Creating the perfect visitor experience

We will design, produce, run and manage an exhibition that:

•Portrays East Lothian as a quality tourism destination•Represents all that East Lothian has to offer•Features activities for visitors to ‘have a go’•Disseminates information about East Lothian•Includes a method of data capture•Includes a mechanism to track visitors to East Lothian•Is fully manned by East Lothian council staff, volunteers for the tourism industry etc…

Event design concepts:We will bring the essence of East Lothian to life with a series of scenes and settings placed around St Andrews Square so that visitors can wonder from one place to the next taking in all that East Lothian has to offer. We will create a stunning oasis in the heart of the city that will act as a quiet haven in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the Fringe and Festival. We will bring to life all aspects of East Lothian including the beaches, golf courses, coast, countryside, attractions, accommodation, food & drink and retail.

Event Den proposes to achieve this through utilization of all its facilities, namely being event management expertise, onsite warehouses and workshops, fully manned and experienced production, set design and logistics crew and an ability to design, manage and run unforgettable experiences.

The award winning Event Den team have a thorough knowledge of all aspects of events. With experience behind them which includes product launches for the ultra premium brand LVMH, exhibitions with the stars in collaboration with The Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa, an opening of building attendee by a member of the Royal Family, set design and build of the backstage area at the international MOBO Awards and bespoke installation and production for an event at Hopetoun House attended by various members of European aristocracy.

Event Den proposes the following designs to bring St Andrews Square to life and recreate East Lothian within the city center:

Beaches and Coast:Around the water within the gardens we will build a large sandy shore complete with beach area with costal styled seating including benches, lobster pots, fishing nets and fishing boat all clustered around the existing water to create a stunning coastal scene.

List of proposed items:8m x 4m sandy beach/sand pit15 x lobster pots1 x fishing boat and fishing paraphernalia8 x nets6 x ropes

Opportunities for sponsorship within the beach area:

• Logoed ice cream cart with ice creams to give away

• Logoed deck chairs

• Sponsored sand castle competition

• Find the lucky token competition

• Simulated wakeboarding

• Talk about coastal life

• Deck chair book club

• Shell jewelry making

• Sand art

• Beach volleyball competition

• Guess the weight of sand competition

• Name the beaches in East Lothian competition

• Etc….

Countryside:Clustered beneath the trees within the gardens we will create a country scene in contrast to the costal scene above. A trailer will sit surrounded by bails of hay stacked high for people to perch in whilst they watch the people go by. The area could be added to with a fabulous petting zoo featuring chickens, goats etc. all surrounded by a white picket fence.List of proposed items:10 x bails of hay8 x picnic rugs8 x sheaths of corn effectBunting

Petting Zoo with farm styled attendant and selection of farm animals enclosed within a fenced area , well looked after in a secure space with food, water and shade provided

Opportunities for sponsorship within the countryside area:

• Petting zoo

• Sponsored local produce to give away

• Casting competition (Fisheries)

• Woolen goods

• Picnic Area with sponsored seating and give away gifts

• Barn dance

• Pony rides

• Wellington boot throwing competition

• Etc….

Golf Course:We will bring the golf courses of East Lothian to life with a fabulous putting green. The putting green will be another interactive area for the guests to enjoy and be a great representation of all the fun that can be had within East Lothian itself. The putting green will be surrounded by bunting with several holes that guests will be invited to try their luck at potting their ball in.List of proposed items:3.6m x 5.4m raised false putting greenPutters and balls

*Could be run by a volunteer*

Opportunities for sponsorship within the golf area:

• Sponsored putting lesson

• Guest appearance from celebrity golfer

• A competition to name all the golf courses in East Lothian

• Golf wear fashion show

• Putting knockout competition

• Golfing talks about equipment, technique etc

Attractions:We will install a gigantic double sided board featuring a variety of attractions found in the East Lothian area. We will work in conjunction with East Lothian Council and the various attractions to design and produce the art work to be printed. Art work must be supplied by the various attractions and council.List of proposed items:1 x double sided collage boards each approximately 2m x 2.5m

Art work will be subject to three proofs before printing

Opportunities for sponsorship within the attractions area:

• Photo opportunity area

• Talks from attractions within East Lothian e.g The Museum of Flight

• Competitions set around the attractions

• ‘Show and tell’ demos with samples from various attractions

• Musselburgh racecourse hobby horse race

• Etc…

Accommodation:In the central grassy section beside the George Street side entrance we will install a giant bed under a draped canopy. The bed will be raised off the ground and will act as a relaxation area for guests complete with water proof pillows and padded bedding.

