Rewarding Top Customers Through Partnership | October 2019

The Q2 2019 Pennzoil Synthetics competition that this select group has won produced record-breaking growth for Pennzoil sales within Canadian Tire at a 46% increase in sales vs. 2018 during the same time frame (vs. 35% increase in 2017-2018 with the same program).

To match their exceptional work throughout the year, we hosted 3 dealers and their guests, 1 Canadian Tire executive, 1 Canadian Tire winner from their charity gala and 1 Shell executive and his guest for an exceptional experience in Italy as a thank you and celebration. The group enjoyed can’t-be-bought experiences throughout the week in Florence and Maranello that included a VIP look into Shell’s technical partnership with Scuderia Ferrari. More than that, this partnership drives the passion Shell has for innovation and the most premium products available.

Leading up to the event…

We produced custom and personalized Field Guides to introduce the experience to each guest. The guide included a personalized travel itinerary, rich photography, insights to the week, safety considerations and much more. We produced this book as a special memento for each guest to have and remember the trip. The books were delivered to each guest about 2-weeks prior to departure for the trip and even were brought along to review during the trip!

The closer we got to the week the more excited we got to have everything come together for the guests. Scroll through the recap to relive the event day by day.

Arrival in Florence | Day 1 | October 25, 2019

We navigated around country-wide transportation strikes on Friday for everyone to arrive by Saturday morning after their business class flights over from Canada. Our private drivers met the guests to help out with baggage and transfer them from the airport to the hotel. Once we arrived to the Four Seasons Firenze, the team was there to provide a VIP check-in process and welcome refreshment.

Special treats and enhancements

Your customers are special, so we planned special things for them to make them feel like the VIPs they are. Upon their arrival to Florence, a vintage bottle of champagne, local Italian fruits and Ferrari keychains were waiting for them to start the week.

VIP in Florence | Day 2 | October 26, 2019

We began our experience together by taking a drive through the Tuscan countryside from Florence to the small, but famous, town of Montalcino - one of the world’s most renowned wine regions. We arrived for lunch and visited Casanova di Neri, a family run winery producing wines with 100/100 ratings on the world’s most challenging scales.

A private lunch and tasting was followed by a behind-the-scenes look at the detail and care put into each bottle.

Private dinner in a Family palazzo

We returned back to Florence to a couple hours of rest before dinner. We recognized that this was not an ordinary group, so we planned a dinner that was not so ordinary as well. Instead of a restaurant, we arranged a private, 4-course dinner on the rooftop terrace of one of the most famous buildings in Florence. Leonardo da Vinci spent some of his childhood in the house, and it is rumored that he painted the Mona Lisa there as well.

Our guests were welcomed to a cocktail reception and remarkable views, food, scenery, and company.

VIP in Florence | Day 3 | October 27, 2019

Sunday began with beautiful, sunny weather and a big welcome to explore the city of Florence. We met up with two expert city guides and strolled through some of the most famous sites, including the Galleria dell'Accademia where Michelangelo's world famous sculpture of David sits. We continued onto the Uffizi Gallery, one of the world’s most celebrated art museums.

After our organized tours, guests had the afternoon for free time to explore Florence as they wished.

Unforgettable dining all week

The week in Italy treated our guests to all kinds of fresh, unique, flavorful dining. Just a few of the dishes can be seen below.

The Home of Ferrari | Day 4 | October 28, 2019

Part II of the experience had us taking a private coach from Florence to Maranello, which is about a 2 hour total journey through the beautiful hills of Tuscany. We arrived at the home of Ferrari to a catered lunch at Ristorante Cavallino, Ferrari’s own restaurant. After coffee, the guests received an overview of the history and importance of the partnership between Shell and Ferrari that goes back to the 1920s.

Factory Tour

After lunch came an exclusive tour of the Ferrari factory, something you can only see if you are a Ferrari client or if you are a partner of the F1 team. Photos were completely forbidden in this space, but if you are to ask each of the guests about their time behind-the-scenes then you might hear it was one of their favorite parts of the trip.

Ristorante Montana

Our first dinner with Ferrari was in the famed Ristorante Montana, a restaurant with a special place in Ferrari’s heart. It is a place where every F1 driver for Ferrari comes to cook and enjoy time with the chef. Coming to this place with the group made everyone really feel part of the team ahead of their time on track.

The leading driving instructor was sat with our group and provided insight to their exciting day coming up.

The Ultimate Driving Experience | Day 5 | October 29, 2019

Ferrari’s Corso Pilota program is the driving enthusiast’s ultimate day out. Our 6 drivers, along with 19 other Shell guests partaking in the experience had private access to the Fiorano track, Ferrari’s own test track. The drivers were split into groups and assigned professional instructors to work with throughout the day. The guests noted how happy they were with how much they got to spend on track, both driving on their own and also learning from the instructors. The coaching extended to F1-style telemetry analysis where our drivers could compare their driving data to that of the professionals for maximum learning.

Since the guests of drivers did not have access to drive, we arranged special hot laps for them around the track in the afternoon, a feeling that will surely stick with them for some time.

Celebratory Dinner

Arguably a highlight of the entire week was the private time in the Ferrari Museum. Not only did our group get after-hours access to the museum away from the public on Tuesday night, they also were treated to a 4-course plated dinner in Ferrari’s Victory Room. In this space, the Scuderia’s championship winning cars and trophies are on display with highlight footage of some of the most epic moments in racing history shown in the background.

Unforgettable.

Farewell and Feedback

Our trip concluded with everyone’s departure from Maranello on Wednesday, October 20th with privately arranged transfers to the airport, the city center and the train station from the hotel. Before leaving, we treated them with custom motorsports chocolates and thank you cards to complete their experience. Now that the guests have seen the home of Ferrari, what better way to celebrate the team than with tasty helmets from famous Ferrari F1 drivers?

We sent our survey to all 11 guests to collect thoughts, comments and ways to improve in the week following.

Summarized feedback from sales competition winners: