Client
Honda Motor Europe
Event
European media launches
Date
Various launches throughout the year
Location
Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, South Africa, Qatar
Services Delivered
- Travel and transfers for all staff and guests
- Delegate management
- Venue sourcing, negotiations and contracting for hotel, lunch and coffee stops
- Sourcing of production equipment for technical presentation
- Coordinating of all agencies involved in the launch including videographers, photographers, route specialists, and garage and technical teams
- Sourcing of all garage-related equipment for the safety and security of the motorbikes
Overview
For Honda Motor Europe, Noble Events orchestrated a series of European Media Launches aimed at unveiling Honda’s latest motorcycles. The goal for the client was to showcase these in their best possible light. The launches were held in picturesque, strategic locations across Europe, South Africa and Qatar, ensuring a blend of scenic roads and first-class amenities.
Each event consisted of 6-7 groups of renowned motorcycle journalists from across Europe as well as their Honda Country PR Representatives. A critical aspect of the launches was ensuring that every attending journalist enjoyed a comfortable and enjoyable experience from arrival to departure.
Objectives
The primary challenge was finding venues that met all logistical and aesthetic requirements that were essential for showcasing Honda’s motorcycles in a way that befit their brand image. The criteria included:
- Capabilities to handle large transport vehicles.
- Secure underground parking capacity for support bikes, launch bikes and bike maintenance.
- Availability of adequate event offices to support event, photo and video teams.
- Separate restaurants for both the journalists’ dinner and staff buffet.
- An adequate number of bedrooms to accommodate each group for 2 nights.
- Easy flight access to ensure journalists could fly direct with as short a commute as possible.
- High-standard accommodations that reflected Honda’s brand image.
- Operational excellence during the off-season when many potential venues are typically closed.
- These factors were crucial to create an environment that not only facilitated the technical aspects of the motorcycle launches but also enhanced the overall experience of the attendees.
Outcomes
To address these challenges, Noble Events implemented a series of strategic actions:
- Thorough Venue Research and Selection: The team conducted extensive research and vetting of potential venues to ensure they met specific criteria. Out-the-box thinking was employed wherever necessary and included innovative adaptations of space, such as converting meeting rooms into secure garages or using luxury suites as functional event offices for teams.
- Detailed Planning and Coordination: Detailed site inspections with all agencies and client decision-makers were led by Noble Events in order to forensically analyse and stress test the various options. The client was provided with a comprehensive event plan that included contingencies for off-season challenges. These included mitigation of possible closures with regards to hotel, food outlets and fuel suppliers to ensure seamless execution regardless of external conditions.
- Holistic Experience Management: All aspects of travel, accommodation, and onsite logistics were managed by the events team, from delegate management with personalised instructions, to sourcing high-quality dining and technical presentation equipment.
Noble Event’s commitment to creating an environment where everyone felt inspired was about more than just creating a functional space for the press launches. The team consistently went above and beyond to ensure all attendees (over 30 people) had everything they needed from sourcing hard-to-find oils for the garage team, to working with the hotels to carefully align the journalist dinner menus with cuisine from the countries they were attending the launch in, to avoid a repetitive and uninspiring catering experience.
Outcomes
The meticulous planning and execution by Noble Events resulted in a series of successful motorcycle launches for the client, ensuring every motorbike was showcased to its greatest potential.
By prioritising venues that not only supported the technical showcase requirements of the motorcycles, but also provided an exceptional experience for the attending journalists, Honda’s brand image was elevated, and all team members enjoyed a seamless and problem-free work environment.
The longstanding relationship between Noble Events and Honda Motor Europe, spanning over 16 years, is a testament to the trust and satisfaction an industry-leading brand like Honda has in Noble Events’ capabilities to deliver.
This partnership, marked by a series of successful launches that never fail to align with client goals, demonstrates Noble Events’ ability to not only meet but exceed client expectations, no matter how exceptional they may be.