What will 2012 bring for the meetings and events industry?

In the next installment of our industry insights series we hear from Confex exhibitor, Venuefinder.com / blue&green…

 

What lies in store for venues in 2012? Venuefinder.com / blue&green publisher, Kate Hewitt shares her thoughts

2011 was another challenging year for the meetings and events industry with the continuation of a particularly troubling economic situation leading to shorter lead times and less residential events taking place across the board.  However, with difficult times, come increasingly imaginative solutions alongside successes for those with exceptional customer service standards. Put simply, the savvy customer of 2011/12 continues to demand more in return for their loyalty.

To maintain customer loyalty, venues must provide a positive long-term service with fair prices which remain competitive. This idea is exemplified in the 2012 UK Event Industry Fair Pricing & Practice Charter, pioneered by Visit Britain, which discourages over-inflated pricing and/or inappropriate trading practices during 2012, specifically during the period of the 2012 Olympic Games. Short-term higher pricing strategies will be damaging for the reputation of the UK venues and tourism market and totally misses the ongoing business opportunities for the events market, both in London and further afield which will come out of the 2012 games.

Technology and online social sharing will also offer significant opportunities for venues of all types and sizes, the most proactive of which will capitalise on the capacity for ongoing and consistent reputation management. Recent years have seen a huge increase in the use of social networking and that trend shows no sign of slowing down. Event organisers and venues are able to engage with a massive audience before, during and after their physical events through online tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare and Facebook, enabling increased involvement and commitment from attendees. Importantly, this involvement is public and visible to an even larger network of people and should therefore be handled with care.

Innovations in video conferencing and virtual events will also be central to the development of offerings from venues. These techniques will enable remote access to events which may otherwise be limited by capacity or location. We have already seen an exciting emergence of this type of thing with virtual tours on offer on venuefinder.com allowing event organisers to get a great feel for the potential use of a venue without the time and expense of a site visit at early selection stage. Venuefinder.com is expanding this offering out in 2012 to include video of a venue. At International Confex in 2011 we included a hybrid virtual event, allowing access to seminars for event organisers unable to attend the event but wishing to participate. Those venues that can support hybrid virtual events or video conferencing could attract business that may otherwise be lost to other venues, as corporations need to include employees from offices in other locations to their events.

So, as we head through these dark wintery months, we have real reason to be optimistic about the year ahead. The British Bankers Association recently released figures showing that hotels and the restaurant trade could be the first sector to start moving out of recession. Great news for the venues and events industry and hopefully something we’ll see the fruits of this year! We’ve also seen the fantastic growth of Britain for Events – the annual marketing campaign designed to promote Britain as a world class destination for events and a celebration of the knowledge and skills of our home grown experts. With backing from some real industry heavyweights, including International Confex, Visit England and Visit Scotland, the 2011/12 campaign is storming ahead. They even received a letter of support from the Prime Minister after lobbying from the Parliamentary Group for Events headed up by Nick de Bois MP.

The 34^th edition of the venuefinder.com / blue&green 2012 directory can be requested at www.venuefinder.com or collected from the venuefinder.com stand at International Confex from 6^th -8^th March at ExCeL London

London’s Café de Paris plays host to “The Next Big Thing”

The second live heat of “The Next Big Thing” took place at Café de Paris with more than one hundred people casting their votes to decide who goes through to the next round of the industry’s highly anticipated contest.

The acts included:

• Pianofactor (minus the band),  who performed a multitude of different acts including Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen
• Solo singer Chris Shannon, who belted out the cabaret classic ‘Cry Me a River’
• Dance illusionist Balance, from Newcastle
• Singer and harp player Iona Thomaswho performed Adele’s classic “Someone Like You”
• Magician Alex Lodge, who was up for a bit of crowd participation and made it snow
• Classical singer, Matthew Cray – ‘You raise me up’ – Big voice for a young man!
• Singer Rachel Roberts – who can name Marilyn Monroe and Shirley Bassey as part of her repertoire
• Richard Morgan, singer, who sang The Script’s hit single “The Man Who Can’t be Moved”
• And female fire artiste Fire Child

With Fire Child going through to the semi-final on the audience vote and Iona Thomas gaining the judges vote, The Next Big Thing, Heat 3, is sure to be a highly competitive event.

