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Time to Celebrate – An unusual summer event!

June 2013

On 5th June we delivered an unusual summer event for a key pet nutrition client. They were so happy that it’s only right to begin this blog with their feedback:

‘The afternoon event went really well, we can’t wait to get the films back … yesterday evening went absolutely great. The magician and mind-reader were amazing – great choices they really added another dimension. The photo booth went down a storm as we knew it would, pictures were being uploaded to Facebook straight away!! LOL. The band were really great getting everyone on the dance floor straight away with their lovely mix of music… ‘

Naturally when a company hits a milestone they want to celebrate, even more so when they have two milestones in the same year which is why they chose KDM to organise the whole day and create a memorable event for them!

The initial brief was simple; a flexible afternoon teambuild activity & evening entertainment during which long lasting mementos would be created. Pitching against 3 other companies our team put our heads together to create a bespoke solution based around our ‘Animation Innovation’ team event (Wallace and Gromit style film making) followed by a summer BBQ party with film screening. This proved to be a winning combination that ticked all the client’s boxes.

The event took place on site at their office and research centre in Leicester in a lovely Marquee with an open side so staff could enjoy the June weather (which thankfully was perfect!) The Animation Innovation hit four key requirements: Involvement of all guests – everyone had a specific role during the production of the films in addition to participating in outdoor challenges. Celebrating the company history – each animated short film depicted a key milestone in the company’s success. Creating something of a lasting value – each of the animations created were designed to be utilised by the client following the event. Allowing staff to perform their work duties –the flexibility of the event allowed guests to come & go so that they could still carry out their critical pet care responsibilities. There was an amazing buzz in the Marquee all afternoon, all guests got stuck into the event; some guests were still working on their projects after home time!

In the evening, our Marquee was transformed to create a celebratory summer ball atmosphere with vibrant lighting, balloons & complimentary table dressing to reflect the company colours. Staff were joined by their partners to be greeted with a classic summer drink of Pimms & Lemonade and entertained by our brilliant mix ‘n’ entertainers – Magician, Caricaturist & Mind Reader.

After the big screen premier of the animations and the ‘WAFTAs’ had been awarded guests enjoyed a traditional Hog Roast & buffet including a dessert of Mars Cheesecake (a little slice of heaven). Once all the guests were full an informal Wii competition took place; it was a close call on the Dance Stage as they all had ‘moves like Jagger’.

Whilst an amazing local live band were playing guests also enjoyed the unique experience of our Photo Studio, allowing groups of 10-15 people to create their own special memories as a reminder of this amazing celebration with a 6×4 photo to take away with them from a variety of backgrounds including two personalised to the client.

All in all, a perfect day to remember with 20 films to use for their future events…watch this space!

Posted in Company Parties and Awards Nights, Corporate Entertainment, Team Building
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KDM’s Total Events Service

June 2013

A lower cost, saving of time and a greater management of risk were the end results when our Hewlett Packard client chose to work with one supplier. One supplier can beat two or even three!

When we took a call in early April from the head of an EMEA Sales team at Hewlett Packard, the client was focused on his goal to improve his team’s communication and working styles – and wanted to hear ideas of how KDM could help via a team building product. However with the client’s time at a great premium, a tight budget and only 5 weeks to go before the event, it soon became clear that a more valuable solution to the client was to place the organisation of the entire meeting into our hands.

Hence the following day, we sent a shortlist of venues that suited budget, location & meeting requirements – along with a suggested format and itinerary for the full 48 hours on site to include a mixture of presentations, business content and outcome focused team-build activities.

The client selected Easthampstead Park (Wokingham) to host the meeting combined with our Crystal Maze and Country sports events. A keenly negotiated venue rate and specific programme of activities that dovetailed with the business content delivered an extremely successful event that resulted in the client having his “…objectives fully met and within budget!”

