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The short listed entrants are:
Business Design Centre
Excel London
Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
The NEC Group
Royal Horticultural Halls and Conference Centre
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Editorial comment: “In response to the current economic climate and the consequent effect on smaller businesses, the BDC has offered services free of charge of all its senior management specialists to advise clients on all aspects of their business.”
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Highlights of 2008
The launch of Beer Exposed, Sleep 08 & Design Prima relocating to the BDC, and the Baha’i five-year planning conference, the largest conference ever held at the venue, were all highlights this year. BDC staff worked assiduously to ensure that they were able to provide the perfect service and setting for the organisers. Post show feedback indicated that both organisers and visitors were delighted with the events and the service the BDC provided.
What is so special about your offering to an organiser?
Personal service
From senior management to front of house staff, all BDC staff aim to offer a personal support service that exceeds all expectations. A recent example is, in a response to the challenging economic climate, Dominic Jones, chief executive, wrote to all the company’s clients offering them the time of his senior management team for advice, free of charge.
Excellent service partners
To provide the best support the BDC recognises that they need the best service partners who share the same values. The Good Eating Company, catering partners, AVC Productions, event production and Teamwork, our cleaning contractors play an essential part in the process of event management. The level of service they all provide is often praised by our organisers.
• Value added extras
• Concierge service
• Complimentary conference facilities for planning meetings
• Complimentary car valet and massages
• Welcome gift box
• Complimentary floor plan drafting service
• Complimentary catering for the organisers office
• Post show care
How have you supported an organiser to enhance its event?
Design Prima re-located to the BDC this year. To help bring the organisers vision for the show to life, the communal areas of the building were all redecorated and the BDC invested in new, top-of-the-range, designer furniture for the café area. The railings were all re-painted and ‘sails’ were put in place in the roof areas on the building to create a more stream-lined look.
In what ways do you measure feedback from your customers?
The BDC invests heavily in independent research to benchmark our customer support standards. This year the BDC has surpassed itself with consistently high scores and glowing feedback being received show after show. The BDC also gathers visitor feedback forms and always holds de-brief meetings with our clients.
What they said
" I would like to record my appreciation and deep
heartfelt thanks to everyone at the BDC for pulling out all
the stops to make our conference such a successful
event.”
-Ranjit Appa, Baha’i five year planning conference |
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Editorial comment: “Responding to potential London transport disruptions by arranging their own bus service and support to minimise visitor inconvenience.”
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Highlights of 2008?
During the last 12 months, the economy and recession have had a notable effect on the exhibition industry. Excel London has therefore worked even closer with its organisers in partnership to help ensure their events are as successful as possible in the current marketplace.
London has also invested heavily in new transport infrastructure which will lead to an unrivalled transport system in the long term. However, this meant that during 2008, there were 99 days of engineering works during show days on either the Jubilee line or DLR.
This affected almost 57,000 visitors to Excel London. What is so special about your offering to an organiser? With new owners and an optimistic view of the industry long-term, Excel has taken this opportunity to further invest in its facilities and campus, to ensure that as we come out of the recession Excel will be placed to offer a truly world-class venue and facilities for the events industry and London.
Unique to any venue, Excel worked very closely with TFL and the DLR during the engineering works to provide an alternative transport solution during these disruptions. Excel provided shuttle bus services, announcements, wayfinding, signage and monthly meetings to ensure it all ran smoothly. For example, during one event weekend, Excel helped move 24,000 a day seamlessly using shuttle bus replacements.
During the Motor Show, the Operations and Guest Services team worked closely with TFL and DLR to:
• Ensure constant written and verbal communication was delivered at key stations
• A service deliver manager from DLR was assigned to the event as the key point of contact so any issues could be dealt with immediately
• There was a five minute DLR service to the venue during show days as well as extra trains during and after the concerts at night
• TFL laid on a free shuttle bus service during the weekend when the Jubilee Line was closed Excel continues to look at ways to add value and support organisers bringing their events to the venue.
The support package offered to exhibition organisers provides a number of free marketing and media opportunities worth in excess of £200,000, increased from £150,000 at the beginning of 2008.
