Event Julius Baer Hong Kong Branch Opening Event
Venue Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts (HKAPA)
Organiser Serious Staging
Group size 600
Date December 10
 



The brief
Private Swiss bank, Julius Baer, wanted to celebrate securing its Hong Kong branch licence. The cocktail evening was primarily a celebratory event including both valued and potential customers.
 
Julius Baer wanted a contemporary environment that was performance based and all encompassing for its guests. It had a theatrical Swiss theme and to keep guests engaged, the client did not want the focus to be in one particular area of the venue.
 
Challenges
The biggest challenge was finding a venue that would allow for such an artistic and theatrical event to take place during the busy month of December. Founding Director of Serious Staging, David Rule, says it took about eight months to find the right venue.
 
“When a window opened up at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, it was great because we could incorporate lots of creative tricks, and had lots of height and space to play with which meant we could bring in flying acts,” he says.
 
To keep guests engaged, Serious Staging suggested first-time, live-in-Hong Kong performances utilising a number of areas within the venue, creating an immersive and all-encompassing event experience. To enhance the Swiss feel of the event, and its host, Swiss national dishes were served throughout the evening along with a variety of other canapés.
 
Rule says that whenever possible the theatrics and the food service interacted with each other, highlighting the special elements of the Swiss food, and ensuring that all guests were well catered for. “It made for a more complete experience with the food, entertainment and speeches interacting with one another,” he says.
 
Execution
Guests were immersed in the specially created world made by Julius Baer from the moment of arrival. The theme was Swiss with a Twist and guests were surrounded by giant mountain ranges, a life-sized cuckoo clock and tall trees. “The guests were impressed by the overall look and scale, everything was extremely high and very nicely lit,” he says.
 
The event started in the cocktail area with a performance, before the MC led guests to the all-Swiss environment. To keep guests intrigued and entertained, performances were cleverly woven around the speeches.
 
Comment
Angela Watkins, director of marketing and communications for Julius Baer in North Asia, says that the bank had an ambitious endeavour and Serious Staging delivered.
 
“We wanted a signature event befitting the granting of our Hong Kong Branch Licence status. Guests were pleased with the overall experience and felt that they had been whisked away on a theatrical adventure. The APA was a great venue for events requiring this type of performance and artistry,” she says.