UDIA Awards for Excellence Gala

Client:

Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) Victoria

UDIA Awards for Excellence Gala

18 March 2021

Background

The UDIA Awards for Excellence Gala is a celebration and promotion of the knowledge, skills, and innovation of the Australian urban development industry. Specialised award categories acknowledge the best in urban development across the State with an Awards Gala to announce the winners in each category.

Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Awards had to be postponed until March 2021. With limited in-house resources, UDIA Victoria needed support to deliver the Awards Gala event within a very short timeframe.

The Brief

Given the changing Government restrictions at the time, UDIA Victoria needed experts who could jump on board quickly and manage the ever-changing environment with confidence. UDIA Victoria engaged Phoenix to manage all pre-event logistics and on-site management for the Awards Gala to ensure a timely delivery against objectives and deadlines.

The Victorian Awards Gala had to take place prior to the National Awards, and due to a change in internal resourcing, UDIA looked to Phoenix to manage everything from event logistics to venue management, sponsor and entrant communications, AV/ production requirements and financial management.

The Solution

Phoenix were thrilled to be the official event planners for the gala, working in close collaboration with the UDIA Victoria team to deliver this exceptional and stand-out event. With only 6-weeks lead time to deliver the event Phoenix hit the ground running, creating a detailed roadmap for event delivery to ensure objectives and deadlines were met.

The Phoenix team developed and executed a detailed project plan to ensure the success of the UDIA Awards for Excellence Gala, this included:

• Budget management and financial reporting
• Venue contract management and compliance with Government restrictions
• Venue management including contract negotiation, F&B management, AV and Production coordination and on-site management
• Creating a detail COVID safety plan and security plan with venue staff
• Management of all communications for BOH & FOH staff including volunteers
• Management of communications and briefings with speakers, MC and finalists.
• Creation of event and campaign collateral including sponsor briefs, MC brief, finalist briefs and attendee pre and post event communications.
• Management of event suppliers including styling, printing, and activations.
• Sponsor management to ensure the delivery of campaign packages.
• Management of videographers and photographers.
• Regular WIP meetings with all relevant parties.
• Multiple speaker briefings and technical rehearsals.
• Management of pre-recorded content.
• Collecting, collating, and managing all Event Assets including multiple videos and digital slides for the event.
• Risk analysis on all potential issues.
• Creation of detailed event run-sheets for all involved parties.
• Table and seating plan creation and management in line with Government COVID-19 guidelines.
• On-the-day management by a dedicated team inc: staff management, catering, AV/ production, presenter management, audience registration, MC management and client liaison.
• Post campaign reporting.

The Results

In the words of Sally Capp, Lord Mayor for City of Melbourne, the UDIA Awards for Excellence Gala was “the biggest and best event in Melbourne in 12 months!”.

Bringing together more than 600 industry professionals, the Awards for Excellence Gala was the first large event to take place in Melbourne following the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Held at one of Melbourne’s most prestigious venues, Palladium at Crown, the event met it objectives both in time frame and purpose – highlighting quality and innovation across the urban development industry and providing an exciting and enjoyable networking opportunity.

The UDIA Victoria team received incredibly positive feedback from the event, with industry professionals thrilled to have the opportunity to once again network in person and celebrate the achievements of their peers. With the resounding success of the Awards for Excellence Gala, UDIA Victoria has since engaged Phoenix on an on-going basis to assist with marketing and logistical delivery for a program of state-wide events.

Client or Attendee Quote/Testimonial:

“We continue to receive an abundance of positive feedback about this memorable event which was attended by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp. Sally acknowledged that it was the largest event she had attended since the pandemic! A massive thanks on behalf of the UDIA was extended to the team at Phoenix for delivering such an exceptional and stand-out event.

Congratulations was relayed to each member of their team for the hard work and dedication they invested to deliver such a perfectly executed event. One that will be much remembered by the whole property development sector, and one that should make them all proud.

In my role as Acting CEO and Victorian General Manager great trust was placed in the team at Phoenix and as a result of their success, we have engaged their team on a retainer to deliver events for the UDIA into the future.”

Angela Gaedke
Victorian General Manager
Urban Development Institute of Australia, Victoria