Industry: Insurance
Attendees: 2,800
Location: Birmingham, London, Glasgow
Following lots of recent acquisitions and executive personnel changes for the client, W2 were asked to provide a solution for conference events nationwide, where the new team can meet and share their vision with the whole company, whilst keeping costs and office down time to a minimum. Not an easy task for a company with over 4,000 UK employees and hundreds of branch offices.
The proposed solution was to hold three major events to cover North, Midlands and South. Each event would be the same, and was suggested to run for a morning only in each location, avoiding too much downtime with reduced catering providing a much more cost effective event. The venues chosen were:
Birmingham: The 1,500 capacity Hall 1 at The International Convention Centre was selected due to it’s central location and rail access, as well as it’s impressive stage and Audio Visual offering. Guests we’re welcomed into the main registration foyer with refreshments, before being ushered into the main hall for the presentation. The impressive stage and bespoke lighting ensured a hugely successful first event. As soon as the event was complete, our staff and presenters broke down and set off for the next leg the following day, in…
London: With an invite list of over 2,300, a short lead time, and the requirement of a venue accessible from the City, the availability of London venues of relevant size was proving difficult and very expensive. Thinking outside the box, we approached the London Palladium, with it’s 2,200 seat auditorium and favourable rates in comparison to many larger venues and hotels. The production of Cat’s was mid-run on our dates, but we negotiated hire of the venue in between shows and the client was soon following in Sinatra’s footsteps by playing the Palladium! Not being a straight forward conference venue, clever use of iPad registration, catering space and theatrical Red Coated Butlers ensured the flow around the venue. Guests had no idea of the frenzied Audio Visual turnaround (from Cats to conference set and back within 8 hours), and when the auditorium opened, were greeted with a conference in one of the most iconic and impressive venues in London!
Glasgow: Soon after the Palladium, the speaker team were back on the road and playing a “small gig” on the Northern leg. The Radisson Blu Glasgow was chosen for it’s central location, functional conference space and in built AV, and around 400 delegates joined the final leg of this very successful roadshow.
The roadshow wrapped up with some great feedback from delegates, a very happy client and speakers, and most importantly, thousands of staff around the country engaged and working together, sharing the company vision.
Elements included venue finding, conference management, Audio Visual, speaker management, event filming and photography, delegate iPad registration, furniture, branding, catering, giveaways, transport logistics and accommodation.
