Inbound Case Study

Brief - To create "a quality regional lifestyle experience" – with emphasis on fun, team bonding and wine education.

Hunter Valley Events was briefed on the Amway China Incentive group of 8,000 delegates only 6 months prior to the program’s operation in January 2011.

The brief was not for a Day Tour – but very much an Event - befitting a high end Incentive Tour. In fact a series of events!

Event Programme

The Amway series was over eight separate days of 1,000 visitors per day.

On each day a simultaneous and identical event for between 250 and 400 delegates was held at four separate winery venues – Lindemans, Wyndham Estate, Hope Estate and Calais Estate. These Venues were chosen not just for their capacity, but also their ability to deliver a high quality three course meal, within a tight time period whilst maintaining the level of service required for Incentive groups.

Initially this was to be a lunch, however the Client opted to maximise their morning in Sydney, and arrive in the Hunter Valley at 3.30pm through to 7.30 pm including an early dinner.

Each venue hosted four different event activities prior to dinner, which included:

• Wine Games Marquee – fun bonding activities such as grape stomping, grape throwing, wine spitting (the art of!) and the unique experience of picking grapes to go into the Amway gift wine (sent to guests upon their return – once it was hand crafted by a local winemaker).
• A fully themed fresh Produce Market with tastings and sales of local Hunter Valley gourmet delights.
• A themed Chill Out Café lounge area to relax, with ice cream, juices and refreshing afternoon tea.
• A tutored Wine Class, co-hosted by a local wine educator and translator, to ensure that the wine education was understood and enjoyed!

Entertaining Australian cultural experiences were requested by the client and included at each venue; Koalas (very popular!) and other wildlife, lively country bands (a great way of breaking down cultural barriers through dance!), Aboriginal Artists and Aboriginal Dancers.

Dinner was a celebration of seasonal Hunter Valley produce, prepared by renowned local chefs and paired with fine Hunter wines. Tables were regionally themed with large “grape mound” centrepieces (15 kgs of grapes x 130 tables built each event day), designed especially by our creative team. It was a real treat for the guests to “demolish” the centrepieces each day and take with them an edible souvenir of the ‘golden grape’ from the Hunter Valley!

A fleet of 25 coaches transported guests each day, with high achievers being rewarded with helicopter transfers to and from Sydney.

Event Programme

To cater for cultural differences in delivering an event – to ensure that the guests enjoyment potential was reached through understanding their basic needs such as language, hygiene, safety, eating and purchasing habits.

Hunter Valley Events provided the event infrastructure that allowed for the client organisers to implant their staff and tour guides into the programme. Two full days of training (up to 150 staff of HVE and PTC/Amway staff) where carried out by HVE onsite with ‘mock event’ set up (at one of the venues) – to ensure that the client’s staff could be the guest liaison in delivering the event, whilst HVE staff worked ably to ensure that event operation infrastructure was in place each and every event day.

Translators where briefed and trained in all experiences. Themed Chinese directional signs where posted and translated themed wine and dinner mats where designed as ‘take home’ souvenir items.

Outcome

Our client reported “The 2011 Incentive was one of Amway’s most successful ever programs as rated by their delegates, with The Hunter Valley rating as one of the most highly enjoyed components”

This massive incentive program provided both Hunter Valley Events and the Hunter Valley as a whole, the opportunity to demonstrate our capability to deliver a very successful high end Incentive program, of such magnitude and complexity over several Venues.