Beatlemania In Bermuda, From "Meetings Maker"
By Denis Jensen
October, 2009
Here’s a way to make sure attendees remember their experience: Give them camcorders to record the entire trip. That’s what Jeff Guberman, president of Fourth Wall Events, an event design and management company, did for an IBM incentive trip to Bermuda last summer. “We gave each attendee a digital camcorder upon arrival and asked them to capture their trip memories,” he says.
Only the top 1.5% of IBM’s sales and service staff was invited on this highly-coveted trip, so IBM and Fourth Wall were determined to provide the company’s 1,800 peak performers with an over-the-top experience.
While the entire trip was first-class, it was “Beatlemania,” a beach party with – you guessed it – a Beatles theme, which had the most impact. On the last evening in Bermuda, guests entered the bash through a forest of giant, flower-power daisies and smiley-face flags to find themselves on a “Twister” dance floor made up of giant dots of environmentally safe, candy-colored sand. Bright ’60s era candles, shaggy lime green rugs and dining tables draped in Pucci-print linens heightened the overall effect. As the sun set, the giant daisies came to life in blue neon, providing mind-blowing lighting for the event.
One of the party’s highlights: The event’s organizers gave attendants psychedelic gear including blinking necklaces and rings, peace signs, tie-dyed hats, bandannas and sunglasses. “Guests couldn’t wait to yank out their camcorders and photograph each other at the party,” Guberman says. The hats in particular – made with soft, faux fur – received rave reviews, and made for some colorful videos, he adds. After a Beatles tribute band played, a DJ took over, and as guests danced into the night, the Twister colors mixed with the pink Bermuda sand to give the floor a tie-dye effect.
The camcorders and party gifts were only some of the numerous giveaways that incentive trip winners received. Before the event even began, Guberman says, all prospective attendees received a locally-made miniature Bermudian cottage filled with event information.
Onsite, guests received nightly gifts in their hotel rooms, including a logoed beach bag filled with skin cream, sun lotion and moisturizer, a Bermuda cheese board, locally-made rum jam and signed prints featuring a local artist’s sketch of the event hotel.
At the trip’s end, attendees received a custom-designed solid gold charm sculpted into the event’s logo. “This is the sort of thing high-performing IBM employees collect every year and put on charm bracelets or display at their desks,” Guberman says. “They provide symbolic inspiration for future high achievers to enter IBM’s exclusive 1.5% club.”
Apparently the trip, and the gifts that came along with it, was a crowd-pleaser: On a five-point scale, guests gave the Beatlemania bash an average score of 4.7 – the highest score ever received on an IBM incentive event.
“This was an experience no one who attended will forget,” Guberman says.
Denis Jensen is a freelance writer based in PA.
