The UK Chinese/East Asian Clubbing Analysis – Birmingham Party Kings : KREAM

The UK Chinese/East Asian clubbing scene has reached mainstream status. This previously niche market is doing their part by pumping hundreds of thousands of pounds every week into the British economy. Nee Hao Magazine has been featuring the top event organisers for the British Chinese and East Asian community in the UK, and this time we interview the party kings of Birmingham, KREAM.

What does KREAM represent and what feedback do you have from your crowd?

Ever since KREAM began in 2007, our ambition is to be the best Oriental event promoters in the Midlands. In order to achieve our goals, we take each event very seriously, and apply 100% commitment to ensure that we create the best parties that everyone talks about and looks forward to.

It’s very rewarding to see our hard work come to fruition by getting positive feedback and reviews from our customers. We always get asked when the next event is being organised, which shows we are doing something right.

The only negative feedback we’ve heard are things such as; the queues are long (hey with 800 to 1200+ people coming in at once, we are trying our best) and that the drinks are expensive at specific clubs (but those specific clubs are the most premium venues in the Midlands). Other than that, it’s all good, the atmosphere from the crowd is simply amazing, which makes it all worthwhile. We enjoy throwing memorable parties which ultimately push us to strive further.

What do you dislike about organising an event?

There are some things we dislike; we are not going to lie. At times, we have people trying to haggle to get in for free for whatever reason, or they try to negotiate a ridiculous amount of discount. This generally slows the whole process of people getting in and is unfair to the people queuing up, which is not cool.

We offer the best value for money to our customers with a first class service, so our prices reflect the quality we provide. This includes the calibre of venues, DJs, the performers we hire and prize awards we give away from time to time.

We also dislike people hanging around outside of the club before they go in. We get complaints from the club owners, bouncers as well as local residents and the police. This can potentially cause too much noise pollution as well as being hazardous, with people standing on the road which can cause accidents. We try to explain this to people, but no one seems to listen to our advice, which is frustrating because we also care for their safety.

Who’s involved with KREAM?

KREAM is made up of 4 members; Yasmin Kong, Jessica Kong, Derek Ip and Nicholas Yau. We are all past presidents of our university’s Chinese societies. It’s great to have the opportunity to work with a close knit team of friends. We each have different skill sets with positive energy to bounce off each other. We have experienced the highs and lows together since the beginning, so it’s nice to know that no matter what obstacles we face, we always look after each other on both a professional and personal level.

We also have a very talented and diverse team of promoters from different universities across the Midlands who help promote our events. We take our promoters very seriously as they are the faces of KREAM. Without them, KREAM would not be where we are today.

What events have you done this year?

We did the Chinese New Year party held at the Birmingham mega club GATECRASHERS (Main Room). More recently we did a party to celebrate KREAM’s 6^th year anniversary at Nightingale’s Nightclub with an Easter pole dance party (with LIVE pole dancers), it was so fun.

What are the most satisfying aspects about organising parties?

To be able to provide an opportunity to gather everyone together and let loose under one roof is very satisfying. You know, people are so busy these days with work or family commitments etc. So it’s important to us that we can create an event where people can plan a night out with friends and family which they haven’t seen for a while, to have fun and live by the motto YOLO (haha).

Where do you want to take your brand?

I believe KREAM represents a community. We don’t care what colour you are, whether you are pretty, ugly, tall, short, large or thin. As long as people who attend KREAM events come with the intention of having a good time then everyone is welcome. We want to be known for the best parties and to host events at the best venues across Birmingham. And therefore at the same time, bad apples are not tolerated.

In addition, we would like to bring many more celebrities over to perform at our gigs in the future. We had Lil crazed and Traphik perform last year at one of our gigs and the response we got from the crowd was amazing. We got a few more ideas up our sleeve, so watch this space.

KREAM has also opened up an advertising division in 2012. For businesses who want to increase their brand awareness. We offer advertisements through our wide range of media channels. This includes advertising on our website, our events on Facebook, Weibo, on posters flyers, banners, videos, visual displays in our venues and our annual leaflets designed to give the new academic students an insight to what is going on in and around Birmingham. We are also in the process of opening up another division in 2014, but that is kept as a secret and will be disclosed nearer the time, so stay tuned!

Do you think that the parties you do help the local economy?

For sure, we have to meet minimum bar spends when hiring venues, pay for our own DJs, photographers, cameramen, promoters, posters and so on. Furthermore, our customers are generally big spenders and we have always met and exceeded the club’s expectations. We also tend to have an after party at karaoke bars for those who want to carry on partying after our gigs, which further contribute to the economy.

What kind of atmosphere and vibe do your parties have?

I believe we have one of the best vibes around, we wouldn’t have lasted in this industry for so long if our events was lame and boring. We try to mix things up and be creative with our approach by implementing numerous gimmicks and themes, which sometimes require our guests to dress up in something specific, as well as having diverse performers to put on a show to get the party started.

Our entire crowd can party, believe me; they are not afraid to be the first ones on the dance floor showcasing their moves and jamming to our resident DJ. You will also see guests around the booths popping champagne and bottles, with sparklers lighting up every so often.

So all in all, when you come to a KREAM event, you can be expecting a good time providing that you come out of your shell and party.

What venues have you done gigs at in Birmingham?

We have literally hosted events at all the major clubs in Birmingham. Clubs such as Mechu, Gatecrashers, Oceana, Nightingale, Mishkas, Sugar Suite, Bambu…and so on. There are always clubs that want to invite us to host a party at theirs. But we are always careful when choosing because some places lack the capacity available, we had to regretfully decline a lot of venues because of our large customer base. The last thing we want to do is to decline entry to our customers, as some have travelled from other cities just to attend the event. Believe me; it hurts us just as much as them when we have to turn people away due to a sell-out, so we try to avoid that situation as much as we can.

What do you want to say to the people who want to come to your parties in Birmingham?

Come and enjoy the best parties in the Midlands with Kream!! Also a massive thank you to all the people who have been to our events in the past, we couldn’t have done it without all your support. Big love.