RedEye Events Interview

Buying a Superyacht Yachts

CHAMPAGNE AND CHICANE

Nigel Essam is the founder of RedEye Events, one of the most exclusive companyies who hosts high premium hospitality events at major global sporting events. Servanne Sohier sat down with him to find out what he does.

Servanne: Could you give me an introduction to RedEye Events and what it does?

Nigel: We were established over 13 years ago and are a global sports hospitality company. We supply hospitality at major sporting events, and specialise in Formula One, with the Monaco GP being our signature event each year. We have a presence at every one of the twenty-one races, with the The Monaco GP being by far our biggest event, where we entertain over 1000 clients across 4 days at various viewing facilities that are arguably the locations to view the race. Our next biggest is The British Grand Prix, followed closely by Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Monza, Hungarian, The U.S and Mexico.

We have an interesting model in that every event we host is white label event, with none of our companies logo visible. Corporates and brands tend to love us because the events are neutral with no conflicting branding. The clever thing is that this model empowers trade partners to sell on our behalf, which allows us to have a huge reach. Our database is around 14,000, but because we deal with so many other trade companies, we’re able to piggyback onto their databases, giving us a reach of over a million potential clients. This level of exposure attracts lots of brand attention and sponsorship opportunities. They all love our approach. We’re able to put their product in the hands of their perfect client demographic and because we market so aggressively, they get great brand exposure.

So why is it called RedEye Events? For me, “red eye” means an early morning, red-eye flight.

Yes. Well, that’s really where it came from. Our logo is half of the symbol for world travel. So Red Eye symbolises travel and late night happenings, a party as much as anything.

What is your background? My background is mainly linked to construction, but I do have multiple businesses. One day, 14 years ago, I was invited onto someone’s boat in Monaco to watch the Grand Prix. I thought as most people probably do, that I would attend, tick the box and never go back, but loved the Principality so much, I set up a business the following year centred around the Monaco GP and I sort of never left.

What inspired you to go into the hospitality and events business?

Again it was really Monaco Grand Prix because I fell in love with the place, but also because I had been in business since I was 21, and attended lots of corporate hospitality events and had always been underwhelmed, with the level of hospitality offered and felt that guests deserved better.

The first event you go to is reasonably impressive, but after that, it’s just variations on a theme. It is usually average food, and an open bar. So I looked at it and thought, well, I need to do something where the actual race – whether it is a horse race or a Formula One race – is almost secondary to the theatre of our event, to the facility itself.

This strategy was well founded because 13 years on we are well respected in Formula 1 and the events trade in general and like to think we offer something guests would struggle to obtain at any other event.

Say I come to one of the events, say the Monaco Grand Prix, what can I expect?

The Monaco Grand Prix is a perfect example of how we do things a little differently. From the moment the clients receive the itinerary to tell them what they’re to expect throughout the event, to when they arrive at Fontvieille harbour, there is a tangible difference.

They are greeted by our coordinators and our clients will see a difference immediately. These coordinators aren’t in a normal coordinator outfit; the standard polo shirt with a logo on it. We spend a lot of time choosing the outfits each year. They’re always a little bit edgy, something a little bit different. The guests are then put on a tender which takes them to their viewing facility for the day. Whereas most other companies tend to have cheap small speedboats, our tenders are, Wajer tenders, which are around 800,000€ euros each, so the moment they arrive they’re having something that’s of premium quality.

Of course, you’ve got our premium hospitality. A lot of people tend to cut corners where food and beverage is concerned, which is what I noticed in the early years of running events, and which a lot of our competitors do. So again, using Monaco as an example, we tend to use Absolute Taste, the caterers to McLaren. They’re not the cheapest, but their quality of service is incredible and their food is amazing. We also look for premium champagne, wine and spirit brands, which includes a mixologist and brand ambassadors who can tell you everything about the drink. Our Friday night yacht party is known as the best in the harbour, where we fly in a London DJ and F1 legend Eddie Jordan also plays

What sets us apart is the fact that we always look for unique facilities, whether its a yacht, roof terrace or the 5 star hotel that sits in the centre of the circuit in Abu Dhabi.

with his band The Robbers.

We always offer additional features. On race day we always have a Q&A with an F1 star, which always works really well because most corporate clients tend to be on-the-fence Formula One fans. They like the sport, but don’t really understand it. So by getting someone who knows the sport to talk prequalifying and race, they get to hear more technical detail which helps get them into the excitement of the event.

