| Company: | |
Central Insurance Companies |
|---|---|---|
| Venue: | |
Edinburgh and St. Andrews, Scotland |
| Objective: | |
Solidify a sense of extended family by rewarding the company’s top-producing agencies with an unforgettable President’s Circle trip, encouraging them to repeat and exceed their performance to qualify for another incredible incentive. |
| Highlights: | With three days in Edinburgh and three in St. Andrews, the event opened with an after-hours reception at Edinburgh Castle. Scottish arts and crafts stations were set up throughout the castle, featuring carving demonstrations, whisky tasting, genealogy, and more. The 200+ crowd of agency owners and spouses sampled hors d’oeuvres and great local cuisine and were treated to a private viewing of the Scottish Crown Jewels. A trio of musicians played traditional Celtic music in the Great Hall, while living gargoyles playfully interacted with the guests. |
the lawn just below the castle. The legendary Lord William Wallace and his Lady arrived on horseback, amid colorful tents and clansmen, to greet the guests. A custom-made flag bearing the Central Insurance logo flew from the parapet, bathed in the golden evening light. Guests enjoyed drinks and hors d’ouevres while watching demonstrations of falconry, kilt folding and a raucous exhibit of hand-to-hand combat.
To everyone’s delight, an engaged couple who had met on a previous incentive trip were pulled into the center of the evening’s festivities, when, at the client’s request, we arranged for the “damsel” to be taken hostage by the clansmen, while her “fair knight” came to her rescue and literally fought for her honor.
Astride his steed, Wallace led guests to the Great Hall where a medieval banquet awaited. Long tables were bedecked with period arrangements of fruit, flowers and candles, with elaborate “candelabras” of flowers suspended above. The soaring beamed ceilings were draped with swags of jewel-toned brocade. Guests enjoyed a family-style dinner and drank wine from pewter goblets, serenaded by a quartet playing raucous traditional songs. At evening’s end, the crowd was called from their seats by a troop of bagpipers, who “beat the retreat” and accompanied them through the ancient torch lit courtyard to waiting buses.
Mad About Plaid. For an evening at the Balmoral Hotel, guests were asked to don their best plaid outfits, some brought from home, some rented and some purchased in Edinburgh. Plaid caps were distributed to the attendees as they entered the reception. With a heralding of trumpets, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles arrived. The “Queen” offered welcoming remarks and knighted the President of Central Insurance. She and her son then mingled with the delighted crowd, providing an incredible photo opportunity.
Guests retired to an adjacent ballroom for dinner, while a local band performed in front of a rear projection screen. As dinner concluded, the screen erupted with scenes from early Beatles movies, which were projected on all four walls and the ceiling! A Kabuki-style curtain drop revealed the best Beatles cover band in the world, and the dance floor was packed for the rest of the night.
St Andrews and Excursions. At the birthplace of the sport, the overall theme was, of course, golf. In addition to playing the area’s renowned courses, guests enjoyed hundreds of organized excursions, including salmon fishing on hidden rivers, whisky distillery tours, customized spa days, outings to Glamis Castle and the Royal Yacht Britannia, Hollyrood house, a behind-the-scenes tour of the Scottish Parliament, private picnic in the Scottish Highlands, and a London theatrical day. All guests received a personal itinerary, and changes were deftly accommodated using online registration software set up in a well-staffed hospitality suite.
At St. Andrews, to belatedly celebrate the President’s 50th birthday, we arranged a surprise party in an ancient stone farm building, set back from the sea. When he opened the door, he was greeted with a chorus of “Surprise!” from the throng of guests, each of whom wore a mask-on-a-stick bearing the likeness of his face. His son and daughter made a surprise entrance, having been secretly flown in the night before. An arcade area featured race car games, video challenges and pinball. Life-size cutouts of the birthday boy in his younger days helped decorate the area. After a rustic indoor barbecue dinner, some of the U.K.’s top recording artists played to a wildly dancing crowd. The celebrant received his own viewing stage, complete with recliner, beer keg, giant remote control and race car jacket. As guests departed, they were treated to fireworks over the Scottish Moors, coordinated to Rod Stewart’s Forever Young and the Beatles’ Birthday.
The week concluded with a Legends of Golf theme evening, incorporating Wii golf simulators, golf swing analyzer, movies playing in continuous loop, table centerpieces of rough grass and miniature golf bags, and life-size cutouts of famous golfers. As the evening wound down, guests enjoyed a video production highlighting the week – and the big reveal of the next incentive location. Nobody left that room without buzzing about qualifying again!