Grand Final Parties in Hanoi and Saigon, grand successes.
Last weekend, the Vietnam Swans hosted Grand Final Parties in both Hanoi and Saigon. Below is a summary of a couple of very successful events:
- 201 attendees in Saigon– 33 per cent (54) more than last year (which is particularly significant given the venue is in D7 and most of our attendees came from Districts 2 and 1).
- In Hanoi, there were approximately 180 people which is also a great result as this year, the event was held at the Intercontinental Hotel which is further out on West Lake..
- The reach of our event was far greater, spreading the message of our sponsors much further afield. For example:
- The Vietnam Swans’ website recorded a new record of 13,261 hits for the month of September – up 56 per cent on last year. The website also listed our Grand Final sponsors on a dedicated Grand Final page.
- Australia Network was our Official Media Partner for this event. Australia Network produced a tailored promo video specifically for the Vietnam Swans’ Grand Final Parties in Hanoi and Saigon. Additionally, it promoted our event on its Facebook page on two separate occasions as well as uploading photos from our ANZAC Friendship Match. It also put a link on its Facebook page to a very recent VTV documentary about the Vietnam Swans.
- Publications promoting the event included the Word magazine and the Guide magazine.
- Websites promoting the event included Auscham (and its newsletters), Out & About in Saigon, Any Arena, Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree, Expat Advisory Services and the Word.
- National sponsor, AIS, the Australian International School last Friday, sent out a newsletter to its distribution list that dedicates a full page to the Grand Final Party in Saigon. It has also uploaded photos of the Grand Final Party onto its Facebook page.
- In the weeks leading up to the Grand Final Party, emails from the National, Saigon and Hanoi Presidents regularly included a list of sponsors and their respective contributions. This was done to further promote our sponsors and, in doing so, also demonstrate the quality of our event.
- The week before the Grand Final, we hung a banner with sponsors’ logos at the Saigon Flea Market. The market attracts up to a thousand people and the banner hung outside the Boomarang Bistro in an extremely high profile location.
In addition,
- Artwork for all promotional material was of an extremely high standard – a standard that people have come to expect from the Vietnam Swans thanks to Ross McRae Design.
- A slide show for sponsors rolled through for several hours at the events.
- The MC on numerous occasions publicly thanked individual sponsors.
- Adding to the prestige of the event were some of the items donated for auction. Items included jumpers signed by two Official Legends of the AFL: Alex Jesaulenko and Barry Cable. These two jumpers were signed specifically for our event.
- The day was very much a family day with some fantastic activities for the kids that included the Crown “pool” (full of balls rather than water), a jumping castle and a handball board.
- Throughout the year, the Vietnam Swans raise money for charity – namely at the ANZAC Friendship Match, the Swing to Swim Charity Golf Day as well as ad hoc events. We can only raise money and the profile of these charities by being an active football club (if we don’t play football, we disappear and then we can’t raise any money). Grand Final Day is the one day of the year that we raise money for the Club, however, notwithstanding this, the Vietnam Swans raised USD3,365 last Saturday for Swim Vietnam (Hanoi raised an extra $500 for Swim Vietnam).
The events in Hanoi and Saigon were great successes and the Vietnam Swans sincerely thank our sponsors and attendees.
For photos of each event, click onto:
