DRIVEN BY PURPOSE

When the Reed & Mackay Events Team were invited through recommendation, to help bring Extreme E’s vision to life, the opportunity was too exciting and too important to let a pandemic stand in the way. Extreme E needed our logistical expertise to deliver their inaugural racing event in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. The event would be the start of their story – one that tells of the effects of climate change and human activity on stunning, remote locations around the globe through world-class sport. With 30% of the planet’s CO2 emissions coming from transport, Extreme E exists to showcase the performance of electric vehicles. At Reed & Mackay Events, we’re passionate about helping businesses to harness the power of face-to-face connection, while also consciously considering the impact of an event on the planet, so we couldn’t wait to be involved. Even if it meant getting 400 delegates to the inaugural race in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia amid a global pandemic.

GETTING TO AL ULA, SAUDI ARABIA

The task: To secure flights, quarantine accommodation, ground transfers, and local race accommodation for 400+ delegates – with one central platform for guests to book all aspects of their trip. Sounds simple enough. Until you get into the detail that is!

The detail: A 72-hour quarantine was in place for any travellers arriving in Saudi Arabia, so we had to secure sufficient capacity at airport hotels offering quarantine services. By virtue of extreme racing – the events were a minimum of a four-hour drive from any airport. This meant sourcing Covid -19 safe transfers for hundreds of delegates across the desert. Extreme E does things with a sustainable style. This is why they carry both championship cars and VIP guests on St.Helena, formerly a Royal Mail ship; now equipped with 62 cabins and a laboratory! This meant providing VIP transfer cars, and assistance in landing VIP private planes at appropriate airports. Not only was VIP race accommodation very limited, but the attendee list also continued to grow, and at any given moment we could lose a large block of rooms if the Saudi Royalty required the accommodation.

SECURING A WIN AHEAD OF THE START LINE

We delivered value from the outset. When the brief arrived we worked with Extreme E to dive into the detail. By the time we had finished our analysis, the brief had evolved significantly. As a new event for our client, they were clear from the outset that they needed an events team that excelled at complex logistics – it was our job not just to accept the brief but to analyse every component to ensure the output was extraordinary. We put basic steps in place such as weekly status emails, regular check-in calls to ensure we were on top of the requirements as they changed and shared smartsheets allowing the client full visibility of ground transfers, and local race accommodation rooming lists, allowing changes to be made quickly and effectively. We also used digital communication channels such as WhatsApp to set up a group with key decision-makers, allowing changes to be made quickly without delays. In short, we became a true extension of Extreme E’s wider team and the results of the partnership were clear in the success of the event.

WHAT THE CLIENT SAID – GUY WAINWRIGHT, EXTREME E COMMERCIAL EXECUTIVE

“The level of clientele you look after around the world encouraged us to partner with you guys. It was fair to say that we knew we would be in safe hands

As extreme E is a start-up, diving straight into the deep end, it was important that we had the most reliable support we could find. The way in which we are able to offload our travel requirements onto you without having to doubt or question you guys has saved a great deal of time and stress.

We are delighted to be partnered with you guys and look forward to developing the relationship further. I just want to say a big thank you from everyone involved with Extreme E.”

If you have an event that requires expert management and logistics, contact our events team to discuss your requirements.