KDM provide a total event management service. By working with one supplier the end result is a lower cost, a saving of your time and a greater management of risk when organising conferences and meetings. So if you want to keep your business objectives in sight whilst achieving the best value and results possible then call us on 01782 646300 to discuss your event needs.

 

Posted in Meetings and Conferences, News, Team Building
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A bunch of cast offs?

February 2013

Fittingly, it was a rainy cold February Monday afternoon when we stepped into the training room to embark upon a voyage into the unknown with our latest team event ‘Cast Away’ – a tabletop based strategy and communication challenge.

We endured the usual comments about our team – “they look like a scurvy crew, I don’t fancy your chances of survival with that mangy bunch of pirates” however we gathered our courage and set to the task at hand. Apparently, the ship we were travelling on had been shipwrecked and we were washed up on an unknown shore with no map, no food or water and basically no clue. Each team member was given a written set of different thoughts and ideas about the situation and having memorised (or taken notes of) the pertinent facts, we had to navigate as a team through the unfolding terrain represented on the tabletop with colourful location squares. Planning, timescales and understanding priorities were key as each decision we made revealed more ‘squares’ of our location and either rewarded us with supplies, information or things that made us die. Apparently, there are a lot of things that can kill you when you’re a cast away.

Gladly, after the 90 minutes we all made it out alive (sort of) with the following insights:
•    Assumption is a dangerous business! Useless information may not be so unimportant after all.
•    Sharing is important if you want to do well in life (my Mum would be proud)
•    Not knowing all the answers when you have to make a decision is quite scary
•    Clear communication is definitely an art
•    Losing your crew in a poisonous swamp and dying is surprisingly heart breaking…
•    But surviving a shipwreck and being rescued is surprisingly rewarding! In fact there were actually shouts of “We made it! Go KDM crew!”
Needless to say, we all thought this was a brilliant way to improve communication and team work within our group! Now that we are safely back on dry land please send us a message in a bottle (or an email if you prefer) to talk about this for your next team experience!

 

Posted in Team Building
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KDM Movember Results 2012

November 2012

Well at the start of the month they were as smooth as silk (at least above the lip) and now they’re as butch as bananas. Admittedly whilst Darran’s effort looks quite credible a little bit of assistance from a felt tip pen shows that the camera does indeed lie – meaning Craig is the winner winning a night out with the boys with all expenses paid – by him!

Well done boys – we’re looking forward to hearing how much you raised when you’ve finished collecting and KDM will double your money!

Posted in News
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It’s back to school!

November 2012

Is it just me or has anyone else had recurring nightmares about sitting in a school lesson with an embarrassing lack of clothing and taking an exam with all the questions in a strange language? Luckily, this was not the Back to School experience that my client wanted for their Annual Conference and Awards at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole in November.

Inspired by 70 key staff members successfully graduating their internal college programme, the client wanted a theme to capture the imagination of the 350 delegates from across the company. Cue teaser pencil tins filled with retro sweets which invited the delegates to register for a one day event with a punchy mix of short business updates using interactive Q&A pads, Motivational Speaker Michelle Mone (the Ultimo bra entrepreneur), bespoke School Lessons team event and a Cap & Gown college graduation ceremony. The team event saw the 27 teams each completing 4 energetic lessons all tailored and designed around the company: Art, Maths, Geography and an explosive science finale! A special ‘detention’ challenge was a highlight of the day – 27 delegates volunteered to head off to complete a secret task…..their efforts were revealed after dinner to the entire group.

At the evening graduation ball party, guests were wowed by the transformation of the meeting room to a grand dinner hall complete with school boater and tie candelabra centrepieces. Giant retro games and a digital backdrop photo studio provided informal entertainment throughout the evening, along with fun spot prize dinner games. At the conclusion of dinner, we blacked out the room and rang the school bell which ushered the urban dance crew Peridot (of Britain’s Got Talent fame) onto the stage to perform an amazing 8 minute set piece. Buoyant from the incredible energy and talent of the crew, this then paved the way for the secret detention challenge to be revealed – a film of the volunteers performing their very own zombie school kid Thriller video! Choreographed and taught by our professional dancers, the group’s efforts had been filmed by our crew and the results edited on site into a highly entertaining 3 minute dance routine. Needless to say, the guests enjoyed their colleague’s dance crew antics even more than Peridot…leading into an upbeat awards ceremony, school disco and balloon drop to end the evening.

