Orange success in World Cup contracts

Taste at The Cloud showcases NZ food and drink. Photo / Natalie Slade

An Auckland firm has beaten international competition to provide events and hosting services during the Rugby World Cup.

The Orange Group is working with some of the tournament's principal sponsors to provide hospitality space and services at the venues and special events elsewhere.

The firm won contracts with IMG for the design, building and installation of the main sponsor hospitality spaces at Eden Park and Wellington's Westpac Stadium, and contracts for the design, production and delivery for over 50 corporate boxes at every stadium throughout the country.

Taste at the Cloud was designed, created, built and project managed by Orange and next door, the ANZ dome was also designed, planned, created, tested, refined, operated and managed by the firm.

Founder and creative director Stu Robertson said his 20-year-old company competed with international firms that had strong ties to sponsors around the world at giant world events such as soccer's Fifa World Cup and the European Cup.

"We've had to deliver on a world stage, we've been pitching against incumbent companies so our design, execution and pricing has had to match with the expectations of companies that travel around the world."

Corporate boxes have been remodelled in some cases with new carpet and new colour schemes to match the sponsors' brand.

"That client has spent a hell of a lot of money on tickets. So the watching experience of the game needs to be a brand experience and that extrapolates right through the look of the box, the food, the beverage, how they're greeted at the game and how they're transported to the game."

Last Friday the firm organised a large private function on Captain Cook Wharf which is now part of the expanded fan zone following chaos on Queen's Wharf and Quay Street at opening night festivities.

Orange has organised events throughout the country and as soon as New Zealand won the cup hosting rights in 2005 it put in place targets to capitalise on it. The cup work would boost turnover by "several million dollars" this year.

But event firms that had not won work early on may have missed out.

"There's been an interesting situation with the cup in that everyone thought there'd be lots going on in our industry but that's not the case at all," said Robertson.

"You're still able to go to every major hotel and book events space, whereas everyone thought catering equipment, hire vehicles and refrigeration would be fully booked."