Melody Gondo
I was privileged to be tasked with the opportunity of organising the official launch of our 9th store as Tiger Wheel and Tyre Zimbabwe, in Gweru, which took place on 16 October 2023. This involved putting together all the aspects of the event from the guest list all the way down to the programme of the day.
It was a well-attended event which was graced by captains of industry, corporate partners and other stakeholders. The event was also graced by our Tiger Wheel and Tyre South Africa Group CEO, Alex Tuplin, Director Executive, Christopher Farra and Franchise Manager, Pradesh Pillay. Also in attendance were our Zimbabwe executives, Managing Director, Rishi Magecha, Country Manager Deon Parbhoo, General Manager Corporate Sales, Dumisani Ndlovu, General Manager Retail, Renco Greyveinstein, Finance Manager, Gracious Mavima and Technical Director Mike Bremner.
Organising the event was the pinnacle of my event planning experience. In hindsight, one could possibly think that it was a simple food and crowd gathering. But nothing was further from the truth. Finer and more intricate details were involved in planning such an event. The following sub-headings highlight areas of importance that were key in pulling off such an event as a brand.
Budget
Finances are the engine of such events. And in this case, the event was being held outside Harare. Looking for service providers was virtually an uphill task. However, we were launching a store that had been operational for at least a month, so there were Tiger Wheel and Tyre store personnel in Gweru already. Co-ordination was key in terms of them hitting the ground to visit service providers for quotes and contact details. Instinct also played a pivotal role in settling for the best service providers by asking for evidence of work done for other customers previously. It was important to pay attention to the high level of professionalism required in telephone etiquette and the turnaround time for reverting to suppliers with required details for timely decision making.
And instinct, in this case, was spot in settling for the perfect decorator for this event. When all quotations for food, transport, and décor were in place, I came up with a budget for internal approval. And as per norm, budgets are always trimmed downwards, and never up, and as such, communication, and feedback with and to services providers went back and forth until prices were agreed on.
Invites
A guest list compilation is of paramount importance during event planning. Without guests, there are no attendees. This part of event planning is quite sensitive. This is because “everyone has everyone” to invite. The decision makers in a corporate set-up, have individuals and corporates that they need to invite for business development and relationship maintenance reasons.
The team on the ground, whose launch we were organising, also had stakeholders and prospective customers they had targeted. As such, the guest list was not just limited to, but had to cover all business kin and kindred, but within the budget. So, lists of names came from different offices and departments, with reasons, and justifications, which had to be looked at and assessed.
Once trimmed and balanced, repeats removed, invitation cards were designed and sent electronically. This was followed up with phone calls, to confirm and reach the number of guests as per budget. On any turn downs, we referred back to those that had been dropped until the set number was reached.
Venue
The location of the event, in terms of venue, is a guide to the ambience and holding capacity of attendees. In this instance, our Gweru store has a large parking space, that our decorator took time to visit and brainstorm ideas on setting up. This then tied up with our numbers from our finalised guest list, and budget.
Our decorator also then had to decide on the items to bring, manpower, time needed and colours to co-ordinate with our brand colours too. And this also needed internal approval, as it involved VIP table sitting order, displays and position. And yes, my instinct was correct 110 percent on selecting the decorator we worked with, as she over-delivered on her promise, by even donating more items for us to use outside our budget. In her words, giving us the best worked in her favour too in terms of brand image and repeat business.
Guest of honour
The most interesting part of the event fell under this category. Having settled for the Midlands Minister of Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Owen Ncube as the guest of honour, protocol had to be observed at all costs, from invitation, his own guests from the Ministry, speech, entrance, sitting arrangements and time management. The level of professionalism the Ministers’ office required from and showed us was indeed a learning experience for future events. And this office’s delivery was top notch in making our event a resounding success!
Media
The invitation of a respected government official as guest of honour effortlessly attracts media coverage and correspondence. This area fixed itself as we had phone calls from journalists prior to the event and walk-ins on the event day with badges and jackets to cover the launch. As such, we were across a number of social media feeds, live recordings and official state media news. Not only did we reach our intended audience, but also the attention of those who our invitations might have missed not forgetting those we could not reach. This raised awareness that the best brand known for tyres and services in the region had officially penetrated the Midlands province for the second time after Kwekwe to deliver the best services with state of the art equipment.
- Melody Gondo is the Head of Brand Partnerships at Tiger Wheel and Tyre Zimbabwe, a regional tyre, wheel and battery distributor and fitment services supplier. She has 20 years experience in the retail and finance sectors.
