RE/MAX Europe
a breakdown of the event
RE/MAX is an international real estate company with franchises in over 100 countries. Their European convention is held annually, and this is the first time it’s been held in the UK. While the annual event has been held exclusively in the south of the continent in recent years, RE/MAX Europe wanted to try something different, as well as appeal to a wider UK audience, so London was a great choice.
Most of the countries of Europe were represented at the event. RE/MAX Europe have franchises across the continent and each of these send their leading lights to exchange ideas and best practice, network and get industry inspiration.
With an impressive speaker line-up and with plenty of plenary talks on the latest company updates and best practice, a key part of the event is in the networking and knowledge exchange between franchisees, so the organisers spent a lot of time perfecting the content balance.
Pre-signing, the production agency, Brands Alive, brought their clients RE/MAX Europe along to the venue for lunch and a walkthrough with their Venue Operations Manager and their chosen service partners. This gave the clients a strong feel for how the event would fit into the spaces and the ways in which our various teams would work alongside theirs to deliver the event.
Working with international clients
The production agency were based in Germany, so our team were able to guide them in making their event work in the UK.
Industrial Urban Chic
The exposed brickwork, metal-work struts and overhead beams helped the team achieve their design vision with minimal set dressing.
London venue
Most of the attendees were visiting from abroad and the venue would be the place they spent most of their trip, so the organisers loved the strong sense of place it offers.
Why Tobacco Dock?
Much of the international attendees’ time in the capital was to be spent at the convention so it made sense for the organisers to choose a venue which had a strong sense of place. Choosing a standard convention centre venue risked losing the unique character of London that they wanted to imbue into their event. Tobacco Dock with its iconic architecture, views of the Shard and details such as traditional red phone boxes dotted about the venue, is distinctively ‘London’, so busy delegates could still get a flavour of the city within our brick walls.
The organisers were keen to create a festival layout for the event rather than that of a traditional conference. The combination of indoor and outdoor spaces at Tobacco Dock encourage interactions and a buzzing atmosphere between delegates, adding a sense of informality, flow and organic interaction.
The industrial look and feel of the building echoed the theming of the RE/MAX Europe sets. The main stage in the Great Gallery made use of exposed scaffolding as part of their urban, street art theming. It looked very much at home beneath the listed timber beams and the steelwork struts of our largest space.
With so many international clients, our proximity to a range of high-capacity and well-placed hotels, as well as the new ease of visiting from Heathrow thanks to the Elizabeth Line, meant it was straightforward for organisers, attendees and speakers alike to get to the event.
RE/MAX Europe
The end results
The production agency, Brands Alive, are based in Germany so appreciated the help the Tobacco Dock team were able to offer in terms of advising on and finding solutions to protocols and layout, as well as helping to ensure all the elements of the event came together.
The clients and delegates were delighted with the venue and its location in London. Our team were able to be flexible to ensure the comfort of the guests. On the first day, attendees ate more than anticipated, so our in-house catering team, Tobacco Dock Food, worked quickly to increase portion size and stopped anyone getting hungry! The organisers also commented on the quality of the food and the creativity and modernity of the menu.
The chosen space, blending modernity with historic charm,
perfectly suited our planned festival atmosphere. Beyond the excellent location, our communication with the venue's representatives was exceptionally positive, reflecting a professional collaboration that made us feel both welcome and appreciated, especially as a German company hosting an event abroad. The seamless coordination, positive feedback from attendees and the amicable departure from the venue all contributed to making this inaugural London event a remarkable achievement for RE/MAX.