The 3 Ingredients for a Great Event

by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua

Yesterday the SoolNua crew participated at Site Ireland’s annual summer event and came away inspired, energized and truly motivated. And it wasn’t just the unabated sunshine – temperatures were 25 degree +. Upon reflection this morning I realized the event involved the rather rare perfect alignment of 3 key factors in successful event delivery – venue, organization and participants.

The venue

The venue, its location, design, architecture, flow etc is crucial for event success. Yesterday’s event took place at Kildare Village one of 10 global sites owned by Value Retail, a company setting out to re-define outlet shopping. It set up in Ireland 8 years ago and offers shoppers discounted access to 62 luxury global brands including Anya Hindmarch, 7 For All Mankind, Brooks Brothers, Cath Kidston, Church’s etc

Located less than one hour from Dublin City Centre, Kildare Village takes its inspiration architecturally from the proud equestrian legacy of the county using lots of painted woods in stylized imitation of traditional stables. It’s pleasantly set amidst green meadows adjacent to an ancient abbey and connected to Kildare town by a magnificent deck walkway.

The Village is pristine with colourfully planted borders and broad thoroughfares with attractive street furniture offering ample rest spots. There’s a large Italian-inspired restaurant, L’Officina, operated by Dunne & Crescensi and a Starbucks. For the summer season there’s also a series of pop-up food stalls. There’s also an ass-kicking tourism team comprising Alison Johnston, Lee-Ann McCarthy and Gisele Mansfield.

We used Kildare Village yesterday like a theatrical set to provide a stimulating backdrop for our team-building activities. When our activities concluded we had free time to browse and shop before a wonderful wine tasting experience at L’Officina.

Result?

A perfect afternoon’s activity in a perfect venue with all activity points within easy range of each other. Customisation, convenience and comfort.

The organization

Great events need professional expertise and yesterday’s event had professional expertise in abundance thanks to the involvement of Richard Phelan and his team from Dynamic Events. The SoolNua team has known Richard since he started Outdoor Dynamics back in the 1990s so it was wonderful to experience the amazing evolution of his business, particularly his embracing of technology as a key tool in team-building.

We were provided with smartphones, a booklet of questions and additional material was sent to us while we did our mad dash around Kildare Village in fulfilment of our tasks. Needless to say it was great fun as the 5 of us took implausible pictures in potentially compromising positions and sought answers to questions by fair means (and foul!).

Following our immersion in the Village, Richard organized a highly engaging and fiercely competitive “CupCake Decorating Contest” adjudicated by one of Ireland’s only Master Bakers. Significantly he arranged for the finished products to be delivered to a nearby Nursing Home.

Throughout the afternoon, and again over dinner, Richard organized for local musicians to provide live entertainment. He also caught us all delightfully by surprise when, under blistering sunshine, the 3 piece suddenly intoned Happy by Pharrell Williams only for a flash mob to materialize right before us. Needless to say it wasn’t long before the Grey Beard himself was right in the midst of it.

We completed our cake decorating task at one of the units-in-transition at Kildare Village and had ample space to do so. Drinks and snacks were provided and most of us licked our rubber-gloved fingers too.

Result?

A seamless activity during which old men with grey beards amiably collaborated with young women in heels. A veritable cornucopia of home baked delights was created. Patients at a local nursing home had colourful confectionary for their 8 o’clock tea.

The people

Undoubtedly the most important element for the success of a live event is the people who attend it. This applies to large-scale public events such as festivals and football matches and smaller, private events like company meetings or association conferences. For public events the event itself will attract its own demographic – thus the much lamented Garth Brooks concerts in Dublin involved, by definition, fans of the country singer. And, in fairness, they’re a great group of fun loving revelers of all ages.

For private events of the type organized by professional meeting planners it’s not so easy to guarantee a like -minded crowd. Many corporate meetings are filled with disengaged attendees, disenfranchised associates, disinterested participants. That’s why what’s done BEFORE the live event plays such an important role in its success. By engaging with participants in advance through briefings, social media etc you maximize the chances of getting not only the right people, but the right people in the right head space!

Yesterday’s event at Kildare Village was comprised of members and friends of Site Ireland who work, mainly, in sales and marketing for hotels, venues and DMCs. They were a high octane bunch of cheerful extroverts who threw themselves unhesitatingly into the activities on offer.

Result?

A wonderfully warm atmosphere. Friendships made. Trust established. Sales achieved!

Pádraic Gilligan is Managing Partner at SoolNua, a boutique marketing agency specialising in MICE tourism. Thanks to Jason Clarke Photography for the great pictures