Premiere Events hosts a themed celebration for clients
In January 2018, Premiere decided to host a “Lady in Red” appreciation party — along with its sister company, Premiere Select — to thank the clients who helped make the company’s continued growth and success possible.
“From the beginning, we planned an entertaining, customer-focused event,” says Ken Sharples, creative director, Premiere Events. “We chose the sultry theme ‘Lady in Red’ for its drama and passion — and because it was so different from anything we’d done before.”
In the past, Premiere has hosted a variety of events, including a “Product Premiere Showcase,” “Splurge Party” (on National Splurge Day), Cinco de Mayo Celebration and various other themed events. In 2013 and 2015, Premiere hosted “Premiere Settings,” featuring an invitation only design competition.
Premiere’s top customers were invited to use Premiere’s inventory to create their best 10-ft.-by-10-ft. presentation. Prizes were awarded to the winning design teams and to their “charity of choice,” but this year’s event was totally unique and very different.
“Instead of celebrating ‘us,’ we wanted to celebrate ‘them’ — our loyal customers and biggest fans. We know that when it comes to rentals, companies in Austin and the surrounding areas have many options,” Sharples says. “By hosting the best industry party of the year, we wanted to say, ‘Thank You’ and ‘We Appreciate You.’”
The nearly 90 guests in attendance included VIP and key clients, as well as the “POWER” (Premiere Organization for Wedding and Event Resources) network — consisting of event professionals who opt in to become members — along with Premiere’s Management and Event Consulting Team.
The company used unique invitations to reach out to potential guests. VIP clients were invited with a bottle of wine dressed in a red cocktail dress. The bottle was boxed and wrapped with black paper and a red bow. Inside the box was a paper invitation, along with tickets for the VIP’s team. Other guests received online invitations.
The event was held at a local country club and featured many items Premiere had purchased at The ARA Show™. The event was used to debut the company’s prism chairs from Flash Furniture, Canton, Ga., and gold rim marble plates from Fortessa, Ashburn, Va.
Other design elements included specialty linens — for guest seating and cocktail tables— lounge furniture and floral décor — created by The Flower Studio, Austin. The room was decorated in white and gray with red accents in the lighting, décor and food.
Theme-appropriate musical entertainment was provided by a pianist and “sultry” vocalist. A photo area also was set up for guests, featuring a backdrop based on images from the 2016 Oscar awards. The backdrop was designed by Sharples and crafted by a local Austin artisan.
While the event was successful, an accident left the Premiere Events crew dealing with last-minute changes that they usually are helping their clients to overcome.
“Originally scheduled for Nov. 17, 2017, the event was actually executed in January 2018,” says Sharples. “Our president and chief inspiration officer, Delores Crum, had a Halloween accident that resulted in facial reconstructive surgery and kept her out of commission through Thanksgiving.”
Sharples says that while working with an outside client, the show must go on, but since this was their own event, it wouldn’t have been the same without their “leader and her personal touches.”
“Changing the date was no easy task,” says Megan Cardwell, CERP, Premiere’s marketing director. “We had to negotiate with the venue to reschedule and they graciously agreed to move the event to Jan. 25, 2018. All the vendors — flowers, photographers, lighting entertainment, specialized set up and tear down crews — had to be contacted, the situation explained, and the new date discussed.”
“In Austin, our tight-knit community of professionals really comes through in heartwarming ways when one of our members — in this case Premiere — needs help,” says Sharples. “Delores’ accident could have created a disaster, but instead every obstacle was overcome by the sincere willingness and efforts of all our vendors to make these last-minute changes possible.”
“I’m grateful to every Premiere team member, every vendor who participated and to every guest who joined in the fun and festivities,” says Crum. ◆
The Inspiration Gallery is your chance to showcase your company’s talents. The gallery focuses on the challenges those in the industry have faced and what crews have done to overcome them.
Challenges could include a difficult location, bad weather, short timelines or demands for elaborate custom work.
Select events will be on display during Events & Tents on Feb. 16, 2019, and The ARA Show™ from Feb. 17-20, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif.
New for 2019, companies who submit an event will have the chance to win a free CERP certification and will be featured in an event profile story in Rental Management magazine.
The Certified Event Rental Professional (CERP) program, offered exclusively by the American Rental Association (ARA), is the only rental-specific certification program for those in the party and event rental industry.
You must be registered for Events & Tents or The ARA Show to participate in the gallery. Registration opens in September. Submissions to the Inspiration Gallery currently can be accepted.
The deadline for submissions is Friday, Oct. 5, 2018. ◆
Please email all submissions and questions to [email protected]. All pictures need to be 300 dpi in .jpg format, about 8 in. by 10 in. in size. You’ll also need to include a final picture of the event and one or two pictures that highlight the challenges or obstacles your company faced during the event, as well as a description that includes:
• The event name and category
• Date and location
• Background information, such as challenges you encountered and solutions
• Main products used
• Other companies involved
• Your company name, location of your company’s headquarters and website
• Number of full-time staff
To view all events from the Inspiration Gallery 2018, go to Rental Management Digital.
