Events for audiences who've seen it all.
Launches, dealer events, exhibition stands and corporate events for automotive businesses.
Experiences that hold an expert's attention.
Automotive audiences go to a lot of launches and trade events. Most of them blur together.
Standing out starts with who's in the room and what they need to leave with. Dealers want to order with confidence. Journalists want a story worth writing. Buyers want a reason to choose you over the stand next door.
Twenty years of automotive events means the logistics are familiar, from moving vehicles into venues to working within tight set-up windows. Those problems are already solved, so more of the planning goes into what guests will remember.
Your experiences toolkit.
Product launches
Launches worth talking about. Press and trade launches built around one clear idea, so people leave knowing exactly what's new and why it matters.
Dealer and trade events
Get everyone pulling the same way. Conferences and trade days that leave your dealers and partners clear on what's next and keen to act on it.
Exhibition stands
Be the stand people stop at. Eye-catching design and a clear message, so the conversations you want are the ones that happen. Designed and project-managed in-house.
Corporate events
Bring your people together. Internal events and celebrations that build pride in the business and the people behind it, handled from first idea to final guest.
Creative theming
Make the whole event feel like one. A single creative idea runs from the invitation through to every detail on the day.
Bring us the brief
Tell us who's coming and what they need to leave with. You'll get back an approach and a realistic plan.
Experiences in action.
A press launch at the drive-in.
Making a new SUV stand out to journalists who'd seen it all.
Launch events blur together for motoring journalists. SEAT needed the new Ateca's UK press launch to be the one they remembered.
An empty warehouse in central Manchester became a drive-in cinema, with the Barcelona skyline across the full width of the screen. More than 20 cars pulled up, with usherettes serving drinks and popcorn.
Journalists shared it straight away, and it was voted the top launch presentation of its year.
700+ dealers.
One buying show.
A European dealer event built around placing orders.
Each year, Harley-Davidson brings dealers, licensees and staff from across Europe to Barcelona. They preview upcoming ranges and place their orders.
The event ran over two days, with break-out sessions for each market. Every dealer got what mattered to them.
Accommodation and logistics were handled end to end, and the stands were designed specifically for the show.
120 guests.
A two-hour set-up.
A 50th anniversary celebration inside a working museum.
Unipart wanted an event for senior leaders, partners, government figures and press that honoured 50 years and looked to the future.
The Ashmolean Museum was chosen from a shortlist of Oxfordshire venues. With the museum open to the public until late afternoon, every supplier had a timed slot and the set-up was completed in two hours.
Dinner and speeches gave way to a hidden speakeasy vault beneath the museum. It surpassed Unipart's expectations.
Four weeks.
An underground car park.
A trade stand that worked in a venue built for parking.
Polygard was invited to Tech Fest at Wembley at short notice. The venue was an underground car park, with low light and an uneven floor, and there were four weeks to deliver.
The 18m by 6m space was split into four zones: Meeting, Heritage, Performance and Product. Vehicles and lighting became the anchors that pulled visitors in.
The stand drew strong traffic and dwell time, and opened new trade conversations.
Can't-miss launches,
year after year.
Press launches as premium as the cars.
Motoring journalists are invited to more launches than they can attend. Audi's had to be the ones they made time for.
Each started with the invitation, produced to a standard that matched the car, once as a bespoke ballet shoe. Venues were chosen for character and branded in subtle, unexpected ways, with short set-up and breakdown in mind.
Packed houses followed, year after year.
Five stories in
Plenty more to read
Launches, dealer events, exhibition stands and corporate events from across the automotive ecosystem.
Three ways to work together.
The right shape depends on the size of the problem, not the size of the budget.
A defined scope.
A clear output.
One event, with a clear brief and a clear timeline. A launch, a stand, a dealer event or a celebration, for example. Because venues, suppliers and set-up windows are familiar ground, planning moves quickly. That leaves more time for the details guests will notice.
"The h2o team were outstanding in their leadership and support to create a truly unique event that celebrated our heritage, our present and what we offer our partners for the future. Their dedication and attention to every detail led to an event that seemed effortless, yet had every eventuality planned for. It surpassed our expectations and was a truly apt celebration."
Caroline Brill, Marketing Director, Unipart
Ongoing capability.
Built around your commercial objective.
Some briefs run across a season. A 6 to 12 month programme might cover a show calendar or an annual dealer event, with one theme and one team throughout. A structured roadmap keeps milestones clear and outcomes measurable.
"h2o have supported Essentra for many years now on a range of global, regional and local projects and campaigns. The account management and attention to detail means that big campaigns feel straightforward and h2o remove a lot of the client stress."
Leisa Nugent, Essentra Components
Fully embedded.
Genuinely accountable.
For businesses that want more than a supplier. The same senior team gets to know your audiences, your brand and the events calendar you work to. Full-agency capability is there when an event needs a campaign or a platform behind it.
Our average client relationship runs to eight years. Our longest is over eighteen. Those numbers exist because the work keeps delivering and the intelligence keeps compounding the longer we work together.
"The team is very in tune with our business and business needs. We have a fantastic relationship with the team, and they quickly build up a rapport with teams in the business when working on a project with them."
Alistair Drummond, Unipart
our methodology
Empowered by ionic.
ionic puts your challenge at the centre of our world and applies the right capability at each stage, governed by our team's expertise. On an events engagement that means twenty years of sector knowledge and AI-assisted planning behind every decision, all directed by senior people. Details get checked earlier, so the day itself runs to plan.
Questions we are usually asked.
Straight answers about how events work with h2o runs.
As early as you can. The best venues, suppliers and show slots go first, and early planning means more of the budget goes into the experience. Short notice isn't a dealbreaker, though. We'll tell you straight away if a deadline isn't realistic.
Yes. We've delivered events across Europe, with on-the-ground support as far as the US and Singapore.
Yes. Venue sourcing, supplier contracts and on-the-day coordination can all sit with us. Stands are built by the venue's preferred contractor, your own supplier or one we recommend, and managed by us either way. You deal with one team.
Yes. The budget is agreed up front and the plan is shaped around it, with clear options for where to spend more or less.
Explore our other capabilities.
Experiences bring the brand into the room. Four more capabilities work around it.
Let's talk experiences.
Tell us who's coming and what you want them talking about on the way home.