In honour of 20 amazing years, Vermilion Energy hosted a reception style anniversary celebration at Hotel Arts in Calgary called CELEBRATE 20. Guests were enveloped in a world class evening, where they were taken on a journey around the globe featuring their six different locations; Canada, France, Australia, The Netherlands, Ireland and Germany. Inspired by their culture, the entire event was designed around their brand and the timeline of their growth. We infused it into everything; we didn’t shy away from it and the messaging was clear, come CELEBRATE 20 years of greatness together!
The Hotel Arts foyer was transformed into a 60 foot long Vermilion red carpet complete with Vermilion’s company timeline piece. Guests were treated to a red carpet experience and their own “Hollywood” paparazzi moment as they posed in front of “their” time or location within the company history.
The evening was electric and constantly transforming, as a new country was introduced every 20 minutes during the first two hours of the event. Countries were showcased via location screen imagery on custom wall and screen surrounds, passed food, live music, and clever additions to the centrepieces in lounges and food stations. This was facilitated by “dramatic servers” that were featured on the stage while presenting a centrepiece addition and a food service item to global music. The waiter’s attire changed subtly throughout the evening, as each country featured a new boutonniere.
When Germany, the last country, finished its musical “oomp-pa-pa” the party band hit the main stage and the dance floor went crazy. After the first set was over, “Marilyn” made a special appearance as she entered the room singing her famous, “Happy Birthday, Mr. President”. She called the CEO up and serenaded him at the same time an impressive oil-derrick inspired birthday cake was revealed.
The Vermilion Energy culture is one of fun and hard work and they love to dance. Entertainment consisted of a D.J., a live 5-piece band playing country specific lounge music, as well as “America’s Best Dance Band”, the always-high energy Liquid Blue. The dance floor was packed all night.
