OHEN ZACHARY’S JEWELERS of Annapolis, MD is ready to make a sale, everyone knows it’s game time. Literally.
Once a year, the team transforms the store into a 70s-themed game show location, with Wheel of Fortune and Name That Tune among the featured attractions. Staff wear sparkly jackets reminiscent of ’70s game show hosts.
Every corporate event is a team sport, but the creative effort is led by Evangeline Ross, Chief Experience Designer, and Cheryl King, Event Planner. King credits Ross with inspiring a number of events. “Evangeline offers unique and interesting things to do,” says King. “I am the cogs and bolts of it, bringing ideas to life. And everyone participates and gets involved.
Ross says she couldn’t do it without those nuts and bolts. “Cheryl’s role within the company has grown from back of the house to store merchandiser to event planner. She’s incredibly creative, organized and smart,” says Ross.
Prior to coming to work at Zachary’s, Ross ran a business for Grand Hyatt called Grand Cuisine and hosted off-site catering events at locations in Washington DC. “I would say I have a mental library of many events from my past professional life,” she says. “That being said, we have an incredibly creative team at Zachary’s and most of our events are collaborative. There’s nothing better than brainstorming with a group of creative souls!
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King built a whole series of events around an idea she had for window displays, called Summer of Fun. She wanted to celebrate special, little-known “holidays” like International Donut Day, National Prosecco Day, and National Pet Day by giving away donuts, prosecco, and pet toys. Each of the seven windows was dedicated to its own day. King also rotated past events and added new ones, celebrating a “holiday” almost every week.
A 2019 Christmas event was based on Will Farrell’s 2003 film Elf. They wrapped the windows in images of movie scenes, served comfort food and displayed a life-size cutout of Will Farrell, which became the spot for #1 selfie in Annapolis.
But King’s favorite event is the Mother’s Day design contest. Zachary’s invites all county fifth graders to draw a piece of jewelry and describe how the piece of jewelry celebrates their mother, grandmother, or other caretaker. Typically, they receive 200 entries and select three winning plays created in-house. The winners present their mums with the finished jewelry during a brunch. “Everyone walks away with something,” King says. “We have loose gems to give to children.” The very first winner of Zachary’s fifth year later became an intern at the store.
Ross says whether or not the jewelry is sold at an event, Zachary’s team believes events are critical to the success of their business as well as their vision statement: “We never stop growing in our culture of happiness that turns customers into friends,” she says.
King’s advice for planning events in a post-pandemic era is: “Laughter is the best medicine. Do something that makes people smile. They want to feel good again.
PHOTO GALLERY (4 PICTURES)
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