Project Overview

For the first time ever, BMW Group UK brought all four of its major strategy events into a single week. That’s four different audiences from four different conferences, now together in one week-long event to engage and excite them all about the new strategy.

It was our role to make sure the strategy, new incentives and plans were all connected and presented to the audience in the most effective way.

Our full service offering sped into the fast lane, delivering a seamless event with slick production and superior quality build finishes. From consultancy and content to design, film, build and logistics.

Not only that, we helped the brand celebrate colleagues’ success with four stunning gala dinners, complete with Oscars-style ceremonies and show-stopping entertainment.

Project Commissioner

BMW Group UK

Project Creator

Vista

Team

Dani Batty
James Wilkins
Stacie Jackson
Sam Hanline
Holly Steenson
Callum Barr
Harriet Cooper
Lynne Pearson
Craig Moran
Max Woodworth
Tom Hunter
Craig Millard
Rachael Pearson
Jethro Myers
Chris Baker
Matt Ede

Project Brief

As this event would be the first time BMW Group UK would host a Retailer Conference Week with all its major strategy events together - the BMW Group UK Retailer Conference, the MINI UK Sales Conference, the BMW Group UK Aftersales Conference, and the BMW Group UK Sales and Marketing Conference. Their vision for the event was to hone in on their fresh, retail-inspired approach to sales and service.

We needed to engage, excite and motivate the nationwide retailer network of over 1,200 retail owners and their employees with three new strategic pillars – Profitability, Reducing Complexity and Partnership. With a whole bundle of new incentives, plans and support mechanisms being announced across the week, it was our role to make sure they were all connected and presented to the audience in the most effective way.

Every tiny detail of our design and delivery needed to reflect the Group’s fresh messaging – living and breathing the ethos of simplicity and performance with a streamlined itinerary, bold design, premium finishes and a genuine sense of exclusivity throughout the delegate journey.

Project Innovation/Need

We’re a full-service agency that adds real value as a trusted partner. Our fully integrated in-house service links creative communications with end-to-end delivery across consultancy, content, design, film, build and logistics. We removed the risk of incoherent messaging throughout the Retailer Conference Week by providing all our services under one roof, reducing review time and making the most of our in-house expertise.

We pride ourselves on our personal relationships – and never had it been so integral to a project’s delivery. We had to become an extension of their in-house team, not just an appointed agency.

Working with internal stakeholders directly out of the Group’s Head Office, we took the wheel on creative conception and development, while our production warehouse in Leeds devised immersive staging that would go on to engage delegates more than ever before.

Our in-house venues team also sourced a world class venue that precisely matched each of the event requirements across the week and embodied the luxury of the BMW brand – the Liverpool Arena and Convention Centre (ACC). We sourced equally luxurious hotels to cater for every level of delegate: from Hilton, Malmaison and Titanic, to Crowne Plaza and Radisson Blu.

User Experience

We made each event feel unique: from an Oscars-style ceremony recognising individual and team achievements at the flagship Retailer of the Year Awards, to transforming the BMW-branded conference dressing to the radically different look and feel of MINI for its standalone sales audience.

Our rich history of logistics experience shone throughout. From catering for all 1,280 delegates across the full week including breakfasts, lunches, snacks, breaks and dinners, to organising shuttle coaches and accommodation across seven hotels, we made sure every delegate felt relaxed and comfortable at every moment.

Interactive breakout sessions brought key messages to life for delegates, bringing them closer to the Group’s strategy than ever before. We also delivered a premium brand experience for every delegate. Our suspended ‘projection box’ staging connected speechless delegates with the strategy, with unparalleled sight lines from all angles.

Our communications specialists used speaker coaching to help senior leaders feel comfortable with the immersive staging, increasing audience engagement thanks to invaluable tips on tone and delivery.

Our Film team also filmed and produced a daily closing ‘highlights’ video which was shot and edited onsite for each event, ending each conference on a high.

Sustainability

We follow a triple bottom line approach to sustainability: environmental, social and economic. We hold a BITC Big Tick (Business in the Community) award for small responsible business of the year.

We also operate an award-winning CSR programme which is delivered by every employee at Vista. We compile a sustainability checklist to see how and where we can reduce the carbon footprint of every communications campaign and event we deliver.

Each of the eight events had different build and set requirements with completely different look and feels, so we created build sets that could be easily scaled up and down between the afternoon and evening dinner events. Our versatile stage sets were simple to set up, easy to use, and were used across all conferences with minimal rebranding.

We always buy our materials in bulk for numerous jobs, such as locally sourced FSC wood, meaning a large percentage of what we build is ready to be reused or recycled.

Sourcing local crew helped save us money and minimised transport – reducing costs and emissions. We even shared trucking with our suppliers, and created a transport schedule to organise car sharing, meaning there were no wasted journeys.

Event Experience

This award celebrates creative and innovative design for an event. Consideration given to originality, creativity; theming;  audience connection and engagement and how the event created a seamless experience for the visitor and helped to reinforce the program's core message

 
More Details