Every year around February the creme de la creme of the international fashion industry descends on New York for NY Fashion Week. The top designers globally present their newest creations, and NY's fashion elite is out in force to take it all in. For the last 3 years in a row, Brilliant Transportation has had the privilege to provide VIP event transportation for one of the top fashion company's in the world. We feel privileged that they once again asked us to take charge of their transportation needs for this year's Fashion Week. With a 2014 revenue of over US$ 7 Billion, the company definitely has a choice when it comes to picking their ground transportation provider. While part of success is meticulous planning and designing of ground transportation, something that often gets overlooked is the benefit of having onsite coordinators. The challenge on the day of the special event is providing superior VIP transportation while dealing with numerous (sometimes unpredictable) obstacles: NYC traffic during rush hour, staging 6 Executive Sprinter vans close to the venue without affecting traffic flow, dealing with a huge crowd of paparazzi just to name a few. We are proud to say that the third year in a row was once again a huge success. The comment by our client after this year's event: "Flawless!"
As discussed in our previous blog "Why You Need Onsite Coordinators for Wedding Transportation", bringing additional hands on deck for major event transportation can be crucial to its flawless execution. Let's face it, as a special event planner you already have too many hats to wear, managing transportation during an event should not be one of them. The fact that Forbes lists "Event Coordinator" in the Top 5 list of the "Most Stressful Jobs of 2014" says it all.
Below are 5 reasons why your next experiential event should include one or more onsite coordinators.
Why Onsite Coordinators are Crucial to Your Event's Success
1. Routing of Drivers
While all the drivers know ahead of time where the event will take place, an onsite coordinator will check traffic, construction, other events going on around the venue the day of in real time. In addition to guiding the drivers toward the best route to take, traffic in major city - especially during event season - can change at a moment's notice. Having a professional onsite specialist will guarantee that no matter the circumstances, your transportation will be ready as planned. While you, the event planner, can focus on other important issues, you know that VIP transportation for your special event guests will not be negatively affected under any circumstances.
2. Staging of Vehicles
NYC is notorious for over-crowded streets and insufficient parking. While special event transportation is not looking for a spot to stay in for hours, it needs a place close to the venue to stage the vehicles. Most events will not let you line up a fleet of vans right outside the venue, so finding the perfect location close by is crucial. Changes within the event space can affect the timing of when the guests will board the luxury vans, so being able to dispatch the vehicles one by one within seconds of the go ahead is of the utmost importance.
Here is an instance when a second onsite coordinator can be crucial: the direct communication between a team of coordinators ensures that the one staged at the venue and the one stationed with the vehicles/drivers are in constant contact. At this particular event, some of the VIP guests chose to leave a bit early while others wanted to mingle inside the venue before getting into the last Mercedes Sprinter Van. Having this routine down cold enabled us to ensure everyone had a comfortable ride waiting for them right outside the venue when they were ready to leave.
3. Team Work
While the main contact point for the coordinators is the event planner, interacting with other major players of the event and the venue can be extremely helpful. Large, high profile events such as NY Fashion Week, usually have their own security detail in addition to the regular onsite team. Introducing ourselves to the main players before the start of the event, we could discuss our strategy and make sure everyone is on the exact same page. Connecting with Tom, the head of security, before the event enabled us to have a direct feed to the event inside. Through his earpiece he knew exactly what is happening throughout the venue and could give us real time updates as to when the show is wrapping up and VIP guests will be exciting the venue. All of this enabled the event planners to not have to worry about their VIP's transportation and freed them up to focus on other important tasks.
4. Crowd Control
One of the main challenges at this particular event was the large crowd of fans and paparazzi trying to get a glimpse of their favorite stars. Having literally hundreds of people crowding the sidewalk and spilling into the street made it a potential safety issue- in addition to making it harder for our guests to get to the vans. Making sure that our vehicles are not s by a large crowd and potentially block the flow of traffic, was challenging to say the least. Our onsite coordinators were crucial in guiding the VIPs to their designated vans and keeping everyone else at a safe distance.
5. Ease of Transition
An additional challenge at this event was the VIPs had numerous stops after the main event. Most of the time events are "point A to B" scenarios but in this case there were two more stops after the show. The fashion house wanted to bring the VIPs to their headquarters for a tour of the new store and then whisk them away to a splendid luncheon. Having the onsite coordinators at the additional stops enabled us to make sure all the guests arrived in style and are helped out of the vehicles. While the guests mingled at the second location of the day, the coordinators made sure that once again all the vehicles are staged close by, meticulous in appearance and ready to be dispatched at a moment's notice. Being in constant contact with the drivers and having them ready was once again extremely helpful for the event planners- they could focus all of their attention on the event inside the venue, knowing that their VIPs transportation was covered!
While planning an event to the letter is important, nothing outperforms having professional onsite coordinators at your next experiential event.
What are some of the challenges you are facing when dealing with special event transportation?
