Webster defines a hero as a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability. We agree. Our heroes, to name them specifically, are Larry Abel Designs and Mary Giuliani Catering.
Back in late March the Royal Caribbean team was charged with pulling together an event for more than 100 attendees, all in less than three weeks time. What really upped the pressure was that the event was to reveal possibly one of the biggest architectural feats in Royal Caribbean’s corporate history—the first announcement of what will be featured onboard the cruise line’s biggest and most impressive ship ever, Oasis of the Seas.
With no real images of the ship to speak of, only renderings created by a Chinese art company contracted by Royal Caribbean, and signed NDAs needed before we could disclose any details of the announcement to anyone working on the event, it made the three week window all the harder.
Basically the weeks ticked by in a blur. We crazily spat instructions and stream of consciousness thoughts at both Larry Abel and Mary Giuliani (once those NDAs were signed) as we at Weber worked on all the final details that go into event planning and make that degree in public relations seem all the more worthwhile… “Does he spell his name with an ‘i’ or a ‘y’ for these nametags? “Is it THE New York Times for these tags or just New York Times”- OK we know that one… but you get the drift.
The end result of our first reveal was a very happy client and an amazing list of attendees. But I think above all, one of the biggest lessons our team took away was how crucial the event planner is in steering the ship (pun intended). (And no, Larry and Mary aren’t paying us for this publicity. This is free of charge for our 2 a.m. emails and last minute tasting requests for 25 people). On our way back to our office after the event, as our bodies melted into the leather seats of our rented car, we exchanged war stories of less-than-successful events past. The common thread that connected them all: less-than-stellar planners. As I regained feeling in my throbbing feet, I was just happy we didn’t have another fatality to add to the pile.
Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned anything about our second reveal. It’s also three weeks out…
Back in late March the Royal Caribbean team was charged with pulling together an event for more than 100 attendees, all in less than three weeks time. What really upped the pressure was that the event was to reveal possibly one of the biggest architectural feats in Royal Caribbean’s corporate history—the first announcement of what will be featured onboard the cruise line’s biggest and most impressive ship ever, Oasis of the Seas.
With no real images of the ship to speak of, only renderings created by a Chinese art company contracted by Royal Caribbean, and signed NDAs needed before we could disclose any details of the announcement to anyone working on the event, it made the three week window all the harder.
Basically the weeks ticked by in a blur. We crazily spat instructions and stream of consciousness thoughts at both Larry Abel and Mary Giuliani (once those NDAs were signed) as we at Weber worked on all the final details that go into event planning and make that degree in public relations seem all the more worthwhile… “Does he spell his name with an ‘i’ or a ‘y’ for these nametags? “Is it THE New York Times for these tags or just New York Times”- OK we know that one… but you get the drift.
The end result of our first reveal was a very happy client and an amazing list of attendees. But I think above all, one of the biggest lessons our team took away was how crucial the event planner is in steering the ship (pun intended). (And no, Larry and Mary aren’t paying us for this publicity. This is free of charge for our 2 a.m. emails and last minute tasting requests for 25 people). On our way back to our office after the event, as our bodies melted into the leather seats of our rented car, we exchanged war stories of less-than-successful events past. The common thread that connected them all: less-than-stellar planners. As I regained feeling in my throbbing feet, I was just happy we didn’t have another fatality to add to the pile.
Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned anything about our second reveal. It’s also three weeks out…
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