7th Global Event Awards: Best Experiential Event Finalists

In the following weeks, we will introduce you to the Eventex finalists - those extraordinary eventprofs who are competing for a Global Event Award. You will meet them in person come January at the special gala ceremony at Croke park but first, we would like to offer you a brief preview of their projects and products that transform events into cutting-edge experiences.

Best Experiential Event Finalists

InBev – Brewed by Nature by The Oval Office bvba29 September, 2016 – 29 October, 2016 | Brussels, Belgium

The Oval Office bvba produced InBev - Brewed by Nature event for Anheuser-Busch InBev, a multinational beverage and brewing company. In the space of 20 days, former AB InBev offices on the Brussels’ Grand Place were transformed into a temporary premium pop-up restaurant with an impressive barley based scenography and an immersive customer journey through the natural ingredients of beer. Barley was chosen as the champion ingredient.The event’s main objectives were to drive the reappraisal of beer, create a positive impact on the perception of beer brewed out of natural products, and educate consumers on the natural ingredients of beer.These were achieved through an immersive & surprising customer journey: a combination and interaction of the impressive scenography with a delicious 6 course menu, both based on barley, the main natural ingredient of beer. Customers at the restaurant were given a choice between 2 barley rooms, both with an exclusive view on the Brussels’ Grand Place. One of the rooms was in Art Nouveau style created by the world renowned flower artist Daniel Ost, the other in Surrealist style with an authentic barley field waving upside down all over the ceiling. During the meal the chef personally invited every table to join him to a secret hop garden somewhere in the restaurant to taste an exclusive hop ice cream.We successfully expanded the community of beer aficionados online by 50% and actively engaged 3 750 consumers to taste and experience the natural ingredients of beer through the pop-up and sampling activities. Before the start of the campaign 800 000 Belgian consumers expressed an active interest in the beer. Brewed by Nature managed to reach 1.3 million Belgians. 1 400 consumers experienced the 6 course journey in the restaurant, while the pop-up and the recipes were featured in 106 printed and media articles, as well as national radio and television broadcasts.Read full entrySalym Petroleum Development: ASP Technology Start-Up Ceremony by abd:Entertainment24 March, 2016 | Moscow, Russia

Watch videoThe ASP Technology Start-Up Ceremony by abd: Entertainment was a special event that marked the launch of an ASP mixing unit by Salym Petroleum Development - a method for enhanced oil recovery through alkaline-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding.The main objective was to show that Salym Petroleum Development (SPD) is a synonym for new technologies and bold decisions. The event was a platform for talks with officials and demonstration of new technologies, and the ASP technology in particular.Panoramic and 3D video mapping were used to recreate a model of the Salym plant right in Moscow downtown. The event was themed in the style of the movie "Tron" - a city of the future, people of the future, the hall turned into a spaceship, neon colors, etc. That style was present in the panoramic video installations, in the entertainment acts, in all constructions, promo materials. All installation images were designed and composed to make the most visible and spectacular presentation of the ASP technology and its role in the development of Western Siberia’s oil potential.The ceremony had a strong "wow-effect”. Everyone was strongly impressed by what they saw. The event was attended by more than 100 distinguished guests, including representatives of the federal government, the presidential administration and caused admiration and interest in many political and economic circles. The high level of information awareness by key stakeholders (both at federal and regional levels), that the ASP project required in order to be fully implemented, was also achieved successfully.After the ceremony, abd:Entertainment received a number of orders for such “wow-effect” events and gained more weight and recognition on the Russian market of event services.Read full entryThe Floating Gaardens by Momentum Worldwide30 July – 21 August, 2016 | London, UK

