You might remember Yandex from Fervent Events’ staffing activation in 2019 for that year’s NeurIPS conference in Montreal.
Yandex is an established Russian-language internet product services company. Everything from a search engine to eCommerce services and mobile applications is made available to the millions of Russian speakers around the world.
At the 2018 NeurIPS conference in Montreal, Fervent Events organized and staffed a cocktail networking event for 150 attendees featuring a menu of Russian bar snacks, ice sculptures, and professional photography, curated and sourced by Fervent.
This past summer, Yandex asked Fervent Events to staff another networking event in California. You can read more about that here.
Fervent Events delivered professional and timely event management and staffing services. This why we were asked to organize another networking event for the NeurIPS 2019 conference in Vancouver. Bigger and better than before.
Keep reading to find out what we did and how we did it!
Venue Sourcing
Vancouver is a city of magnificent natural sights and modernity intertwined. Yandex was looking for a sleek and sectioned space that would wow guests as they were walking in.
It became clear early on that the only option was the Vancouver Lookout.
The Vancouver Lookout at Harbour Centre offers a 360-degree view of the city’s famous neighbourhoods, the beautiful mountains across the bay, and nature parks that cover the city’s landscape.
Guests entered the top floor of the Vancouver Lookout and were greeted with a seasonal signature cocktail – mulled wine.
The space was separated into two main areas: the “lounge” which featured two large red circular couches near the centre bar, and a salon area with red high top tables next to a four-piece jazz band that played while Fervent brand ambassadors welcomed guests.
Event Staffing
Fervent Events has a roster of over 900+ brand ambassadors that speak dozens of languages. For Yandex’s networking event, Fervent provided five Russian-speaking brand ambassadors to station the welcome desk and coat check.
The Fervent event staff welcomed the 250 guests with smiles.
Read more about our staffing services here.
Entertainment and Catering
As guests filtered in a four-piece jazz band entertained those in the salon part of the venue.
Fervent Events placed two bars with open-bar service on either side of the venue, one being a vodka bar serving classic Russian cocktails.
Several food stations served guests with a variety of meats and finger foods. Fervent Events organized a table of Canadian dinner fares including a poutine station, a Canadian cheese board, and charcuterie.
Other food offerings included a turkey dinner station, a sirloin carving station, and platters of antipasto with vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. The dessert table included delicious tarts, tiramisu, and chocolate mousse.
The space was filled with furniture and decorations sourced by Fervent, that included decals, ice sculptures, and a light filter projection of the Yandex logo.
Events like these have a lot of moving parts. Making sure everything runs smoothly from planning to the night of is what Fervent Events does best.
Fervent Events offers comprehensive services for event planning, starting with venue scouting. Whether it’s an evening corporate event or a fun product launch, Fervent Events offers creative and experiential approaches to event planning and logistics.
Read more about our event planning services here.
Check out all of our event staff and promo rep engagements.