The branding, AV staging, venue dressing, conference awards music and images were all designed to convey the back to school theme. Giant props, tuck shop area, graduation and apples for the teacher imagery were all combined to create a continuous ‘fond school days’ atmosphere. And the feedback from the delegates was overwhelmingly positive – rating the quality and experience of the conference as the best yet.

Now the 3 frames of artwork hanging in the client’s head office and the ‘Thriller’ video on their intranet are keen reminders of their most recent successful school experience and thankfully (for me!) there wasn’t a naked pupil in sight! We are already in discussions on the 2014 business messages and theme, but I’ll be sure to avoid designing anything that involves children or animals…..

Photography by Florentia Buckingham

 

Posted in Meetings and Conferences
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Don’t miss your chance to win an IPod Shuffle!

November 2012

Have you entered our Christmas Carol Competition to win an IPod Shuffle?

All you have to do is take a tune from a Christmas Carol and rewrite the words. Please send your entries to competitions@kdmevents.com. There’s not long left!

Posted in News
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Sarah Fitz gets her man

November 2012

After years of keeping him waiting our Venues and Agents Team Account Director Sarah Fitz finally said ‘I Do’ and just two weeks ago Lucky Jim finally got his girl. The happy couple went off on an eagerly awaited honeymoon in the USA and blew into New York just as Super Storm Sandy blew in from the other direction! Sandy soon realised that she’d met her match and moved on leaving Sarah and Jim to have a fabulous holiday and a truly amazing experience. Congratulations to you both from all your friends here at KDM.

Posted in News
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KDM boys Motivated for ‘Movember’

November 2012

The KDM event crew need few excuses to party, play poker and pretend to be little boys again and so the forthcoming arrival of November once again gave them the ideal opportunity to let their hair down in an effort to outdo the girls’ efforts on ‘Wear it Pink’ day. Mind you as we are constantly reminded women get on with it whereas us blokes take forever which possibly explains why ‘Wear it Pink’ takes 24 hours whereas Movember takes 30 days!

Well here is the ‘before’ shot with the guys being shown just what’s expected of them!!

Posted in News
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Careful with the emails!!

October 2012

Can you remember the good old days when postman Pat used to amble down your drive with the morning’s eagerly awaited post? Now, courtesy of the internet  it’s at you all the time.

Now the widows of Nigerian millionaires offering to share their fortunes with you  and Canadian Pharmaceutical vendors suggesting you need some help in the bedroom department is one thing but when you and your beloved decide to celebrate your nuptials you don’t want your big day spoilt do you?

Unfortunately an email sent to the wrong person and – oops! For the full story click here.

 

Posted in News
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Great team work guys!

October 2012

You only realise how dependent you are on modern telecoms when they don’t work. And you only realise how bad they service you get from the guys who own the copper wires – BT – when you expect them to fix something. Yesterday the ISDN phone system decided to blow up and we put the calls on divert onto our back up copper wire. Our engineers put a temporary system in and we asked them to take the divert off which they did.

Then BT went mad. For some unknown reason someone then decided to put the divert back onto the copper wire which in the meantime had broken at the exchange. So we asked them to take the divert – that they shouldn’t have put on – off. Simple? Apparently due to the wrong sort of rain BT are stretched and it took six hours for them to do so.

Another great British company doing its bit to stuff the economy. And they wonder why we only use them for things we can’t get elsewhere.

Want a joined up business where people work as a team and deliver the results your customers expect? The you need team building from KDM – had to get a plug in somewhere!

P.S. The copper wire line is now fixed – it only took them six days. Well done BT?

Posted in Team Building
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