amazing and outstanding performance and yes we can confirm that all missing watches, rings and wallets were returned at the end of the event – honest!

April 2007 Gee Up Neddy!

HBoS wanted a lot more than a video screen and some races for their team building event and of course we were happy to oblige. Jockey silks, Hobby Horses and the most ornate and colourful rosettes were all part of the package. We’ve found a great new supplier and will feature these in the next edition of Red Carpet. Fun and enjoyment were in abundance and in true Ascot style we had plenty of bubbly for the winners to celebrate their success. After the clients and guests departed we were keen to head for home but the Head Groom insisted we mucked out the stable – whoever said event management was glamorous!

March 2007 Ladies Night

What could be better than an evening with the girls (and the odd gentleman) to celebrate International Women’s Day, especially when it includes the extravagantly funny and inspirational Christine Hamilton. We were all extremely pleased when the Institute of Directors invited us to work with them to showcase their inaugural International Women’s Day Gala Dinner. Having been heavily involved in driving all charitable aspects of the event, including an innovative Jail n’ Bail exercise, our moment of triumph came when we announced the evening’s charitable fundraising – a fantastic total of almost £16k for Cardiff Women’s Aid. Forgive our gloating smiles but we had much to beam about!

Feb 2007 Rise and Shine

We were absolutely delighted to be awarded the contract from Lloyds TSB to organise and facilitate their 2007 Networking events. Then we had to deal with the reality of the 5am start coupled with the insertion of contact lenses and the application of several coats of mascara – ouch! Another identified hazard to add to our H&S Risk Assessment. The new innovative and quirky nature of the event meant our uniform had to be in keeping so it was PJs to the rescue and thankfully no need for heels. We all believe the Goddess of Shredded Wheat was obviously looking after us! For those who are not familiar with my alternative cockney rhyming slang please call and I’ll happily explain!

January 2007 Thank goodness there wasn’t a Yellow Brick Road!

Following the excitement and back to back hours of our Christmas events we all enjoyed a nice relaxing break over Christmas. Unfortunately one of us was so relaxed she forgot to pack her shoes for our January conference – wasn’t she the lucky one. What a great reason to be restricted to the back stage duties in a pair of comfortable trainers while we covered mile upon mile of hotel carpet in our Dorothy style footwear. Fortunately our production crew did a sterling job in meeting the Royal Bank of Scotland requirements for creative conference content and delivered a great stage show but whilst we avoided all routes to death by power point death by chocolate was another matter. Twix, Twix or Twix was our staple diet so all plans for a healthy start to the New Year went out of the window. We’re now thinking of entering Dragon’s Den with a healthy vacuum packed crew meal with a built in sensory device that heats up instantly at the mention of the word Conference!

December 2006 Sleeping Beauties

The Insight Investment Christmas Party was a magical and memorable evening for all. The champagne was flowing; the ball gowns were beautiful and the funky band ensured that the dance floor was full throughout the night. Unfortunately, in true event management style and with all eyes firmly on our client’s budget the only interaction with the champagne we had was whilst we were knee deep in bottles confirming the ‘payment on consumption only’ quota! As we left the Park Lane Hilton we soon realised that a women’s work is never done (especially when she’s an event manager) and at 4.00am our lasting memory of the evening was helping to locate a lost mobile of a rather tipsy male wandering around the hotel foyer. What service I hear you shout and yes I agree – he wasn’t even one of our guests! Heels off, make up removed and a successful event behind us, we welcomed the opportunity for a quiet nap on the way home. Only another 6 hours to go before the next event!

Earlier 2006 – now archived for posterity!