Arena Group support Pimento to re-launch Holiday Inn brand at Farnborough

Pimento, the experiential marketing agency was appointed to re-launch the Holiday Inn brand to an audience of over 2,500 delegates at IHG’s (InterContinental Hotels Group) Pan European conference this April. The launch was the first commercial event held at the recently opened Farnborough FIVE, the new purpose build exhibition and conference venue at Farnborough International Airport in Hampshire.

The event took place over one week, consisting of a series of conferences for Hotel owners, investors, general managers and sales and marketing executives as well as senior staff from IHG, its hotels and its franchisees across the region.

Arena Structures supplied 4,600m² of temporary overlay to significantly expand the capacity of FIVE, creating a dedicated 20 x 65m VIP reception area incorporating registration and catering points. This led into an adjoining 30 x 50m exhibition hall with four breakout conference rooms and into a beautifully lined 30 x 50m dining hall also used for Awards. Walkways (with mirrored ceilings) unobtrusively linked the VIP reception area to FIVE, so that from delegates point of view it was all one large venue.

Sister company Spaceworks supplied all of the furnishing, which ranged from stylish sofa’s, coffee tables and dining tables for 500 to cloakroom baggage racks.

Following registration the delegates entered a cinematic film experience that Pimento had created which traced the history of the Holiday Inn brand from its inception in middle America in the 1950s through to present day. They then moved into a luxury conference theatre for presentations, where Arena Seating supplied 530 of their Diplomat conference seats in a tiered formation.

Speeches over, the conference screens moved aside in a theatrical reveal of the new “hallmarks” that will differentiate the Holiday Inn chain and set the standard for the industry over the next decade. IHG’s delegates were entertained on site in Arena’s facilities, with dinners and awards also being held at Hampton Court Palace and Ascot Racecourse.

Kathleen Gearhart executive producer commented:
“This was a very ambitious conference to this scale and we worked as a very focused team to deliverer the best possible value for the client. The AV presentations were key to delivering the messages and Arena Seating were almost silent in the efficiency of the delivery of their temporary theatre. James Thomas was an absolute star project managing the Arena Structures side of things, he remained calm and effective through quite a few changes to plans as the clients’ added elements at short notice. ”

Stephen Knight, Founder and Managing Director of Pimento commented:
“It’s been a privilege to work on this amazing project which has involved a huge number of very talented people. The total project team will run to just over 400 and the end result is a brand experience that will act as a launch platform for one of the World’s most iconic brands.”
“We created a different environment for the delegates who spend most of their lives in hotels by using FIVE and transforming with the help of Arena Structures and Arena Seating. Hoteliers are the harshest of critics, looking for the highest of standards and attention to detail in all areas, which we delivered very well alongside our service companies.”

Jeremy Perkins 07768 008880