When you hear the name Main Event, parties, lights and amazing visual effects undoubtedly come to mind. Noted for being the premier event management and digital signage company in Jamaica, the famed brand has made a name for itself and created a standard of business unmatched by any other local brand. With comparative event executions to some of the most renowned international event management companies, Main Event Group prides itself on being a well-rounded all-encompassing company, with cutting edge technologies and innovations growing over the years. But what else can be expected from the company that pioneered a movement in integrating entertainment and corporate Jamaica? Simply, nothing less.
“Main Event is not a party brand. If we do a party, it is doing a party with a purpose.”
The Company…
The partnership between the event management and entertainment pioneers, Solomon Sharpe and Richard Bair, started long before the 2004 launch of the Main Event Entertainment Group Jamaica Limited. Having had over a decade long history in the entertainment and party industry in Jamaica, it was only natural that the dynamic duo would launch their brainchild in the event management industry.
“We wanted to create a place where brands could get everything needed for an event. A one stop shop type of place. Having worked in events prior to forming Main Event, I knew there was nowhere that did that in Jamaica.”
–Solomon Sharpe,
Chief Executive Officer
The company started out of the need for a dynamic entertainment company fitted with the necessary tools and equipment to execute amazing events, while complimented by an enigmatic drive for maintaining a standard of excellence. In an era where branding is everything and the look and feel of a brand can directly affect market influence, it became important for Jamaican companies to redefine their image and alter their marketing strategies to reach their desired customer base. The Main Event Entertainment Group realised this and decidedly took the initiative to conceptualise new ways to provide this service.
Not short of the usual trials that come with building a global brand, Main Event has maintained their standards and made their mark in revolutionising Jamaican entertainment and corporate branding. This is their story.
The History…
If you’re familiar with the Jamaican party scene, then you know the names Solomon Sharpe and Richard Bair as being synonymous with great entertainment and event execution expertise. The longtime friends and party promoters decided to take their relationship further by becoming business partners in 2004, under the premise that they could fuse their ideas and talents to create an indelible mark on the Jamaican business sector. As the (former) Display and Sponsorship manager at Desnoes and Geddes, Solomon Sharpe knew that there was a gap in the resources being provided by companies in the event execution industry. It was out of this identified deficiency and the knowledge of the entertainment business in Jamaica, that the two decided that there was a need for a “one stop shop” of sorts.
The opportunity for the legitimisation of this company came with the introduction of the Smirnoff Ice brand in Jamaica. The client need to introduce the Smirnoff experience to the Jamaican marketplace provided a canvas of the innovative approach Sharpe and Bair introduced for corporates to interact with their desired consumer.
“They knew what they wanted to do in Jamaica and they wanted to roll out Smirnoff Ice to the market, but they didn’t how to reach the consumers.” – Solomon Sharpe.
As consultants behind the launch of Smirnoff Ice, the duo created a medium that would align corporate brands with new out of the box experiences, creating a direct link to their target markets. This idea enabled the Main Event brand to take on a different dynamic in their approach to event management.
The launch of Smirnoff Ice in Jamaica, which took place at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, allowed Main Event to do just that. The event catapulted the brand on to the entertainment market and legitimised their expertise in marketing to the local demographic. The complete transformation of the hotel’s ballroom set a standard for events that was unprecedented. The idea was to merge the international image of sophistication associated with the brand and the richness of the Jamaican culture to market Smirnoff Ice. And this was seamlessly achieved.
By the time the Smirnoff Black Ice launch came around, the Main Event had already conceptualised how to up the ante. The use of barbed wire, binding chord and lights for the décor tied in perfectly with the brands cutting edge image all the while creating an air of sophistication and elegance to intrigue consumers.
But this was only the beginning for the brand. Pioneering the conceptualization of the famed Smirnoff Experience, took the brand to New York in an attempt to understand fully what the experience entailed.
“It was not just about bringing the global brand to Jamaica, but looking at the experience and realising that some tenets would not work in our Jamaican culture; and figuring out how best to tailor them to match the market in order to attain brand integration.”
The Journey…
It has been a long journey for the brand since the launch of Smirnoff Experience.
“We try to take our destiny in our own hands. When you rely on other suppliers you can end up getting a bad result not of your own making but ultimately you can choose your own destiny,” shared Chief Operations Officer, Richard Bair.
Experience is the greatest teacher. Over the years, the business has faced many challenges. While fortune favours the prepared, some events truly cannot be planned for: weather, the movement of the financial markets, national elections and other acts of God. Those are the challenges that have gone far to underscore the importance of diversifying the portfolio for the event management company, how revenue is generated and moved them beyond events.
The journey has been described as crazy, fun, stressful, amazing and most importantly rewarding; rewards which go far beyond their achievements but which are directly connected to the impact they have on the lives they touch. As advocates for brand Jamaica, it was important for Main Event to impact the Jamaican employment sphere, through the creation of jobs. Beyond this, was the importance in being able to provide opportunities for University students and graduates to experience the work world and gain exposure to out of the box jobs which could pull on their creativity.
“The most important function of Main Event is the people. It’s the people at Main Event that make it work.”
Undoubtedly, Sharpe and Bair have created a system that works for the brand, when it comes to creating a solid workforce. They pride themselves on having an efficient Human Resource Department, which understands the culture of the business, and subsequently helps to select the team behind the brand.
To continue reading, purchase Vol.8 #8, 2016 Issue.