What sets us apart is the fact that we always look for unique facilities, whether its a yacht, roof terrace or the 5 star hotel that sits in the centre of

Clockwise from top: The Monaco GP is RedEye Event’s signature event; Nigel Essam inspecting a Ferrari team car which is also his favourite F1 team; Guests watching the cars race by on the aft of a yacht in Monaco; Eddie Jordan posing for a picture with guests; and spectators watching the race in Abu Dhabi.

the circuit in Abu Dhabi.

Another thing that sets us apart, is the level of clients we host. They are an ABC1 demographic. Looking at a typical facility, 60% of our clients tend to be from the Uk, with the rest from an eclectic mix of nationalities, but all tend to be like minded high net worth individuals. It’s an amazing opportunity for networking. Everyone is in town during a race weekend and lots of business tends to get done.

Are you yourself involved with the creation of the events?

Yes. I’m very much hands-on. We’ve got a small team. There are just eight of us. We mainly have sales, but we also IT and event coordination. My event coordinator and I plan every event, so, yes I’m very hands on with that. I’m quite particular which I’m sure my staff finds annoying.

How has RedEye Event evolved since it started?

RedEye has grown mainly through the reputation we have in the industry. The trade loves us because we look after their clients as if we work for them, primarily through our whole white-label branding - we don’t poach clients. Our great reputation has enabled us to expand the company through other races. We’ve seen particularly good growth in the last 4 years

You said earlier that you’re not afraid to make financial commitments. Has that also helped you in growing?

Yes it has, as a business we are not risk adverse and once you make a commitment, you have to sell it. You have to aggressively market it and commit to something completely. What we

Our great reputation has enabled us to expand the company through other races.

F1 and we became an endorsed reseller of all F1 products a few years ago, which has certainly help consolidate the relationship and helped us create another revenue stream

won’t do is compromise on quality. We did an event in America, three years ago, and we didn’t sell all the tickets. The temptation is to then sell them cheap and short sell the market. We didn’t do that. We’d rather keep them. We’d rather hold on to the tickets because to sell them short undermines our brand and undermines our trade partners’ brand. That’s really what’s helped us grow, because people have seen that, which means they’re more inclined to come back year on year. I’ve always said that I’m not looking at one ticket someone books this year. I want them to book 50 tickets the following year or the year after.

So you’re more looking for quality rather than quantity?

Oh, 100%. It sounds cliché but at the end of the day, if someone’s paid a large amount of money to go to a sporting event to have corporate hospitality, you’ve got to give them the best you possibly can. And they can’t leave feeling underwhelmed, it needs to be a premium experience.

What are the main challenges that you face? The main challenges are finding the right facilities, because there is a lot of competition out there and the majority of the time, we’re dealing with a product that’s licensed, which can be very restrictive, but The Monaco GP is great, because it is run by the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM), and being a street circuit there is a lot more opportunity. We have a good relationship with Liberty who owns Was it difficult to get endorsed by the F1 organisation?

Yes, but the great thing about the new owners, Liberty Media, is that they’re far more openminded than the last managment. They like the fact that people are benefiting from what they’re doing and its completely changed for the better since they took over and feel they are going to be great for the sport.

What inspires you? What motivates you? I suppose the biggest thing is to make sure guests have the best experience possible. I know it sounds cheesy, but ultimately growth and success ends up being a byproduct of that.

What are you most proud of? Probably the way we’ve managed to grow our event in Monaco, because we started off with about 25 guests, and in 13 years we’ve grown to over 1,000 people. Also the fact we’re so well known and respected in the Principality and have integrated into Monaco’s society even though we’re not residents.

Last question -- favourite team? My favourite team is Ferrari, really. I sort of love and hate them. I hate that they’re so arrogant, but it’s such a great brand, and the heritage is just amazing, but I also have a soft spot for Force India, because of the Eddie Jordan connection, and it’s always good to vote for the underdog!

www.redeyeevents.co.uk

StarAllaince ofers themed journeys to discover new and old wine regions, (top), the Amazon river (middle) and the beaches of Miami (bottom) This image and right: Guests enjoying themselves at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Bottom right: Nigel Essam shaking hands with an industry colleague.