L-R: Fire Child; Richard Morgan; Iona Thomas; Balance; Alex Lodge; Chris Shannon; Rachel Roberts; Matthew Cray; Pianofactor; Host, Jeremy King

The Next Big Thing, Heat 3, is taking place on Thursday 16^th February at Alphabet City, located in London’s O2 Arena.   The invites have now been sent out, so we may just see you there with your voting pads at the ready!

 

6 Key Steps to effective Decision Making – by Susie Barron-Stubley

Personal Assistants (Pas) and Executive Assistants (EAs) need to make many decisions everyday, some have very little consequences, but these decisions can affect our professional reputation.

Why is this skill so important to PAs?  Because you’re making executive level decisions every day that have far reaching consequences and it’s crucial that we have an effective framework to get it right:

1) Define what exactly the actual decision to be made is.

Start off by analysing and identifying the issues that the decision must address.  What is the decision to be made? Why am I making this decision? What is my aim and objective of making this decision?  What will be consequences of making this decision be?

2) Fully understand that context in which the decision is being made.

Each situation that you face is unique, however, if you are making a decision about whether to put a call through to your boss before a 13-hour flight, but have previous experience of putting a call through which led to your boss being furious, consider the new context.  Is the situation the same? What is going on with the company right now? If in the middle of a takeover, this call has a very different context to your last experience.

3) What options do you have available to you.

Get creative and don’t box yourself in: If your boss needs to be meeting with three different clients in three different cities in one day, don’t automatically think “This can’t be done.” Think “how can this be done”.  Does the meeting need to be in person? Will video conferencing work just as well?

4) Assess the consequences of your decision

One way to assess the consequences of a decision is to ask yourself: “How much will I regret making this decision”.   Decision-making isn’t about not taking a risk; it’s about what is a reasonable risk and assessing the consequences of those risks.

5) Prioritise your options – and choose one

Having analysed, brainstormed and assessed your options, you should have arrived at a list of possible ways forward.  Now is the time to commit to your decision, own it and ensure that you can justify the why’s and the how’s of your decision.

6) Obtain buy-in and support for your decision – take action

If your decision involves other people it is critical to get their buy-in for you to be able to implement it. For example, if you have decided to select a new venue for your management meeting that hasn’t been used before and is 100 miles further away, you must be able to validate your decision, the reasons that you took it and the benefits to the Management Team.

Susie Barron-Stubley is an international business coach, trainer and motivational speaker and Managing Director of Castalia Coaching & Training. Susie specialises in Coaching and Training senior level Executive PAs & Assistants all over the world and is running 3 seminars on the International Confex PA Day on 8th March 2012.

www.castalia-coaching.co.uk

Industry insight from our Confex companions………

2012 is going to be a challenging year for the industry but we’ll see challenges and opportunities in equal volume with the eyes of the world on our events industry.

In order to demonstrate the very best of the UK events industry; whether it is our creativity, our versatility, the breadth of venues and resources we have to offer, and the brilliant people we have working in the industry, it is imperative that we promote  the sharing of industry knowledge and best practice.  As such we’re on a mission to help disseminate this industry information.

Whilst I have taken the opportunity to share some of these viewpoints, I thought it was time to hand over the mic, so to speak, and provide a platform to let some of our partners, associations and organisations within the event industry impart their wisdom on the industry’s hottest topics.

Kicking off the process is Susie Barron-Stubly, Managing Director of Castilia Coaching, who will be delivering the PA Day seminar content at International Confex on the 8^th March 2012.

-Jonny Sullens, Portfolio Director, International Confex

Deliver ROI or face the ‘tumbleweed moment’

The first 30 seconds after show doors open is one of the most exhilarating and nail biting moments of the year for event organisers – have we delivered the right commercial mix and business opportunities? Will we see good numbers of eager early bird delegates pour into the show? Gone are the days of escaping the office for a few hours to simply wander round a trade show seeking inspiration – delegates need a solid business case for attending. Now’s the time for the event industry to up the ante and deliver the ultimate show experience. Get it right and you’ll deliver ROI to all stakeholders, get it wrong and you risk facing the ‘tumbleweed moment’.

