Stella Artois had been a sponsor of The Wimbledon Championships, since 2014, using the occasion for high-end B2B hosting for their most valued customers and a hosting opportunity for their influencer program.

In 2019 we designed and produced Stella Artois’ new home in the No. 1 Court Complex, which continued to receive rave reviews into 2020. The suite design received overwhelmingly positive feedback from guests – 96% of guests rated it as very good or higher – and offered a key permanent space to be used throughout the tournament and beyond.

We also managed the relationship with the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and delivered all on-site management of bars and activations to drive purchase on-site, enhance brand engagement and preference.

Then, COVID-19 changed the game completely for everyone involved in sponsorship, from planning through programming.

Stella challenged us to bring its same iconic program to life at a time when Covid-19 protocols forced a program reduction of 50%. There were further constant changes from the rights holder, restrictions for on-site activations, and ongoing budget constraints.

Despite all the obstacles, guests were treated to outstanding hospitality, with Octagon managing all aspects of the program including catering, staffing and ticketing. The ticketing alone required us to work with a newly implemented mobile ticketing process brought in by the AELTC.

As a sponsor, Stella Artois was also able to invite premium celebrities to be entertained in the Stella hospitality spaces – with guests such as Brie Larson, Evangeline Lily, Claire Danes and Joe Cole all enjoying the Women’s Wimbledon Final from the Stella Artois hospitality box.

In all, 324 guests were hosted in the hospitality program across the two weeks in 2021, including customers, consumers and senior leadership. 86% of guests rated their overall experience as ‘Excellent’ and 100% of guests said they would join Stella Artois at Wimbledon again. The program delivered 193,000 total engagements.

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