Have you ever invited friends around for a tea party? Yes? So you know what’s involved … the sandwiches have to be made (no crusts), champers put on ice, children ferreted away and the house cleaned to within an inch of its life. What about holding a High Tea Party for around 25,000 ladies? Then take the whole party across five states of Australia? Now throw in trying to raise $50,000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation? Enough? In the run up to the inaugural High Tea Party in Perth, I chatted with creator Alison Dean about how this challenge came to be.
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| Beautiful strong women at The High Tea Party |
Alison is another example of one of those inspirational people who wanders into your life. With a family of two, soon to be three, I caught up with Alison for a quick chat as she got ready for the Perth event on August 30-31.
What is The High Tea Party?
If you haven’t heard about the event it’s a modern take on the traditional high tea. Held in a five-star ballroom, (in Perth’s case it’s the Parmelia Hotel link), when you buy a ticket you nominate which of the four tea services you want to attend, 10.30am, 12.30am, 2.30pm, or 4.30pm. The doors open at 9am giving guests time get to have a mini beauty treatment, some tastings, do some fashion/boutique market shopping, and pick up a complimentary gift bag.
‘The best way to enjoy the day is to bring your friends, enjoy two to three hours of pampering and fashion experiences with a glass of sparkling wine in hand before attending your delightful High Tea in the ballroom,’ explained Alison.
How many people attend the party
Approximately 2,500 women attend the party each day.
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| Alison The High Tea Party |
How it came to be
Like most of us Alison had been to lots of Expos. Unlike us, her entrepreneurial eye noticed that the guests tended to wander around, sampled a few products, maybe buy something, and then leave.
‘There were no strong connections with the event or the brands involved,’ explained Alison.
An idea started brewing.
The idea behind The High Tea Party was to create connections. Connections with friends and with brands.
For the guests this was achieved by asking them to not only ‘book’ their high tea session, but link up with their friends too. At the usual Expos you either end up sitting with a group of strangers, or begging for chairs so that your friends can cram in around you. At The HighTea Party you pre-book your table, which is no mean feat for the party organisers.
Another difference is that the events are held at hotels. This means that the party doesn’t have to end when the event doors close.
‘We have people coming in from over east to catch up with girlfriends and they take the accommodation package. They can all go out for dinner and stay the night.’
Letting people know about the party
Aside from the usual financial hurdles Alison said a big challenge was ‘getting the word out to the right people’. To this end social media plays a big part in their marketing strategy.
‘We have recently appointed a full time social media person and we have already had the fanbase grow from 6,000 to 32,000. It’s about connecting with the right people.’
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| The High Tea Party |
Processes
Another hurdle was working out how to make it easy for people to buy tickets.
‘When you start out you have to do everything yourself, but as it grows you can look for other ways to make it easier. We have thought about outsourcing the ticketing but it’s not that simple because we have to stick to the seating plan.’
Family
As with any mum trying to run a business Alison had to consider what this venture would mean for her family. With a five year old, a three year old, and another one on the way I was fascinated to learn Alison’s unique way of juggling family life. Her answer appeared to be to get them all involved.
‘My husband works out the seating plan, it’s the missing piece in the puzzle, I really don’t know how he does it. My brother manages front of house, meeting and greeting guests, welcoming them, putting a smile on the guests faces when they arrive. My sister in law is involved with the social media side. My mother gets involved in the research and helps with the tickets on the day.’
Even her five year old gives her ideas.
‘My son would like to come to The High Tea Party and serve ice cream to put a smile on their faces because it puts a smile on his face.’
And, as any best friend would know, they don’t escape either.
Finding sponsors
That all sounds great for the guests but what about the sponsors. Anyone who’s ever tried to run an event, me included, knows how hard it is to get sponsors. Alison’s sponsorship strategy was also interesting, saying that their approach allowed sponsors to achieve greater connections with potential buyers, and an opportunity to reduce their marketing costs.
‘Marketing teams are getting smaller and smaller. We do it all for them. They get access to our social media and database. On the day they just bring their signage and products along. Some make about $15,000 in sales.’
Keeping things fresh
This year the team have added a new initiative. The day celebrates the strength of women by delivering a runway show featuring models who are currently undergoing or have undergone treatment for breast cancer.
Motivation
When I asked Alison what kept her going she said …
‘The women who come along. Seeing their faces and the enjoyment they get. They want to be a part of the brand.’
At the time of writing this the Saturday party was already sold out and there were only 100 tickets left for the Sunday party. Alison laughed that she never gets to enjoy the day with her mum as they both work at the event.
‘I’m looking forward to having three generations of women at the event,’ said Alison clearly thrilled that her third child was a girl, after two boys.
As regular readers know I’m fascinated by people who get out there and give an idea a go. Alison and her team are another example of what can happen if you take a risk. When we were chatting about marketing ideas she mentioned morning television shows and I said hers would be a great inspirational story. Her answer was …‘oh no I don’t want it to be about me.’ I always find it fascinating to ponder about which people garner media attention, and which quietly achieve success in the background. Congratulations to Alison and her team.
Stay tuned for 10 more tips from Alison in an upcoming post. For more information about The High Tea Party see the links below.
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| The Team The High Tea Party |
When: 30-31 August, 2014 (Saturday 30th August already SOLD OUT)
Where: Parmelia Hilton, Perth. 9am – 6pm
Tickets: SPECIAL ‘Perth only’ ticket price of $70, use promo code PERTH70.
www.thehighteaparty.com.au
Accommodation packages available with the Hilton; please call the central reservations team and use booking code GTHTP: http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/groups/personalized/P/PERHITW-GTHTP-20140829/index.jhtml?WT.mc_id=POG
Part of the proceeds from every event supports the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
