Program Details: Unum Corp. hosts its Chairman's Conference every two years to recognize the top 5-10% of the sales force from its seven companies. Program qualifications place heavy emphasis on collaborative sales involving more than one company's products. Sales results for this promotion were spectacular: collaborative sales were up more than 200%, and overall sales increased 15%.
The seven days in Australia for qualifiers included a number of special events, but Unum wanted the final night of the trip to be so unique that it would become part of its corporate lore.
The result was a night at the Mango House, an old beachfront bar that existed for one night only in the real world, but has become a permanent memory for Unum qualifiers. Construction took place on an isolated beach with limited access and no electricity. A 60-foot jetty was built to withstand the weight of 200 guests, along with a realistic bar, aged and decorated to appear as if the family-owned operation had been in existence for 50 years.
A fishing trawler was chartered to come ashore to feed the guests unlimited quantities of fresh shellfish. A total of 30 entertainers and local characters were hired to populate the Mango House. Actor Wayne Rees assumed the role of proprietor Walter Faraday.
Objective: Recognize the top 5-10% of the sales force from its seven companies.
Supplier: Hannaford Special Events, Landmark Travel South Pacific
Results: Every available lobster and mud crab within a 100-mile radius was purchased for the event, along with a mountain of prawns and fresh fish. When the trawler arrived, guests were free to take part in Faraday's negotiations and pick their own dinner. Some of the seafood was then cooked on open fires in old boilers right on the beach. Much of the trawler's fish, however, was taken to a concealed kitchen and swapped for identical orders that had been prepared earlier.
As the guests ate, more and more locals arrived at the bar for a drink and some conversation. Musicians dropped in for a beachside jam session and stayed to entertain the group.
Every bit of the "spontaneous" entertainment was organized without guests ever discovering the source of their amusement. The party went on for six hours, and many guests vowed to return.
In fact, some tried to return the next day. Reports of bemused Americans wandering Four Mile Beach looking for the Mango House were rampant. But by then, the old bar had vanished. All that remained were the memories.
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