Events
Planning and delivering memorable events is an obsession. As someone who is naturally highly organised, events play right into my skill set. The feeling of elation when an event is successful is hard to beat!
Events are such a personal way to interact with people and I have been very fortunate to have managed a huge variety of events, across a number of themes, and for a wide range of audiences:
Complexity
From straightforward, small scale, standalone events to complex multi-event campaigns which require months of planning and a huge number of staff and volunteers to deliver.
Audience
Events for local residents and neighbours, prospects, customers, schools and young people, industry stakeholders, local and national government, and even Royalty.
Timescales
Annual events with 9-12 months of prep time, to events which need to happen tomorrow.
Scale
From private events with small numbers of VIPs to national industry trade shows to a multi-location open house event with 5,000 attendees.
Experience
Management of the entire journey for an event attendee – before, during and post-event. Mapping contact points and ensuring there’s a holistic strategy to communication and messaging.
Locations and venues
From visits to giant tunnelling machines digging under London to exhibitions at the NEC and ExCeL London to events at the Houses of Parliament and City Hall.
End of tunnelling event with Prime Minister and Mayor of London
Futurebuild event at ExCeL London
End-to-end management of events
I can help you with the following key aspects of events:
Strategy
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Market research and analysis
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Event business planning
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Developing a marketing strategy, giving you the best framework for success
Planning
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Building a calendar of events that will best meet your goals
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Setting KPIs and identifying goals
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Budgets and contracts management
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Event and partner logistics – from inception to debrief
People
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Enabling teams to promote the event
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Briefing the event team
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Manage several teams of staff at the event including those setting up and on-the-day staff (including senior leadership and speakers)
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Speaker management – content planning, speaker sourcing, speaker enablement, practice and review process
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VIP management
Delivery
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Ensuring the brand experience meets or exceeds expectations
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Keeping the event running to time
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Ensure quality data is being captured
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Managing the team’s welfare
Marketing
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Guest experience design
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Content creation – from invites to booth design, brochures and case studies to showcase videos
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Event promotion
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Post-event engagement
Feedback
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Feedback from participants and staff
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Analysis of sales data
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Collation of learnings and recommendations for future events
Industry trade shows & exhibitions
These are great events for large scale brand building, engaging with wide audiences, speaking opportunities for thought leadership, product demonstrations, and generating leads and pipeline. The more cohesive your brand experience at these events, the more memorable you will be.
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I've managed attendance and large-scale show stands at:
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UK Construction Week, a show with 29,000 attendees at the NEC in Birmingham.
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Digital Construction Week, a show with 6,000 attendees at London ExCeL.
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Futurebuild, a show with 20,500 attendees at London ExCeL.
Regional events and conferences
Regional events or smaller conferences are brilliant for engagement with audiences often on a more intimate scale than large trade shows, meaning speaking opportunities can work very well and generate a lot of engagement. With an engaged, relevant audience these events can also be good for generating leads and pipeline.
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I've managed exhibiting at:
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Lean Construction Ireland Annual Conference in Dublin.
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Several museum late events at the London Transport Museum and Science Museum.
Large scale public events and programmes
These events are great for creating brand advocates, engaging with large audiences, and sharing your key messages. By partnering with charities, museums or government departments, these events give you the opportunity to help educate on important topics and inspire on a large scale.
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I have experience in:
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Hosting over 11,500 members of the public at central London construction sites for a look behind the hoardings as part of London’s Open House Weekend.
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Hosting 16-21-year-olds interested in learning about construction as part of the Open Doors annual event promoting construction to the younger generation.
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Managing activity for a Year-long national campaign promoting engineering, including a launch event at a construction site hosted by the Transport Minister, open house style events with dedicated tickets for school groups, and an exhibition and book launch at the London Transport Museum.
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Talks as part of the Green Sky Thinking annual sustainability-themed event.
Community and
local business events
Local community engagement is also important, regardless of what industry you are in. Your local community stakeholder events should receive the same amount of dedication and attention to detail as larger events. Relationship management is key, regardless of the overarching theme. Engaging with local residents and businesses can help you build strong advocates.
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I have experience in:
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Hosting business briefing events for a corporate audience.
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Hosting milestone celebration events, site visits and presentations which included a dedicated local community stakeholder focus.
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Presentations to schoolchildren and young adults on a range of topics, from easy-to-understand engineering, and archaeology, to presentation skills.
Hosted events
Hosted events are great opportunities for you to celebrate your milestones and get your desired messages across with the greatest clarity possible. What will remain memorable to attendees is the customer experience before, during and after the event.
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From a commercial perspective, hosted events are a great way to share your key messaging throughout the buyer journey, from thought leadership to product demonstrations. They are also useful ways to inform and build advocates outside of the buyer journey.
I have experience in managing:
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A campaign of activity for a large-scale annual customer conference event (5,000 attendees).
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A campaign of activity for an End of Tunnelling campaign including a VIP event with the Prime Minister and Mayor of London, a public stakeholder experience event and a book and exhibition launch event.
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An archaeology campaign including multiple public events and a book launch.
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A series of events promoting cycle safety including exhibiting at the London Bike Show.
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The hosting of a Technical Papers Competition celebration lunch, and presentation event at London prestigious Institutions.
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The hosting of a programme launch event for a Learning Legacy programme.
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A recurring series of product demonstrations for a software company.
VIP / C-Suite events
VIP engagement events are tailored to your VIPs and are key relationship management tools. You may be showcasing a project or engaging with high-value prospects. Whatever the goals, these events rely on excellent management to ensure your attendees have the best, most memorable experience.
I have experience in:
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Hosting C-Suite prospect sporting events and dinners.
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Hosting auction prize winner events.
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Construction site visits for key stakeholder groups.
Internal events
Regular internal events are, in my opinion, a key factor in companies which have great cultures. These are great opportunities for staff to see their leadership teams in person to celebrate, to share knowledge and learn, to get answers to questions in an open and honest manner, and more.
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I have experience in:
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Managing all-company awards ceremonies and briefings.
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Developing and delivering Lunch and Learn sessions.
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Organising and delivering away days for directorates and smaller teams.
Branded merchandise
It's heartbreaking when you attend events and see the amount of branded goods thrown away at the end of the day: cheap pens, keychains, stickers, tote bags and more. It's also a clear reminder that if you are looking to amplify your brand you need the right branded merchandise that isn't going to end up in the bin! I can help you...
Plan
How does your proposed merchandise help you reach your goals? I can help you discuss and narrow down the choices, then build a business case to purchase.
Buy
Not sure of how to go about purchasing merchandise? I can help you choose a supplier, understand the terms and timescales, and ensure you are 100% happy with how your brand is applied.
Review
Does your merchandise meet the required quality? Was it popular and did it help you reach your goals? What was the feedback from people who received it? I can help you review the merchandise.