List of proposed items:A 6m x 3m raised bed with steps up to it15 x water proof pillowsA draped canopy open at each side

Opportunities for sponsorship within the accommodation area:

• Sponsorship of the bed

• Leaflet give aways

• Sponsored pillow fight

• Sponsored pyjama party

• Live ‘chill out’ lounge

• Etc…

Food & Drink and Retail:Along the path by Harvey Nichols and the cafe we will install three self contained wooden houses or huts that can be styled in the fashion of famous eateries , bars, farmers markets or shops of East Lothian. In conjunction with the council Event Den could approach local restaurants, bars or shops to come on board with the project as a form of self promotion. The huts could then be styled to promote those companies and form a backdrop to show the food and drink that East Lothian has to offer.List of proposed items:3 x Wooden huts all open at one side each measuring approx. 3m x 2mWith painted and detailed interior

Haddington Farmers Market

Castle Cottage Interiors - Berwick

The Old Club House - Gullane

Opportunities for sponsorship within the food, drink and retail area:

• Sponsored huts

• Sponsored produce within the huts

• Live cooking demonstrations

• Sample give away’s

• Interactive trade demonstrations

• Etc…

An example weekly timetable:Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

8.00am10.00am

Tasters Tasters Tasters Tasters Tasters Tasters Tasters

10.00am 12.00pm

Kids treasure Hunt

Rangers costal talk

Sponsored games

Story telling corner

Art workshop

Sponsored games

Sand castlecompetition

12.00pm2.00pm

Tasters / Cooking demo

Tasters / Cooking demo

Tasters / Cooking demo

Tasters / Cooking demo

Tasters / Cooking demo

Tasters / Cooking demo

Tasters / Cooking demo

2.00pm4.00pm

HobbyHorses steeplecha.

Photo opp. Battle reenactment

Photo opp. Pony rides Surfing demo

Photo opp.

4.00pm6.00pm

Golf Music / Drinks

Product demo

Music / Drinks

Music / Drinks

Product demo

Golf

6.00pm8.00pm

Product demo

Golf Entertain -ment

Product demo

Golf Entertain - ment

Music / Drinks

8.00pm8.00am

Security Security Security Security Security Security Security

Suggested sponsorship packages:

Bronze Package: Sponsor of your activity in exchange for attendance - FOC

Silver Package: Sponsor of the day with logo on all promotion related to that day/daily board etc - £150.00 plus vat

Gold Package: Sponsor of the week with logo on all promotion relating to that week - £600.00 plus vat

Platinum Package: Sponsor of the full event with logo on all promotion relating to the event - £1,000.00 plus vat

(Details within email)

Marketing and Promoting the Event:

• We will print leaflets to be distributed in the run up to the launch date

• We will create a Twitter account with regular tweets to generate enthusiasm in the run up to and throughout the duration of the experience

• We will create a Facebook page ‘Passport to East Lothian’ where guests will be invited to post images of themselves at the exhibition and subsequent visits East Lothian

• We will run daily competitions across all social media campaigns to generate a high number of visitors both physically and virtually

• We will place a number of QR codes throughout the exhibition to encourage guests to visit every area and increasing sponsorship opportunities

Promote Visits to East Lothian and record them:Event Den proposes to design a ‘passport’ to East Lothian. We will set up Facebook page where visitors to the exhibition will then be encouraged on their next visit to East Lothian to take a photograph of themselves at a famous landmark or an scan a ticket stub etc. and upload it on to the website to gain free entry into a prize draw. The prize will be donated by various sponsors of the event and will be a way of promoting themselves on the website.

We also propose to hand out printed passports with offers and adverts of the sponsors.

The above idea could also be rolled out within the Twitter account where guests will be encouraged to tweet about the exhibition and each day the guest who has registered the most tweets will be put into a prize draw with the winners of every other day throughout the exhibition.

Manage the Event for its duration in close liaison with East Lothian council:Event Den will provide a constant point of contact throughout the duration of the event with a project manager on call at any time. The responsibility will be time tabled and a member of East Lothian Council and the security team will be given the rota along with corresponding mobile contact numbers.24hr on-call back up service

Under take date capture:This will fall within the Twitter and Facebook campaigns as visitors will be encouraged to register their attendants. We could add within this extra information such as which areas inspired them most or which elements made them most want to visit East Lothian, where they would recommend to a friend/their favorite place etc. We will also give out passports that can be stamped and tracked by businesses.

Timescales:

The time scales for these would be as follows:May – Secure sponsors and discuss time tables of event etc.June – have secured sponsorship and begin designing and creating online and literature campaign plus producing and finalizing time table of events.July – distribute leaflets, print passport, have secured prizes for all competitions and tie up any loose ends.August – Oversee and run the exhibition.