Getting the right decision-makers through the door and retaining the position as a ‘must see’ show is no mean feat in today’s economic climate. Budgets are returning, but these are being invested in fewer events, so the pressure’s really on to make events as memorable as possible. Organisers must give buyers reassurance on service, creativity and quality to get the most out of a challenging, yet opportunistic 2012.

Just as the industry has united with the formation of the BVEP, we believe it’s time to focus on one showcase event. To deliver optimum value to delegates, our move to ExCeL will help the entire events industry to unite under one roof in 2012 (cue the ‘Toys R Us’ music!). To keep ahead of the curve, we’ve implemented some exciting new developments including the incorporation of the London event show RSVP into Confex.  RSVP had a lot of loyal visitors and exhibitors so this move will give a new home and further establish Confex as the primary show to attend for buyers of parties, meetings, conferences and events. Furthermore, we are also launching International Outdoor Event Expo (IOEX) – a standalone event, recognising the scale and scope of the Outdoor Event Industry which will make our offering wholly representative of the event industry.

Coining Blair’s famous ‘Education, Education, Education’ campaign, the need for quality content that makes the most of delegates’ time on the floor is critical to the success of the events industry. Ultimately, visitors come to shows to do business, but we’re missing a trick if we don’t make it worth their while to spend more time on-site. From business opportunities to professional development, or just one great piece of inspiration, we must deliver the ultimate show experience to compete in a time of austerity.

To stay ahead of the game as an industry, we must listen to all our customers, immerse ourselves in the industry and build an event that matches what they need – not what we think they need. To build an event that reflects the industries that it serves we must take what is happening in the market and then translate that to the show floor. I’m optimistic that the best of our thriving industry will rise to this challenge and shine in 2012.

-Jonny Sullens, Portfolio Director, International Confex

Confex has the X Factor

So you think you were one of the first to see the talent oozing from the X Factor diva Kitty Brucknell? Well guess what – we saw her first!

Before becoming a finalist on ITV’s X Factor, 26 year old Gloucestershire eccentric Kitty Brucknell (also known as Kimberley Dayle) previously graced the stage of ‘The Next Big Thing’, our annual talent competition offering new and unsigned acts the chance to make it big in the corporate events business.

Take a look for yourself you don’t believe us.  Here she is in the official ‘The Next Big Thing’ video:

In addition to Kitty, our very own Stenberg Clarke has worked with the likes of former Britain’s Got Talent 2010 semi-finalists, professional hula hooper Pippa the Ripper (you may have noticed her in the video above), and cruise ship entertainer/comedian, Kevin Cruise.

If you think you’ve got what it takes to be The Next Big Thing, take a look at who you might be up against:  http://www.youtube.com/user/TheNBTChannel.

Under the leadership of Louis Walsh, we’ll be watching to see how far our Kitty gets in the competition – International Confex, where stars are born!

The Next Big Thing is brought to you in association with Sternberg Clarke and supported by Event Magazine.  Submit your entry now by visiting www.international-confex.com/Content/NBT.

Confex team supports Britain for Events

The Confex team attended the Britain for Events launch last week (the annual campaign that aims to position Britain as global experts when it comes to events) and it was encouraging to see such a strong attendance, not just from the press corps, but from venues and organisers themselves. A united front behind this excellent campaign will be the best way to present our industry to Government in order for them to notice, and recognise, the huge value (an estimated £36 billion) we deliver to the UK economy.

One of the attendees privately queried whether we should offer the Government cost-free ways to support our industry rather than push for grants, subsidies and the like. The economic environment would suggest that we should avoid proposals that cost the Government money. Furthermore the industry needs to prove itself first before looking for financial incentives.

I am also involved in a show called Leisure Industry Week which, among others, includes the health and fitness sector and our partner on this side of the show is the Fitness Industry Association (FIA). They have worked hard to lobby Government to support Change4Life and the various aspects of that campaign. The health and fitness industry now benefits directly from the close relationship the association has forged with the Government. It was slow progress in the beginning but the rewards are there for all to see and well worth the time, endeavour and resource.

We are both hopeful, and confident, that the Britain for Events campaign can yield similar results for our own industry.

- Jonny Sullens, Portfolio Director, International Confex