#BVImpact: Black Vanilla Delivers a Summer of Epic Events for Islanders

The last few months have been beyond difficult for organisations of every size but locally we’ve able to enjoy live events, at a time when we’ve never needed them more. 

During what is sometimes considered a ‘quiet period’ for the communications industry, Black Vanilla has been busy behind the scenes of many of Guernsey’s best-loved events, hitting milestones and breaking records while delivering some top-notch spectacles for islanders across the Bailiwick! Of course it’s not just what happens on the day that counts, we know how important it is to increase impact through creative content and great media coverage.

We’ve also been working with various high-profile corporate clients, helping them to convey their key messages to the audiences that matter through innovation and several ‘industry firsts’.

Here’s just a snapshot of how we’ve been making a positive impact this summer. 

Introducing Virtual Events with Guernsey Finance

In early June, in the middle of lockdown, we worked with Guernsey Finance to take their Sustainable Finance Week online with a series of live webinars and podcasts.  The virtual event included speakers from Hong Kong, Switzerland and the UK, and an audience from 27 countries. 

#BVImpact: 

• The high calibre of speakers and audience reach were impressive. 
• This impact would be expensive to achieve in a regular ‘in person’ event setup.
• The event has developed into a regular podcast series with a wide range of speakers and global reach.

A Business First for the IoD 

In July we were proud to support the IoD in delivering Guernsey’s first business event post-lockdown, which we also streamed live to ensure the widest possible audience, as well as creating some excellent post-event content to build the impact.

Hosted at the OGH, the panel of senior politicians discussed the challenges our economy will face post-COVID-19. More than 120 people were welcomed to the live event, which was also streamed to be viewed live and later on-demand on the IoD website. 

#BVImpact: 

• The event garnered four pieces of coverage.
• Between the audience and viewers, nearly 200 people enjoyed the event live.
• 11,627 Twitter impressions across all relevant tweets. 
• 1,032 LinkedIn impressions across all relevant posts. 
• We predict that thanks to its success, this hybrid event will become a more familiar format.

Challenging Guernsey Corporates with Credit Suisse

Credit Suisse brought us on board to handle sponsor engagement and comms for its third Hel(l)vetia Challenge, a relay triathlon which took place on a wet and windy August afternoon. 

The event is unique in that it doesn’t support one specific charity but encourages participants (including our own BV team!) to raise funds for their chosen causes, including Credit Suisse’s charity of the year, Les Bourgs Hospice. It was another event that saw an unprecedented number of participants: over 300 athletes from 35 local companies donned their sports gear to cycle, run and swim the route in terrible weather conditions. 

#BVImpact:

• More participants registered than ever before. 
• The event garnered 14 pieces of coverage. 
• 1.3K minutes of footage viewed on Facebook. 
• 26,251 impressions across 43 posts on Facebook.

A Castle Swim Record for Louvre Group

We teamed up with Louvre Group in August to oversee the media relations and social media for the ever-popular Castle Swim.

This year’s event proved a record-breaker in terms of both participants and funds raised. Over 500 swimmers took to the water with £3,000 raised on the day benefiting Guernsey Mind. 

#BVImpact:

• More participants registered than ever before. 
• Most funds generated. 
• The event garnered 11 pieces of coverage – more than any other year.
• 44,638 people reached on Facebook – its highest reach to date.

Making Music with JT 

This summer saw the return of the beloved JT Cobo Balcony Gigs and, once again, we were on hand to support with event management and social media activity. 

In a year which saw so many events halted, it was great to be able to deliver a programme of performances that brought islanders together to celebrate five of Guernsey’s best-loved acts in the stunning setting of Cobo Bay.

We also helped to bring the streets of St Peter Port to life with Music Moments: a series of free ‘pop-up’ mini-gigs that showcased some of the island’s best young musical talent.

#BVImpact:

• Music Moments received 15,947 views on Facebook and was also streamed across Twitter and Instagram. 
• 195 likes on Instagram for the Cobo Balcony Gigs. 
• 8698 minutes of livestream watched, with roughly 2-3K people at each event for the Cobo Balcony Gigs on Facebook. 
• Marky T’s proposal was also filmed; it now has reached over 18K people. 
• All Cobo posts on Facebook gained over 800 likes/loves.

Reaching for the Skies with Britain’s Only Red Arrows Display this Season

During a year in which so many iconic events were cancelled across the globe, we were thrilled to be able to deliver what will be the British Isles’ only Red Arrows display in 2020, which was particularly poignant as it also commemorated 80 years since the Battle of Britain took place. 

In addition to fundraising, event logistics and social media support, we implemented a rigorous media relations campaign that kept the media and public up to date with ongoing news and the final display schedule. 

#BVImpact:

• The event garnered 24 pieces of coverage

• Over 664 new Facebook followers since we took over the page in February. 
• Total reach of all posts 229,571 – almost a quarter of a million people!

• 184,350 Twitter impressions since we took over the page. 
• Great interaction from the pilots on Twitter.

Watch this space for more exciting events news and, remember, if you need some help to make sure that your events create the right impact, get in touch today.