National Automobile Dealers Association Centennial Celebration

LOCATION: NEW ORLEANS
HOSTS GLOBAL DMC: HOSTS NEW ORLEANS

When an association came to us asking for a jubilant fete unlike anything they’ve ever seen in their 100-year history, we went BIG.

5,000

Attendees

1

Event

2

Decision Makers

4

Program Days

The goal

To celebrate their landmark 100th anniversary, the National Automobile Dealers Association wanted to commemorate with an extraordinary invitation-only, opening event unlike any other in the history of their annual conventions. They wanted something BIG in the Big Easy, a high stakes event for such an exclusive celebration.

The challenges

  • Celebrating the association’s century-long history, while also topping everything they have seen or done before.
  • Our chosen venue, the spectacular Mardi Gras World, are where artists work year-round on creating the famed floats of the Mardi Gras parades in NOLA. Its layout presented flow challenges, since there were many points of congestions upon entry.
  • Finding the smartest locations for food and drink stations in an already crowded area.

Strategies & solutions

Create the ultimate, exclusive private Mardi Gras carnival

We produced an authentic, mind-blowing New Orleans carnival, which included a spirited Mardi Gras parade throughout the entire venue complete with mini floats and police escorts, a battle of the high school bands, and culminating into a magnificent fireworks show over the Mississippi River.  We kept the good times rolling throughout the night with non-stop entertainment and performances throughout the space.

Gather the hottest restaurants & food trucks in one place

We assembled 20 of the city’s most exclusive restaurants to serve well-known delicacies, such as famous chargrilled oysters from Drago’s and traditional Bananas Foster by Brennan’s. Outside in the plaza, guests were treated to the city’s most popular food trucks serving up loved-by-locals fare. We placed seven-foot-tall LED columns at each food station that identified each restaurant, chef and dish, so guests could easy find menu items across the event space.

Embolden the space with celebratory branding

Custom-branded bars featured LED screens displaying branding videos, while centerpieces were accented with red florals, emphasizing NADA’s main brand color. Contemporary décor included white lounge furniture groupings, strategically placed communal pub tables, and lighted high boys.

Streamline arrivals

Based on the contracted number of vehicles provided by the client’s transportation partner, we planned to drop off 120 attendees every minute. This gave us a full hour to transfer 6,000 guests to the event. We also designated two arrival points to relieve crowd congestion, each outfitted with grand entrance concepts where guests were given branded LED beads to wear throughout the event.

Entice them to move throughout space

Because of the dynamic layout of this multi-venue complex, we strategically placed people movers to guide attendees to locate entertainment, food, bars and numerous activations. This included can’t-miss LED-lit stilt walkers with custom signage that informed guests of event details and encouraged them to explore the space.

Impact

NADA rang in their 100th anniversary in the biggest way possible in the Big Easy.  By immersing guests in the raucous world of Mardi Gras — from the Mardi Gras parade to the fireworks show over the Mississippi River — we created an experience that was undeniably New Orleans. Plus, the celebration didn’t just include one grand finale, but several high points that left attendees wowed beyond anything they’d seen or done before.

It's your turn

Give us your bar and we’ll raise it. Just like we’ve done here.

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