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!

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

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

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!

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

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.

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?

A successful Olympics and Paralympics both on and off the park, Andy Murray wins a major, and Jonathan Tiernan-Locke – a Brit – wins the Tour of Britain – the first to do so since the last Ice Age. Never mind, we do have the England football team to bring a dose of reality to our lives.

Here at KDM HQ everybody continues to beaver away, bookings continue to flow in good numbers and I’m pleased to say we’re still able to offer top quality corporate entertainment, meetings and conferences at a seriously good price to our clients who appreciate the brilliant service everybody at Team KDM continues to bring. Well done chaps!