950 Delegates, 2 Locations, 2 Weeks Lead Time
Planning a conference is no easy feat. They require a lot of planning and management to pull off successfully.
From finding and booking a suitable venue for your event and designing the space to integrating technology, finding the right guest speakers and managing the logistics, delegates and other aspects of the event; there are so many elements to consider and plan.
These are all elements an experienced conference organiser will be used to and able to pull off with ample lead time.
But what about doing a conference roadshow over two locations for 950 delegates with just two weeks lead time?
We decided to take this on. Who doesn’t love a challenge from time to time?
Opus Energy contacted us with the idea of a mid-year conference that was just two weeks away, at which they would reveal their company-wide business plan to all employees.
So, we had two weeks to design and deliver a conference over two locations with 950 delegates. Hard? You bet, but we pulled it off. So how did we do it?
The Opus Conference Roadshow Brief
As event managers, we enjoy having a long lead time because we love to be creative and spend time fine-tuning all of the details. However, this event was a little different as we were very restricted on time!
With Just Two Weeks’ Lead Time, Opus Required Us To:
- Source and book two venues
- Transport and logistics for the delegates
- Design and build the event spaces
- Source, book and manage guest speakers
- Provide catering at the events
- Design and build the staging and provide AV services
- Fully manage the event and delegates
We took on the event from concept through to completion and fully managed the events on the day.
How Did We Pull It Off?
So with just two weeks to go, we got to work straight away.
As an established events company, we were in a good position to pull this off. We have fantastic relationships with suppliers, partners, venues as well as guest speakers, caterers and more that we work with day-in-day-out in the UK and Internationally.
These relationships were absolutely key for pulling these events off with such a short lead time; without them, it would not have been possible.
We started with the venues, as without a location to base the event, we could not plan the rest of the event. Once this was in place, we then planned the travel and logistics for the 950 delegates, going with a straightforward coach service to get to and from the venue.
So with the locations and travel sorted, we could then get on with designing and producing the event spaces. The stage and AV, along with the seating areas were the main aspects of the event spaces. These elements were absolutely crucial for a successful conference.
Of course, being creative and enjoying the design aspect of an event, we produced and designed the furniture, lighting, stage and AV equipment as well as managing the event on both days.
The Opus Roadshow Conference
The delegates were brought to the location via coach and were welcomed into the event space, with welcome refreshments.
The guests were then taken through to the conference area to watch a video, a talk from their CEO and then finished with a presentation from our guest speaker.
It was important for the events to have break-out areas to keep delegates engaged and able to take on the information. So we made sure these were at each location.
These areas were simple lobby areas for refreshments that had been planned in consideration of each employee’s specific requirements.
Read Our Opus Conference Case Study
So after all of that work, what did we achieve? See how this event turned out:
What we provided / success of the events:
- A conference roadshow for 950 guests at two different locations
- Delivered on time and on budget with no hiccups
- High level, professional level with just two weeks’ lead time
- Full event management, delegate management
- Transport and logistics for all delegates
- Catering
- Staging, AV and production
- Guest speakers
The event ended a success, with no logistical issues allowing the event to run smoothly. Just what we like after all of our hard work!
We are looking forward to more challenging and exciting events in the future and to top it off we have secured Opus as a client for another year running.
Book Us To Organise Your Conferences and Sales Kick-Offs!
If you’re interested in booking your own conference or sales kick-off, get in contact with a member of the events team to find out more.
We also have some helpful guides on planning your own conferences and sales kick-offs:
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