EI Productions Case Study 12

The Royal Salute Coronation Cup, Guards Polo Club

Introduction:

  • Chivas Bros’s (a Pernod Ricard subsidiary) whisky brand Royal Salute tasked EI Productions with the creation of an experiential ‘secret garden’ and picnic area for VIP’s as part of their title sponsorship deal with The Hurlingham Polo Association for The Coronation Cup.
  • The brief was for an open-air experience that would be an “artistic and philosophical reinterpretation of a quintessential British picnic’ at the world renowned polo event, hosted by Guards Polo Club in Windsor Great Park.

Challenges:

  • A very short lead-time.
  • Preparation of the site groundworks to meet pre-installation deadlines
  • Provision of a wet weather contingency within the boundaries of the ‘open air’ brief
  • Incorporating the design and installation into the event hospitality area as a whole, with 360 degree views around the gardens perimeter from other event areas.
  • Ensuring that the wider hospitality audience were able to experience Royal Salute whisky and have an understanding of the brand’s fascination and relationship with the passage of time.

Solution:

  • EI Productions teamed up with Stephen Woodhams, the acclaimed multi-award winning British gardener, to produce a Gold medal standard garden design & installation.
  • An ochra stretch tent was woven in to the design of the garden, allowing for continuity of the design and providing shelter in case of wet weather
  • Integration of ‘Smart Hoard’ more commonly used at festivals provided a suitable framework for the Victorian garden walling visible from within the garden and also resulted in a presentable external facing and secure perimeter.
  • Royal Salute’s ‘Neolithic’ Bar, fashioned from 8,000 year old petrified wood plucked from the River Sava in Croatia, was installed in the main hospitality garden. A result of a collaboration between Sally Mackereth, the London-based multi award winning architect and Jack Badger, the Derbyshire based master-craftsmen the bar further connects and explores Royal Salute’s integration with time.

Results:

  • The Royal Salute ‘Secret Garden’ was heralded a huge success by the global brand team for Chivas Bros, proving a highly effective marketing platform for exponentially increases social media outreach.
  • Guards Polo Club have stated, “the Royal Salute enclosure at this year’s Coronation Cup is the probably the most spectacular activation we have seen in British Polo to date”.
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