On 15 February 2018 the CountyClean Group were the hosts and stars of a very special fundraising film premiere event at Eastbourne’s state-of-the-art performing arts hub, The Birley Centre, to launch the company’s corporate short film.
Created by Smokescreen Visuals at a variety of locations throughout Sussex, Surrey, Kent and London, the cinematic film was exclusively presented to over 120 guests including The Worshipful Mayor of Eastbourne, Stephen Lloyd MP, the leader of Eastbourne Borough Council Cllr David Tutt, members of Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce and professional business communities, as well as by clients, partners and of course the company’s various teams. A number of enthusiastic media students from Sussex Downs College filmed the entire event and captured audience reactions too.
Smokescreen Visuals used their expertise and drone resources to produce a truly outstanding film to capture CountyClean Group’s customer led portfolio of commercial and household services which range from interceptor cleaning, hazardous liquid waste and bilge water disposal, grease trap and cesspit emptying, to oil spill and flood emergency response, groundworks and installations, sewer and drain jetting and CCTV inspections, graffiti removal, pump services, road sweeper solutions, liquid waste recycling and much more.
Speaking about the project, CountyClean Group founders Mike and Debbie said, “we are so proud and absolutely thrilled with the finished film and wish to commend everyone involved on their professionalism and hard work to produce it, which we believe showcases our capabilities and customer service ethos. We are extremely grateful to our wonderful teams for being such stars and wish to give the Smokescreen team a five star rating!”
On the night, once all the guests had arrived and enjoyed a glass or two of Prosecco with some freshly made popcorn, Keith Ridley called for everyone to make their way through to the auditorium. When everyone was seated, Becky Rowland, marketing manager for the group, thanked the charity prize donators and event partners, then invited Stephen Lloyd MP to officially open the event. After Stephen’s touching speech, Mike was welcomed to the stage to introduce the film. Mike’s thoughtful welcome and insights into the filming process enabled audience members to appreciate the work that had gone into the project, and to expect the unexpected. Then the lights were dimmed and the film was played. Reactions were heart-warming and amazing as the audience complimented the production with a huge burst of applause and cheers. The hosts then opened the floor for a brief Q&A session and received some wonderful feedback and positive comments about the film. Debbie then presented a raft of rather funny outtakes from the filming process and the corporate film was played a second time to leave a lasting impression on all guests.
“It has been a pleasure to work with the CountyClean Group team as they allowed us to push the creative process and portray our vision. We filmed entirely in 4K with a Dolby Digital Surround mix to ensure that the film can be played on large screens and upholds the high quality standard required as mobile devices adapt to the 4K transition.” commented Matt Derbyshire, Smokescreen Visuals.
To mark the 13th anniversary of YouTube’s launch, Becky then invited the audience to launch the film online by guessing how many miles CountyClean Group’s commercial fleet travelled in 2017. Whilst guests were thinking up their answers, Becky advised that the group’s fleet consists of 20 commercial vehicles (6,000 and 4,000 gallon tankers, 2,000 gallon combi Krolls, two road sweepers, a variety of vans and a flatbed truck) that have a very low carbon footprint and clean emissions as they are all equipped with Euro 6 engines. After five guesses were selected at random, the closest answer was given by Graham White whose guess was just 97,000 miles shy of the correct figure. Becky then revealed that in 2017, CountyClean Group’s commercial fleet actually travelled 1,597,000 miles throughout the South East of England and London which equates to over 64 trips around the world! Graham joined Becky on stage to press the specially made launch button that would kick off the digital release of the 4K film on YouTube and Vimeo.
The focus was then drawn to the fundraising aspect of the event with Darren Maylam of St Wilfrid’s Hospice briefly introducing the important specialist care giving work that the hospice delivers and then auctioning off the all-expenses paid £40,000 value Mercedes-Benz car for the weekend, which will be generously provided by Lookers Mercedes-Benz of Eastbourne. Debbie then pulled the raffle tickets which presented winners with a range of premium prizes including a luxuriously presented Best of British Sparkling Feast box from CountyClean Group and Smokescreen Visuals, a sparkling prize supplied by Rathfinny Wine Estate of Alfriston, an exquisite silver ladies bracelet set with cubic zirconia stones from Eastwood Precious Metals in Eastbourne, a round of golf for four at Copthorne Effingham Park Hotel, an absolutely glorious bouquet of flowers from The Bloom Factory in Eastbourne, a cream tea for two on Eastbourne Pier, a three course Sunday Carvery for two at The Boship Lions Farm Hotel in Lower Dicker as well as a cheeky prize in the form of a bottle of Poo Pourri Royal Flush Toilet Spray.
Speaking about the event, Becky Rowland, Marketing Manager, advised that “Having only recently joined the company, this event has been one of my main focuses for the past month and I am extremely pleased as to how it has all come together. I cannot wait to see what the student film team of Sussex Downs College has captured of this event (video to be released very soon), and I am supremely grateful to all who have helped make it such a success. Huge thanks to Smokescreen Visuals Ltd, Eastbourne College, and all our lovely charity prize donators as well as event partners, Party Doctors for creating a spectacular atmosphere and Custom Cookie Co for our unique tanker cookies which went down a treat! Our premiere event has provided us with the perfect film launch opportunity and I look forward to welcoming feedback from wider audiences once our targeted broadcast campaign goes live across cinema and TV screens as well as digital streaming services in the near future”.
Rounding up the event, Daniel Hough from Channel 4 said, “What CountyClean has achieved here tonight will surely inspire local business communities to follow their lead in showcasing their capabilities through the medium of film. May I also say that the organisation that has gone into the event is top class and a triumph for the group as it reflects their customer service led ethos. I look forward to discussing how we may collaborate to get CountyClean’s cinematic style footage onto screens at home soon.”
As well as enjoying exclusive media entertainment in cultural surroundings with a sparkling reception, the events’ attendees raised £940 for St Wilfrid’s Hospice, which CountyClean Group has matched, meaning that the total amount donated will be £1,880.
Caroline Harwood, Events & Box Office manager at The Birley Centre of Eastbourne College, said, “It has been a great opportunity to lend our performing arts space for such a splendid local business event and their guest list of elite business professionals and community leaders.”
As the group’s official event opener, Stephen Lloyd MP commented, “Well done for putting on such a great event. I thought the film captured the essence of what CountyClean do and I am sure will help attract even more business. Well done folks!”
Christina Ewbank, CEO of Eastbourne unLtd Chamber of Commerce, commented “Tonight’s event has presented our members with a wonderfully unique networking experience at a prestigious venue to celebrate the collaborative success of our members. On behalf of Eastbourne Chamber, I would like to congratulate CountyClean Group and Smokescreen Visuals for their exceptional film and look forward to watching it again online!”
For those who were not able to attend, the film is now live to view on the CountyClean Group website, YouTube and Vimeo channels, or just search online #CCGpremiere