The Floating Gaardens is a brand engagement event produced by Momentum Worldwide for Hoegaarden Brewery, the producer of a premium, craft beer with incredible taste and heritage.The event was conceived as an engaging sensorial bar experience, all taking place on a unique barge, The Floating Gaardens sailed around London’s canals, becoming a highly talked about summer destination. The purpose was to celebrate Hoegaarden’s use of the finest natural ingredients and to stand out from the competition.Knowing and understanding the target audience was key to making this a great brand engagement event. Driven by curiosity, they’re real individuality-loving culture vultures. East London is their hub, but they love green spaces that let them escape the city. They embody the London scene and are fussy about their brand-world. Only brands that talk their language, in their comfort zones are worthy. This being a difficult-to-impress audience, we had to create a unique experience that celebrated the beer and its natural ingredients, and gave our audience the chance to try Hoegaarden in a cool inspiring social space.It started with a pre-launch consisted of a press release, picture story and Facebook LIVE with Hoegaarden fan and rapper Professor Green. As part of the supporting social media campaign, the Hoegaarden Facebook and Instagram channels were relaunched. All followed by an exclusive media-launch party that positioned The Floating Gaardens as the destination of the summer, to drive bookings ahead of the opening. Press coverage was secured in a number of titles, including 10 pre-event listings and 7 media launch night pieces.The barge was a bespoke solution that was built from scratch, to develop a completely fresh and creative idea that delivered a unique experience and elevated Hoegaarden’s speciality beer status. It set sail around East London’s waterways, an experience designed to open minds to new ideas, sounds, sights and tastes in the midst of busy urban life.Exclusive entry to the barge sailings was awarded through an online public promotion. The Floating Gaardens invited lucky winners to experience an hour-long voyage, during which they enjoyed freshly poured Hoegaarden paired with delicious canapés created by celebrity chef Valentine Warner that perfectly complemented the subtle citrus and zingy coriander notes of the beer – all in a lush, nature-themed setting which provided a refreshing moment of sanctuary.Guests also experienced a sensorial ‘Sound Scape Gaarden’, created in conjunction with the local artist community and the Oxford University Crossmodal Research Laboratory. Carefully crafted sounds enhanced particular tasting notes of Hoegaarden and its natural botanicals, playing with guests’ senses to alter the taste of the beer and accentuate its sweetness and bitterness – helping them appreciate and enjoy the depths of flavour as part of their brand immersion. There were also various consumer touch points along the way to continually drive awareness and brand reappraisal, including a bespoke ticketing website, collateral, onboard experiences and giveaways for guests to take home.The Floating Gaardens was a completely unique and engaging experience. The activity was incredibly well received and generated a very impressive set of results. Total number of promotion entrants was 4,845, and another 66,000 reached, based on the approx. number of people seeing the boat over the activation at mooring location and along the canal. Coverage was secured in over 30 titles, including Time Out London, plus national and online coverage in Telegraph.co.uk, MailOnline and Tatler.co.uk, for a total of 41 pieces. As part of the supporting social media campaign, the Hoegaarden Facebook and Instagram channels were relaunched, with 35,000 reached organically on Facebook, 51,000 organic views of Pro Green Facebook LIVE, 230,119 promoted views of Facebook LIVE replay, and 483 mentions of #floatinggaardens across Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, reaching over 16.3k consumers over all channels. Total reach (organic + paid) was 943,574.Read full entryThe Hyundai FanDome by Produce UKJune - July 2016 | London, UK

Watch videoThe Hyundai FanDome by PRODUCE UK, working closely with creative agency The Brooklyn Brothers, was an event that aimed to showcase Hyundai Motor UK’s support for UK football fans. As official sponsors of EURO 2016, Hyundai Motor UK needed to showcase their involvement to fans in the UK in a creative, visual and credible way that would generate PR coverage and really connect to the emotion of the matches.The FanDome was the first truly immersive football viewing experience in the UK. The event employed 360 degree projection mapping. The usual viewing experience for football fans is to watch on a flat screen, or in a pub. With the FanDome the emotional and sensory experience was that of 'being at the match'. Up to 1 000 people per match (for 51 matches in total) were surrounded by a 91 metre 360° wrap-around screen that reacted to every moment of live action.The surround element of the motion graphics and soundscape brought fans as close to the action as they could possibly be. Scent machines even pumped out the smell of freshly cut grass to heighten the feeling. Fans wore LED wristbands synced to the projections and the state-of-the-art surround-sound to complete the stadium-like experience. It generated a truly memorable mass fan experience.The FanDome brought Hyundai’s partnership to life, providing a visual spectacular for football fans throughout the EUROs. 37 000+ fans ordered tickets and it became the go-to location for media (BBC, ITV) to capture fan reactions. The event hit some heights with 65.3 million total campaign impressions, 38.9 million total people reached in our target audience during the campaign, 7.4k total mentions across social media, 4 million content views, 164 pieces of coverage, and 55 minutes of broadcast coverage, including Sky Sports News, BBC, London Live.Read full entryThe winners and runners-up will be revealed at the gala ceremony at Croke Park, 24 January 2017. Register now and join the league of extraordinary event professionals!