In what ways do you measure feedback from your customers?
During the year Excel works with Vivid Interface to undertake visitor research during a four month period so that a wide selection of trade and consumer shows are included. The Operations and Guest Services team also sit down with each organiser after their event to go through a detailed organiser feedback form. These are all analysed by each of the teams. |
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Editorial comment: “Responded quickly to a major power cut by immediately introducing measures to minimise impact on visitors, all at their own cost.”
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Highlights of 2008
2008 was a busy year with new exhibitions coming on stream. The SECC takes our responsibilities to the environment very seriously as do the organisers of exhibitions.
2008 saw us make great strides in this area:
• Invested in a baler and minimiser in late 2007. The SECC now reduces many waste streams – cans, glass, paper, plastic, polythene and wood. We are also trialling the recycling of event carpeting
• All SECC power demands are met from green sources
• We proactively promote the great public transport links to our venue
• Awarded a Green Tourism Business Scheme Silver award
• Helped organisers recycle surplus items. Exhibition items/giveaways which would otherwise go to landfill are well-used. For example, last year we organised for surplus bags to go to a school in Africa where they are now being used as school bags.
What is so special about your offering to an organiser?
Flexible and bespoke service for exhibitors SECC provides flexible, purpose built conference and exhibition space in three interconnected venues and is an iconic Scottish venue.
Local knowledge and experience
One of the things that makes our venue extra-special is our long-serving staff who offer an incredible level of experience and knowledge both of the venue and the local market.
Marketing support
We can provide ticketing solutions for events here and also at a wide range of other venues. The SECC provides marketing support and through our key links with Glasgow City Marketing Bureau can open up valuable marketing opportunities in the city.
How have you supported an organiser to enhance its event?
At SECC, clients are supported from first contact right through the whole process.
Case study: Country Living Christmas Fair
The Country Living Christmas Fair is a treasure trove of the best in independent British designers and producers. In Scotland, the show attracts 20,000 visitors.
Dan Holmes, group director from Upper Street Events who organise the Country Living Fairs, explains why the SECC plays an important role in its success:
“The SECC provides a great venue for us,” says Dan,“The modern backdrop creates an interesting contrast with the more traditional feel of the fair.
“The SECC team is also very flexible, which is very important to us. To create the right ambience for our events, we have made some quite significant demands –
none of which has presented a problem. The team is proactive in their approach, looking for opportunities that might benefit our events.”
A key test of how well a venue supports an exhibition is how the venue reacts when there is a challenge, especially when the challenge is something completely out of the venue’s control. 2008 provided a perfect example of the SECC’s responsive service.
Dan recalls: “On the Saturday morning, the third day of the fair, with visitors already queuing outside, the area suffered a power cut. The land surrounding the venue was undergoing upgrading of essential services and during this work, the contracting company severed the main electrical line which provides power to the venue and surrounding facilities. The SECC’s staff on duty reacted swiftly, not only to solve the problem, but to ensure that the waiting visitors were well looked after. The venue also organised for the show to remain open for an extra hour that evening and laid on additional staff and security at the venue’s own cost.”
In what ways do you measure feedback from your customers?
SECC compiles a comprehensive post-show report where all departments are asked to make comments relevant to the exhibition. The operations team will hold post show debrief meetings to discuss any issues at events which need attention. This provides valuable feedback for everybody involved. |
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Editorial comment: “Has introduced ‘insight, a data project which collects and analyses information on all visitor to NEC venues to help organisers in targeting specific visitor groups.”
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Highlights of 2008?
The NEC has hosted The International Motorcycle and Scooter Show for almost 30 years, first welcoming it through its doors in 1981. We are proud to host such a prestigious industry event which over the years has attracted up to 200,000 visitors.
In 2008, despite a tough economic climate, exhibitors at the show saw a 40 per cent increase in sales. Now, because of the success and the relationship we have built over the years and the introduction of exciting marketing support techniques, the show will remain at the UK’s National Exhibition Centre for the foreseeable future.
What is so special about your offering to an organiser?
