“The venue contributed something memorable without distracting from the purpose of the programme...

More than a launch

When Motiv8 was appointed to deliver Geely Auto UK’s Starray EM-i training event, the task was about far more than staging a conference. The agency needed to create an experience that would equip sales consultants with knowledge, confidence and belief in a new vehicle, then help that confidence carry through into the conversations they would later have with customers. For the Motiv8 team they needed a venue partner they could trust to deliver in every way, whilst providing the perfect infrastructure and a deep understanding on the industry.

Over five days, the programme brought together a minimum of 63 delegates per day for a mix of presentations, breakout sessions, hands-on vehicle learning and ride and drive activity. For Motiv8, it was an opportunity to show what the agency does best, turning technical product information into something practical, memorable and motivating. For the Museum, it was another example of how its meetings and events team works in partnership with clients to support serious, forward-looking automotive programmes in a setting with genuine industry relevance.

“For agencies, the value of British Motor Museum is that it gives them more than a functional venue. It offers real industry relevance, the scale to support complex programmes and the flexibility to help ambitious events land well from the moment delegates arrive,” added the British Motor Museum’s Head of Commerce Toby Batchelor

Built around learning

As Steve Lang, Co-founder and Joint CEO of Motiv8, explained following the event, “this was not a customer-facing launch built on theatre alone. It was a learning and development event, designed to ensure that delegates left having genuinely learned something and feeling enthusiastic enough to pass that on.” In his words, success comes from the “transfer of enthusiasm”, where understanding the product leads to confidence, and confidence shapes behaviour on the showroom floor. That thinking was central to Motiv8’s role throughout the programme.

That also shaped the format. Vehicles were not treated as static display pieces. They were integrated directly into the learning environment becoming part of the event’s character, giving delegates the chance to engage with the product in a way that felt immediate and practical. For a learning company like Motiv8, being able to get vehicles easily into the room is meeting space essential. Without that, the experience becomes more abstract, and the learning loses impact, making the British Motor Museum an ideal choice.

Working at speed

What makes the story of the event’s delivery especially compelling is the pace behind it. Motiv8 effectively received the go-ahead just before Christmas, with the event then needing to come together in January. That left only a short planning window to build relationships, create a significant training programme and a multi-space event with vehicle integration at its heart. Delivering a quality event in that timeframe was a challenge, and it would have been far harder without a venue partner that already understood the agency’s way of working.

Motiv8 had already introduced Geely to British Motor Museum through earlier events focused on Geely staff inductions, and that prior experience gave everyone confidence in the venue’s scale, flexibility, quality and responsiveness. When plans changed, as they often do on automotive events, both Motiv8 and Geely knew the Museum team had the ingenuity to respond quickly. For an agency managing client expectations, logistics and production pressure all at once, that operational reliability mattered enormously.

A venue that kept everything moving

Across the five days, the British Motor Museum became a connected training environment rather than a series of separate rooms. The private entrance created a bespoke arrival point, helping the event feel focused and self-contained from the outset. Conference Room 2 hosted the opening presentation with three vehicles in the room, while Lecture Rooms 1 and 2 also brought cars directly into training sessions. Other spaces supported breakouts, crew operations and smaller group learning, and the Western Arena enabled ride and drive activity.

Just as important was the flow between those spaces. The layout worked logically in practice, with delegates able to move quickly between plenary, breakout and refreshment points without losing momentum. The short distances between rooms made it easier to manage groups, keep sessions running to time and avoid the friction that can drain energy from a learning event. The reception area also provided a useful central hub, easy to brand, easy to operate from and the focal point around which the event operated.

Reflecting on the event Batchelor confirms this, saying: “What made this event work so well was the way the environment, the team and the flow of the venue all supported Motiv8’s delivery. When people can move easily, learn around the vehicles and stay immersed in the programme, the venue stops being a backdrop and starts adding real value.”

The value of context

For Motiv8, the Museum’s automotive setting was not just decorative. It added relevance, atmosphere and an extra layer to the delegate experience. As Lang said: “People in this sector naturally respond to cars, and the chance to explore the Museum, and the industry’s progress over the decades, during lunch became an added benefit of the day. In practice, that meant the venue contributed something memorable without distracting from the purpose of the programme. The event still felt serious and professional, but it also had character.”

That matters because the British Motor Museum is not a generic conference venue with an unusual backdrop. It offers a setting that gives events weight, distinctiveness and a real sense of purpose, especially for agencies and organisers looking for something they can sell internally with confidence. In this case, the venue’s character supported the programme rather than competing with it.

What it delivered

 In the end, the strongest measure of success was not simply that the event ran smoothly, but that it created the kind of delegate experience Motiv8 believes in. Daily briefings and debriefings, immediate feedback through QR codes and continuous refinement across the programme helped the agency sharpen delivery as the event progressed. From the venue perspective, delegate experience remained the bottom line.

Together, Motiv8 and the British Motor Museum delivered a training event that felt immersive, practical and high value, despite the pace and complexity behind it. For Motiv8, it was a chance to demonstrate its ability to translate product training into engagement. For British Motor Museum, it showed the value of a venue that combines flexibility, scale and industry character in a way that helps ambitious programmes move forward. 

To watch the event video, please click here.