Fednav Celebrates the end of 2023 with Sparkles and Rollerskates
Case Study
Role
Strategic direction, venue sourcing and management, artistic and design direction and production, entertainment direction and production, technical production, supplier sourcing and management, logistics and on-site management, food & beverage styling, event hospitality staffing.
Mandate
The marketing and communications team at Fednav LLC, Canada's largest oceangoing bulk shipping company, trust Vocation to support them with their marquis events on an annual basis. For their end-of-year holiday celebration in 2023 we were asked to create a special evening that made their employees feel appreciated, included, able to reconnect and have a great time together in a responsible way. All this within a relatively tight budget.
Solution
We proposed a theme for the evening filled with glitz and glamour that would appeal to their diverse guest list…Studio 54! Guests would be transported into an evening filled with mirror-ball sparkle, live music, costumed characters and epic entertainment, true to the original nightclub in NYC. We made careful choices to ensure that our spending prioritized the essential elements that would really bring this theme to life and that all guests would feel excited and included regardless of age or cultural background.
Strategic, multi-purpose decor
Due to the tight budgetary constraints, decor would have to bring major value, be cross functional, and minimize waste.
Working in close collaboration with their suppliers, Vocation proposed a central 360 degree bar with an overhead disco ball installation that would serve as a major focal point. It would anchor the cocktail area and provide the WOW factor as they entered the event for the first time. This would also become the main bar after guests moved into the dining room for the remainder of the evening.
We also commissioned a large custom-made disco ball photobooth backdrop as well as custom low table centerpieces. These allowed guests to interact across their tables while also removing the need for floral, a plus for both the budget and the environmental impact of the event as all elements would be reused by the rental companies for subsequent contracts.
The overall room layout and strategic lighting choices would also be important aspects affecting both the performances and the decor. Ensuring that performers had both enough and safe floor space for a choreographed rollerskating routine would affect both the table layout and the very careful choice and installation of the dancefloor. Tables were rectangular and placed in a chevron pattern allowing both maximum visibility by all guests and an entrance aisle for the skaters to move through the diners to the dancefloor. Lighting was designed to highlight the movement of the dancers from their entrance point into the room down the aisle to the dancefloor for the principal portion of their performance.
Careful choices were made to minimize spending on other line items in favour of spending on the essential elements that would go the furthest in creating the impactful, engaging, community experience the clients were looking for.
Rollerdisco…rolling green room
Studio 54 was known for its guest list and entertainment. You never knew who you would meet or what you would see over the course of an evening there. In that same spirit, our second strategic spending priority would be to ensure a similar feeling for Fednav’s guests with interactive characters costumed in fun 1970s disco-era looks, a themed live band and a unique choreographed rollerskating performance.
The challenge came when we learned that the large space that would be required for hair, makeup and costuming preparations for all these performers would not be available early enough. Our solution? A movable green room that our HMUA team could roll from one area to another to give then sufficient time to get their work done.
