A Grand Day Out With Our Media
Harbour tours, cocktail making, drag cabaret, life drawing, cheese tasting and more all on the same day? Sure, why not!
Our Media
From drag brunches to throwing parties with international DJs, events are a core part of what we do here at Duchess Media, but with the pandemic affecting so many offices and people working from home so much more, corporate events are something which hasn’t crossed our path for a little while. So when Our Media, one of the South West’s biggest content and publishing companies, approached us to arrange their Summer party, we jumped at the opportunity...
In essence, Our Media wanted to arrange a summer party for their 300-strong team, but with a mega twist...
Having recently become an independent company they were looking to do something that truly reflected their Bristol roots and catered to everyone in their company – not an easy task! They wanted to offer their team the option to make the day their own by offering a range of different activities across the city. In line with their environmental, sustainable and local ethos they also wanted all activities to be within walking distance and engage as many independent local suppliers as possible.
They were keen to bookend the day with group activities, starting with a brunch and closing with a group party. So we got to work!
What they needed
What we did
To say the brief was a dream come true is a bit of an understatement – after the initial meeting with Managing Director Andy and HR manager George, Meg and Dave were practically whizzing round the office throwing ideas around!
Our Media were keen to offer something that didn’t centre entirely around drinking to cater to anyone who might be driving or abstaining, and we were more than happy to incorporate lots of alternatives. As we work with so many venues and suppliers within the local area we began by working through our contacts and looking at what might be a good fit, whilst offering a wide mix of things to do. We pulled together our suggestions and presented them to the team, who settled on the following (and we think you’ll agree – it sounds like a great day!)
Bristol Harbour Tour curated by the Bristol Museum group
Cocktail making at The Milk Thistle
Life Drawing with Antonia Purdie at The Raven
Magic Workshop with Magic Malka at The Conspiracy
Drag cabaret show with Lad Imelda at Our Media HQ
Cheese tasting with Bristol Cheesemonger
Bristol walking tour with B247’s Martin Booth
Cocktail making at The Cocktail Club
Social darts at Flight Club
Bowling at Roxy
Top Gun film screening at 20th Century Flicks
Board games at Chance & Counters
Working with the Our Media team we put all of the activities out to their team, collating lists of preferences to ensure everyone got their first or second preference. The destination for the after party was a no-brainer – the team wanted somewhere with outdoor space, where they could enjoy great food and a DJ, so it had to be Bambalan! After creating instruction sheets for each group and liaising with venues and confirming payments it was time to kick off!
"From the very first contact with the Duchess team we knew we were in safe hands, and they worked tirelessly to make our vision for a great day out in and around Bristol a reality. Co-ordinating 300 people for brunch, on to 13 activities including a harbour tour, Secret Bristol walks, life drawing, cocktail making, social darts and private cinema, rounding up at a mega party at Bambalan was no mean feat. Our entire team had a brilliant day and we can't wait to do it all again next year! Thanks Duchess crew."
Our Media
The day started with a brilliant team brunch at Our Media’s HQ, with a welcome address from MD Andy, before our team split off to gather their groups and escort them to their activities. Between the five of us we oversaw multiple activities, chaperoning drag queens, capturing content for the event video at each venue and getting many a selfie with the team (looking at you, Dave!) before bringing everyone back together for a sunshine filled afternoon of food, drinks and dancing on the terrace at Bambalan.
We were totally overwhelmed with the amazing response from all of the team on the day, and we had some amazing feedback from the senior management team. HR manager George said:
“Here at Our Media we were planning our first independent summer event, which after 2 years of not being together properly, it needed to be special! From the very first contact with the Duchess team, we knew we were in safe hands and they worked tirelessly to make our vision for a great day out in and around Bristol a reality. Coordinating 300 people for brunch, on to 13 activities including a harbour tour, secret Bristol walks, life drawing, cocktail making, social darts and private cinema, rounding up at a mega party at Bambalan was no mean feat. Our entire team had a brilliant day and we can’t wait to do it all again next year! Thanks Duchess crew.”
We were thrilled to be asked back to plan Our Media's Christmas party, which you can also read about on our website, so if you’re looking to arrange a corporate event, work party or team building event then why not give us a shout?