“If this event is the new benchmark [for Subaru], I feel you’re on the right track.”
Goals
When Subaru prepared to launch their new Forester AWD Hybrid to the dealer network, they didn’t want a stock-standard four-walls conference. This car was built for adventure, and the event needed to bring that spirit to life. The Subaru team wanted to:
- Give dealers the chance to test the Forester AWD Hybrid, including its off-road 4x4 and on-road capabilities.
- Build knowledge and excitement by showcasing the car’s features in an interactive, memorable way.
- Create a rugged 'camp-style' environment that matches the vehicle’s branding and reinforces its adventurous DNA.
- Manage the full travel and hospitality program, flights, transfers, and accommodation, for multiple different groups and audiences.
- Take care of pre-event communications, registrations, and post-event survey feedback.
- Design a space where multiple cars could be displayed in lifestyle settings, showing the versatility of the vehicle in action.
Our approach
With just four weeks on the clock, Camp Forester came to life at Sirromet Winery in South East Queensland. Over four days, the wineries greenfield transformed into a playground for adventure, featuring open-air activations, hands-on demos, and off-road test drives, alongside a dedicated driving program at the nearby Norwell Motorplex. Guests heard about the new Forester AWD Hybrid, and they got to live it. Cars were displayed in themed setups, ranging from beach trips to camping equipment, showcasing the vehicle's versatility. Every detail was designed to engage the dealers in the Forester lifestyle.
Travel and accommodation
Across four tightly coordinated waves, more than 370 attendees were flown in from every corner of Australia with perfectly timed flights to avoid bottlenecks. On touchdown, Murray's coaches were standing by to whisk groups either to their hotel, Indigo, Voco, W Brisbane, Marriott, or IHG, or straight to Sirromet. While guests enjoyed the comfort of five-star hotels in Brisbane, Subaru staff and the FCM Meetings & Events crew had their own touch of luxury, staying onsite in glamping tents, ready to wake up and hit the ground running each morning.
Food, entertainment, decor
Food and drink had to match the scale of the occasion. With no permanent kitchen on site, Sirromet built a satellite catering hub, turning out restaurant-quality meals in the middle of a field. A coffee cart kept attendees fuelled through early starts, while evenings were capped off with dinner, live music and award presentations. The main space was transformed with teepees, hay bales, blankets, and fire pits creating a campsite feel. Festoon lights strung across the site gave evenings a warm glow, while Australian-themed styling reinforced the car’s rugged, outdoorsy personality.
Then came the real highlight. The driving. Attendees got behind the wheel at Sirromet’s 4x4 terrain, testing the Forester where it’s most at home, before shifting gears at Norwell Motorplex for controlled performance testing. The combination of test drives meant every guest left with a genuine feel for what the car could do.
All our vendors were incredibly accommodating. Murrays went out days before to test the access route, hotels shuffled rooms right up to the week of, Sirromet grated and mowed down grass to prep the greenfield and delivered catering from a satellite kitchen. Then there were the teepees, the décor, the sound, every supplier pulled together. It was amazing.
– Cheynéé Scott, FCM Meetings & Events Project Manager.
Challenges
The complexity of this event wasn’t in a single detail but in the scale of moving parts and location.
- Coordinating flights, transfers, hotels, and activities for four waves of attendees arriving from all over the country. With limited accommodation and transportation options around or near the main venue.
- Establishing a full satellite kitchen with Sirromet to deliver high-quality catering throughout the event.
- Creating a safe and suitable space for more than 40 cars to be onsite and ready for demos, testing, and daily detailing.
- Managing last-minute registrations and hotel bookings, with many new guests signing up the week of the event.
- Building the entire event environment from scratch. Seating, tables, décor, coverings, AV, lighting, portable amenities, generators, fire pits, signage, and luggage storage.
- Keeping everything on schedule despite rain, mud, and shifting conditions, right down to pre-testing bus routes so no coach ended up bogged before the real off-road driving began.
Outcomes
What could have been problematic became one of Subaru’s smoothest rides yet and one of their most memorable brand experiences.
- Guests experienced the Forester AWD Hybrid in its natural habitat, not behind PowerPoints.
- Post-event, 86% of respondents rated the event four stars or higher.
- Attendees called it “the best Subaru event we’ve ever been to,” praising the smooth organisation and on-brand experiences.
It was an event of epic proportions. The setting, setup, guest speaker, and coffee and food.”
- Attendee feedback
A MASSIVE thank you to you and the entire FCM team for your support on Forester Masterclass. The feedback from guests has been exceptional (‘the best one we have ever done’), and I’m so impressed with how everything—from set up, to travel, to accommodation—ran so smoothly. Amazing stuff! We couldn’t have done it without you.
– Subaru General Manager