Silverstone – Case Study
Case Study | Silverstone is one of the most famous race tracks in the world. | Product: Silverstone use Evolution Dome structures to create five pop-up stores, complete with shop fit outs
Client - Silverstone
The Brief:
Silverstone is one of the most famous race tracks in the world, hosting the Formula 1 British Grand Prix and MotoGP. It welcomes tens of thousands through its gates every year, providing a high-end venue with fantastic facilities. With an ever-expanding diary of events, including concerts, British GT Championships, Classics and the British Superbike Championship, it continues to grow and evolve to maintain its position at the top of the podium of British race tracks.
The Solution:
Following meetings, the Silverstone merchandise team decided that five structures would the best fit for the event. The structures consisted of three 14m domes, two 15m Airoof’s zipped together creating a 12x15m space, and a 15m cube. These structures would all come complete with a 1.5m branded banner displaying the large Silverstone logo and shop information, such as ticket sales. The Evolution Dome inflatable structures were the perfect option for Silverstone, due to the quick install and de-rig times, as well as high wind rating of 55mph. Each of the structures was capable of being installed on grass or hardstanding, making it easy to position them trackside, where the surface differed from one area to the next. Evolution Dome produced the large branding banners and secured them onto each structure, providing Silverstone with the large scale branding that they required for their events. Evolution Dome also took on the task of creating bespoke shop fit outs, to fit perfectly in each of the structures, allowing for health and safety concerns, such as emergency exit, storage and stability. These shop fit outs also had to be temporary in nature and reusable for future events. This was also taken care of by the Evolution Dome crew who assembled and de-rigged the structure along with all the shop elements inside.
The Result:
The 2016 British Grand Prix was the first event to road test all 5 structures including shop fit out and branding banners. The result was a resounding success. The install and de-rig processes went smoothly for both the structures and shop fit outs. This allowed the Silverstone merchandise team plenty of time to display stock, ready for their biggest foot fall event. The inflatable structures created a unique focal point alongside the track and attracted visitors to look inside, boosting interested in the stores. The branding banners also worked perfectly, providing a great contrast against the white of the structures. As with the predictable British weather, there was some rain across the Grand Prix weekend, however, this didn’t affect the stores, which were up and running throughout, with plenty of space for customers to shelter and make purchases. The structures are all fully waterproof, with the addition of glass push bar doors, everyone inside, as well as the stock, was kept warm and dry throughout the events. The Evolution Dome team were on hand to check wind speeds to make sure that the structures were safe. However with all structures having 55mph wind calculations, this wasn’t a big concern going into the event.
Lee Mullen, Head of Merchandise, Silverstone Circuit kindly gave us the following feedback.
“Silverstone Circuit chose Evolution Dome’s inflatable structures to retail our official merchandise during our biggest event of the year (The British Grand Prix), as we recognised that the innovative designs had massive visual appeal to help draw in customers with a contemporary look that is fitting of the Silverstone brand name. The large branding applied on the outside of the inflatables was clear for people to see from right across the circuit and stood out from all other vendors. We loved that the great sheltered space allowed us to display our goods really clearly, allowing customers to browse the full collection which definitely boosted sales. The units locked at night meaning we didn’t have to worry about setting up and clearing out on a daily basis.
The Evolution Dome team worked amazingly well to ensure the structures went up and down in the time frames agreed (which is pretty quick!), and flexed their work in order to fit in with our priorities. We gave them some challenges which they never failed to rise to. They were very friendly, calm and patient and went out of their way to help with anything they could – we definitely chose the right people for the job!
We would absolutely recommend these structures & the Evolution Dome team to anyone… we’ve already booked them for more events at Silverstone this summer, as they have certainly proved to be worth the investment.”
