Hollywood Glamour Served For Malt-O-Meal Employees
Challenge
Famed food manufacturer Malt-O-Meal approached Mid-America Events & Expos, Inc. for help in developing a themed evening for its annual employee recognition event, honoring approximately 80 employees and their guests who were celebrating milestone service anniversaries. Malt-O-Meal had previously selected a local historic theater/banquet hall as the event location. The evening was to include a sit down dinner, entertainment and take-home gifts.
Event Strategies
Mid-America Events & Expos, Inc. capitalized on the theater’s atmosphere by creating a Hollywood Nights themed event, and set out to ensure that each Malt-O-Meal employee received celebrity treatment.
The gala Hollywood décor began outside the theater, where a marquee and a red carpet welcomed employees and guests to the evening. Lining the inside walls immediately inside the theatre was a Hollywood walk of fame, created from gold stars inscribed with each employee’s name and number of years with the company. Shiny silver 16 mm film reels encircled two large pillars on the main stage. Cardboard cutouts of Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart and Elvis Presley decorated the dining area. There was even an ice sculpture, reminiscent of the famed Hollywood sign, festooned with lights.
The star treatment continued with an elegant dinner complete with four entree selections, buffet appetizers and tempting desserts. Place cards shaped as directors’ cuts identified names and chosen entrees. To add a touch of elegance, tables were covered in white cloth under black runners trimmed in gold, and centerpieces of black, gold and silver balloons. Select tables also displayed mock Oscar statues engraved with the Malt-O-Meal logo.
Magician and Performer Kevin Hall emceed the evening’s numerous interactive activities, and also hosted the night’s major event: Malt-O-Meal’s version of Hollywood Squares. A replica of the Hollywood Squares game show stage, complete with bright lights and silver streamers, held nine Malt-O-Meal executives. Employees divided into five teams, each named after movie starts, and answered questions pertaining to either Malt-O-Meal or movie trivia. Those who answered correctly won gold stars that were later used in prize drawings. Each employee also was entered into a grand prize drawing for a round trip airfare for two on Sun Country Airlines to any of its domestic destinations (including Hollywood).
The silver stage, decorative stars and glamorous lights created the perfect atmosphere for Malt-O-Meal’s own employee stars. To a musical backdrop, Kevin Hall randomly chose employees to dress as various celebrities and dance in competition for more prizes. Those who needed a break from the excitement could watch an antique 16 mm reel-to-reel projector showing original film from classic movies.
Employees left the event laden with gifts and keepsakes, including their personal stars from the Walk of Fame. Prior to the reception, each employee had also chosen a gift from Malt-O-Meal according to his or her number of years with the company. Those gifts were wrapped and displayed at the banquet. And those employees who had sepia photos taken during the evening proudly took the photos home in commemorative frames shaped as filmstrips. Each photo was richly enscripted with Malt-O-Meal 2003 Annual Awards Banquet.
Malt-O-Meal employees and executives agreed that the glamorous event was a fun-filled success that had all of the participants feeling like honored celebrities for a few hours.
