Happy Diwali

holland alexander creative event production stage dressingHolland Alexander love to put creative touches on events. Here is a shot of the beautifully decorated stage from the Diwali Celebrations at Manchester Airport Concorde Conference Centre.

 

Media Release: Can you help people discover Leicester’s past?

Can you help people discover Leicester’s past?

 Are you a local history enthusiast? Could you use your knowledge to help other people learn more about our great city?

 Leicester City Council is looking for volunteers to lead guided walks around historic parts of the city.  The tours aim to help Leicester’s residents understand the city’s past, and the rich historical significance of buildings and monuments they walk past every day.

 “We’re looking for people with a passion for history who can bring the past to life for our city’s residents,” said Voluntary Action LeicesterShire’s Jim McCallum, who is helping recruit the volunteers. “Enthusiastic, knowledgeable volunteers can help people discover the past on their doorstep and make them see the city they live in from a fresh perspective.”

 

For more information come along to the Guildhall, Leicester on Saturday 12 November from 1.30pm to 2.30pm or call the Helpline at Voluntary Action LeicesterShire on 0116 257 5050.

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For media enquiries, or to arrange an interview, contact Daisy Powell at Voluntary Action LeicesterShire on 07814 052789

Louise Holland business owner leading the way for women entrepreneurs

Media release Issue Date: 11th July 2011

Louise Holland business owner leading the way for women entrepreneurs

Holland Alexander owner, Louise Holland has become one of a growing number of women owned businesses who have become accredited by WEConnect Europe, a pioneering enterprise initiative designed to connect women to multinational corporate contracts.

Launched in 2005, communications agency Holland Alexander operates two offices in Leicester and London. Managing Director, Louise Holland said “We Connect is a great platform to engage with other successful business owners in Europe.

This organisation is a direct route to securing new business, enhancing our profile and to expand our acquisition portfolio into 2012. We also look forward to making a valuable contribution to the group members with our communications expertise such as our digital marketing workshops.”

Other women-business owners are being urged to realise their growth aspirations by joining WEConnect Europe, an innovation in supply initiative, which will link them up with corporate and public sector contracts.

WEConnect Europe can boast leading multinational corporations as members, including; Citi, Hewlett Packard, Mastercard, Pfizer and Accenture.

Sue Lawton, CEO, WEConnect Europe says “Louise Holland is one of many women who want to take their business to the next level. WEConnect Europe exists to enable women to increase productivity and profitability by identifying contract opportunities. More and more companies recognise the commercial sense of having innovation and excellence in their supply chain which women owned businesses can provide and we are urging women business owners to capitalise on this”.

Women business owners wanting to find out more should visit: www.WEConnectEurope.org

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Notes to Editors:

1.      Louise Holland. Managing Director at Holland Alexander. Contact 0116 2616868 or louise@hollandalexander.com

2.      Louise Holland owns and manages communications agency, Holland Alexander. Events management and events technical production, marketing, PR, and film production are the range of services the agency provides to public and private sector clients. Based in Leicester and London studios with collective 50 year experience, Holland Alexander has a strong media and professional business network.

Our strengths we bring to the client are expertise, creativity & all out commitment to deliver a great result.

www.hollandalexander.com

twitter @thegreateagle

3.      WEConnect Europe is the leading supplier diversity initiative spearheading the connection of women-owned business and multinational corporations www.WEConnectEurope.org

4.      A Women Business Enterprise (WBE) is an independent business that is at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more woman, once certified by WEConnect Europe, we can support businesses to access contracts with multinational organisations.

5.      WEConnect Europe is based on a successful US prototype: The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

6.      WEConnect Europe’s members and supporters include: including Pfizer, Accenture, Mastercard and Ernst & Young.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Majestic Christmas at Concorde events to be produced by Holland Alexander

Media release

Issue date 18th October 2011                                

Majestic Christmas at Concorde events to be produced

by Holland Alexander

One of the most iconic pieces of British engineering is to be the backdrop for a superb series of Christmas events at the Concorde Conference Centre at ManchesterAirport.

Having recently won the production for the end of year Christmas event for the team atManchesterAirport, the Leicester andLondonbased events agency, Holland Alexander has gone one step further in creating additional Christmas events.

What was the Queen’s Concorde, the aircraft provides a unique setting and combined with stunning lighting and a high quality hospitality package, the events are set to create an amazing experience. The events are being held on Thursday 15th December and Saturday 17th December.

