Wearing wigs that resembled bad mullet haircuts, glow-in-the-dark neon accessories, and torn fishnet stockings, the staff at Olive Media got into the spirit of the advertising agency’s rock 'n' roll-themed third anniversary party, held Thursday at Maro. The event, dubbed Twisted Olive, attracted close to 1,000 guests. "It's our annual party and it's got a couple of goals. One is to celebrate with the industry the successes of the industry—we invite our competitors, our clients, and our vendors—and the other is as a thank you to our staff. It's a chance for them to celebrate and exhale,” said Olive media president Simon Jennings.
When Olive Media began hosting client parties, Jennings said creating a theme wasn't the company's intention. "About two years ago we thought, 'Why don't we make the party a prom and have all of the staff dress up?' We weren't going to tell anybody, but somehow the word got out and about half of the guests came dressed in tuxedos and crinolines. We're a fun company with a great culture and our clients really like to play with us,” he said.
Last year, the firm adopted a country club theme and people showed up wearing "tacky plaid," Jennings said. When the team began brainstorming about ideas for this year's event, the rock theme seemed to stick. "It may just be because the management team is close to 40 and we can teach the younger staff members a thing or two about music,” said Jennings, who made his staff watch the film This Is Spinal Tap in preparation for the event.
Jennings called on staff members Laura Curran, who took the marketing lead, and Bromley Switzer, who served as the production manager, to translate the theme throughout the venue. The pair created a number of activities for guests—including a photo booth where attendees could have their picture snapped by photographer Kevin Lam. "We have a custom backdrop with a brick wall and graffiti ,and we rented a Harley-Davidson [from GTA Exotics]. We also have two dueling guitarists who will perform throughout the evening,” Curran said.
The staff also spent a recent afternoon at a photo shoot where they dressed up as rock stars. Those photos were turned into album covers that hung in the hallway near the entrance to the party. The company also created branded condoms, matches, flasks, and temporary tattoos for the event, Jennings said. The company also made 500 concert shirts with the Twisted Olive logo, which Jennings likened to a Guns N' Roses motif.
"Bromley and I try our best to make sure our party is branded inside and out. We want people to know they are at an Olive Media party,” Curran said. Jennings added, “In the last couple of years our clients have tended to steal everything that isn't nailed down.” So the company created even more branded props for guests to grab this year. "You understand the ad game: If we can get our logo hanging over people's booths in ad companies, we're doing pretty well," Jennings said.
He reported that the team chose Maro because they wanted a venue with a patio that could hold 800 to 1,000 people. "It had to be accessible but off the beaten track and with an area for the taxis...and it had to be cool." (Olive Media provided taxi coupons for all guests to get home safely.) Jennings also arranged to have hot dog vendors outside the venue at the end of the evening. "I grew up stumbling out of bars and wanting street meat. I assume people still do,” he said.
As for his decision to host the party at a time when many firms are canceling events, Jennings said, "Olive has grown to be known as the best party of the year in the industry. And to be blunt, we're not really feeling the impact of the economy. It would be shortsighted to stop one of our main marketing initiatives due to a six-month blip."