The NEC is renowned for large-scale international trade fairs, but also has an active interest in helping smaller specialist shows develop, providing advice, support and essential services to organisers.
Our central national location is unrivalled and the flexible, flat-floored event spaces offer endless possibilities for organisers and are complemented by extensive conference and banqueting facilities. We offer everything to make events successful, including - event management, catering, security, marketing, advertising, ticketing, graphics, internet and IT, utility and technical services.
How have you supported an organiser to enhance its event?
Not many venues could help their organiser secure a mean machine from a blockbusting Hollywood movie – which is exactly what The NEC visitor marketing department did for MCI Exhibitions. With the release of the DVD of the blockbusting Dark Knight film in mind, our visitor marketing team secured the only BatPod in existence as the star feature at the show, attracting huge media attention, even winning a plug on Radio 1.
Another unique offering for our client was the Insight project, the first ever data project of its kind in the exhibition industry. Insight uses leading-edge data analysis techniques combined with in-house expertise in industry and market trends, which we use to gain a far deeper understanding of the type of visitors that come to events across the group’s venues.
Sharing this dedicated information with the organiser allowed them to do a number of things to attract visitors such as those who were new to biking, increase advanced ticket purchases, increase visitors attending from the South East/London, and ultimately offering a platform from which exhibitors could have a successful show.
In what ways do you measure feedback from your customers?
We work very closely with our customers and in this case with MCI Exhibitions, with whom we have regular meetings to share information. We will be sharing our visitor surveys and the data collected from competitions which will be used in the future to better market the show. The NEC has hosted The Carole Nash International Motorcycle and Scooter Show for over 20 years, first welcoming it through its doors in 1985. |
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Editorial comment: “By adopting a ‘listen and learn’ approach they connected a critical client into a three year contract, boasting high level of customers, whose shows have been at RHS for 15 years plus.”
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Highlights of 2008
The Prince of Wales’ May Day Summit was an affirmation of the hard work we had put into making these listed buildings more sustainable. The event, which included speeches streamed in from HRH Prince Charles and the Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, was organised by Business in the Community, one of Prince Charles’ charities, to raise awareness of the climate change challenge amongst the business communities.
Key venue considerations were a link with the environment, easy accessibility by public transport, locally sourced food, fair-trade coffee and tea and recycling of paper.
Also the London Mayoral Election edition of BBC’s Question Time, for which the organisers wanted a unique Westminster venue.
What is so special about your offering to an organiser?
The RHH is the UK’s only purpose built exhibition venue which supports a charity and many clients have told us that this link to ‘green living’ is an added bonus, giving an extra ‘feel good’ element to their event. Plus, at the RHH there are no hidden costs, no surprises.
A full service infrastructure is offered to clients when they buy into the halls and the price we quote is the price the client pays, enabling them to cost their event without fear of going over budget.
How have you supported an organiser to enhance its event?
The Association of British Theatre Technicians event showcases theatre lighting and equipment and each exhibitor has very different power requirements. The RHH events team deals directly with exhibitors on the booking, distribution and charging of electricity, reducing the workload and potential for errors for the organisers and providing a more streamlined service for exhibitors.
The British Fashion Awards required a large amount of equipment and some lateral thinking to achieve tight get-out times. The RHH team came up with a different – and stunning – table plan, which enabled the client to use the RHH’s own trestle tables, instead of having to hire-in tables. Without having to load out 40 plus trolleys, the get-out was achieved in an hour.
In what ways do you measure feedback from your customers?
Every client is sent an evaluation form and has the opportunity for a personal post-event de-brief with the RHH team. We also get reports back from our own operations team and this mixed viewpoint gives a balanced perspective of the event and provides objectives for individual staff appraisals. It is only through critical feedback we learn where we excelled and how we can improve our offer and service. |
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| View other Categories |
Most Impressive Visitor Experience
Best Venue Support
Most Impressive Growth of an event
Most Creative use of Space
Most Effective Marketing Campaign
The Green Award
Best Supplier/Contractor Support of an Event
Most Innovative Product or Service for Industry
Most Effective Team
'The One to Watch'
Innovation award
Best Hotel Serving the Exhibition Industry
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