If there’s one thing that TeamEV loves, it’s planning a launch event… even more so when it’s here in our own city. Over the past few years, we’ve brought celebrity skincare clinic, EF MEDISPA, to Edgbaston; helped yogahaven celebrate its 10th anniversary in the Jewellery Quarter, and launched BoConcept, Castle Fine Art and The Wedding Club in the Mailbox. We’ve also supported Ralph Lauren with its flagship Bicester store opening and delivered a host of launch parties for famous F&B brands like Be At One, Las Iguanas and Revolucion de Cuba.
As self-confessed beauty addicts – spending way too much time browsing Selfridges third floor concessions and ordering next-day-delivery from Cult Beauty – we were excited to be approached by SkinHQ as part of its UK-wide expansion plans.
THE ASK.
Having already established itself as a luxury brand in its hometown of Manchester, Birmingham seemed like the perfect fit for SkinHQ’s new venture; bringing a collection of new skin treatments to the scene, including its famous Hydrafacials.
With a location secured in the historic Jewellery Quarter, we were tasked with getting the word out to potential clients with a launch event that made the brand stand out for all the right reasons.
As well as capturing the attention of regional media, we also wanted to ensure that SkinHQ continued to build new relationships with key bloggers and influencers, as well as gain a solid base of contacts and potential future clients.
OUR APPROACH.
Delivering show-stopping events is at the heart of EAST VILLAGE.; whether that’s intimate gallery launches and new restaurants, or store openings and corporate parties. So, for SkinHQ, we brought our event management expertise to the table.
Our connections across the city helped us the find the perfect date for the event, which avoided any clashes (something that’s near impossible in a city like Birmingham, where there’s so much going on), so we set to work curating the ultimate invite list. With limited space in the clinic itself, we chose a list of 80 top bloggers, influencers, journalists, corporates, local VIPs, and JQ neighbours; with the aim of generating strong coverage across all bases and making SkinHQ a new Birmingham name. We managed the whole invite process; from guestlist creation and invite design, to distributing e-invites and managing RSVPs.
With the guestlist in progress, we turned our attention to the finishing touches that would make it a stand-out event. We wanted to bring the clinic to life with an Ibiza-style party, so we organised a branded flower wall and giant tassel balloons to dress the space and give us those all-important ‘selfie spots’, with a resident Balearic DJ providing the soundtrack for the night. Bringing cocktail bar Be At One in to serve up cocktails, we also had canapes by a local award-winning restaurant to complete our event.
Our aim was not only to help SkinHQ in hosting the perfect event, but also put it forward as one of the city’s leading go-to spots for luxurious skincare. This led to us joint curating a list of influencers for the brand to strike up partnerships with, to project the brand beyond its launch.
END RESULTS.
The launch took place on a sunny September evening, in the heart of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. We welcomed 75 guests into SkinHQ, who were greeted by champagne, beer and soft drinks served by TeamEV, with cocktails flowing all evening thanks to the Be At One team.
We welcomed a host of notable guests including TV personalities Danielle Lloyd and Kirsty Lo (Take Me Out), as well as beauty influencers Nabiilabee, Aaliyah Jasmin Mohammed (Aaliyah.JM), Luisa Hackney, and Ting Newall (The Ting Thing), in addition to regional bloggers Charlotte Ruff, Lauren Morton, Kirsty Maclennan, and Tasha Mughal. Regional journalists, beauty experts, and some of Birmingham’s best-known corporates helped us celebrate the SkinHQ opening.
Guests we provided with booking incentives on the night, which helped drive a considerable number of sales that evening and in the weeks following. Some of the beauty influencers in attendance also then struck up affiliate partnerships with the clinic, visiting for reviews and offering their followers a booking discount.
As well as the launch event, we also secured a number of journalist reviews, including Style Birmingham and Birmingham Mail, and achieved 200,000+ reach on the launch coverage, which included both business and consumer stories in the likes of Style Birmingham, Midlands Business News, BBP Media, Insider Media, The Birmingham Press and the Business Desk, to name a few.