Holland Alexander Managing Director, Louise Holland said “We have produced several events forManchesterAirportat the Concorde Conference Centre this year so it seemed a natural extension to package a Christmas experience event.

The Majestic Christmas at Concorde hospitality package has been priced lower than average for such an event, however having reflected on the current economic climate we wanted to be sympathetic to tighter budgets with a need more than ever for employers to say thank you at the end of the year with a quality and enjoyable night out for their teams.”

Organisations wanting to book a majestic Christmas event please contact Holland Alexander the event producers via online at www.hollandalexander.com/concordechristmas or please call 0116 261 6867 to speak to a member of the team.

 

Ends/

 Notes to Editors:

Holland Alexander. Events management and events technical production, marketing, PR, and film production are the range of services the agency provides to public and private sector clients. Based in Leicester andLondonstudios with collective 50 year experience, Holland Alexander has a strong media and professional business network.

 Our strengths we bring to the client are expertise, creativity & all out commitment to deliver a great result.

www.hollandalexander.com

twitter @thegreateagle

 For further information contact Louise Holland. Managing Director atHollandAlexander.

Contact 0116 2616868 or louise@hollandalexander.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to choose the perfect venue

Choosing a venue is one of the first and the most important parts of organising an event. The venue impacts on the rest of the event, it is imperative to get a venue that matches the atmosphere, nature and crucially the budget of your event. If you have a smaller budget there is little point is booking a grand expensive venue if it means the rest of the event suffers as a result. Set yourself an appropriate budget and stick to it, although always remember to try to negotiate prices down.

What type of event are you running? Is it a conference, an awards ceremony or a simple networking event?

Make sure that the style and the size of the venue reflects the type of event. If you have a conference it is likely that practicality and accessibility are important factors, rather than big rooms with grand ceilings. Decide what it is you need from the venue. Good technical set up for an awards ceremony, good transport/parking for a business conference?

Remember to check the details

When a venue says to you “This rooms fits 150 people” Ask what they mean, if you are running a gala dinner and want cabaret style tables and the room only fits 150 theatre style than you know you need to look elsewhere.  Find this information out first, before you fall in love with a venue.

What is your budget?

If you have a large budget event then it is likely you will get what you want, the only thing out of your control will be room availability. If you are on a lower budget then remember that you can do creative things to dress a room, see a rooms potential imagining it has been dressed for an awards evening, not what is presented to you immediately on a show around. Your guests will remember the venue, but they are more likely to focus on the food, the table dressings, and the atmosphere; so don’t put all your eggs in one basket. There is a huge range of brilliant venues that offer competitive prices.

On the other side of the scale if the venue has the wow factor, this could mean that you could keep spend down on dressing the room then that has added benefits. Also check the technical facilities, if there is a good technical provision in the cost then this will make you large savings hiring it in. Sometimes these additional factors justify the extra costs.

What are the facilities?

Check out everything, room size, the condition of the venue, room layout, in house technical set up, parking, light levels- can you have complete control, temperature control, is it on a main road- is this going to effect the noise level in your event? Make sure you ask all the right questions and go prepared.

Catering?

Do you want catering at your event? If so what type of catering, many venues offer on site catering however the scale of this may vary, for instance if you want to feed 500 guests a three course meal, some venues simply will not be able to accommodate this. Ask the questions, what can they do, how long will it take them to serve and what is the cost? Is it worth bringing in outside caterers?

Is the event over two or more days?

If the event involves an overnight stay then it is worth looking at hotels as a potential venue. Many have great conference or meeting spaces and can offer competitive rates to include overnight stays. If you don’t want the event to be held in a hotel then make sure to check hotels in the area, do your research. Find out about different price range hotels, call the hotels and mention your event for 200 people and see what deals they can do for you, make them the preferred supplier of your event and the discounts could be huge. This information can then be passed back onto your guests.

 What are the staff like?

Call up a venue and talk to the staff, if they meet all the earlier requirements go visit the venue and meet with the event manager. This will be your main contact when organising your event and your relationship with them will impact on the overall event. Look for someone who is friendly, flexible and easy to get a hold of. If you have to wait a week before someone gets back to you then that is valuable time lost. Most venues have staff who will go above and beyond to help you, they have knowledge of the venue that you don’t so they may have some helpful suggestions on running your event, but make sure that they have your events interests at heart. Don’t go with someone who says “We always do it this way”.

 Holland Alexander. Events, Marketing & PR. London & Leicester Studios