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Just to let you know that we are moving the work related posts over to www.soaringww.biz

I wil still be posting here but not for a little while whilst we make some changes.

Adam

Tip-ex 2010, which took place from 27^th-29^th May was a great success for the organisers and demonstrated how as a town Harrogate can pull together and generate long term reward for a huge range of businesses.

HIC’s director, Stuart Quin “Economic changes over the last two years have impacted businesses of all sizes.  Where a town like Harrogate can work together to help a business facing tough times it is in our best interest to provide support and we look forward to welcoming Tip-ex back next year.”

Tip-ex, which is the UK’s only exhibition dedicated to the tipping industry was scheduled for 2009 but cancelled due to the recession.  Rather than impose heavy cancellation fees on an already beleaguered exhibition, HIC agreed to postpone the event, preserving long term revenues and ensuring the event’s success.

Despite the downturn in the economy and the cancellation of the 2009 show, more than 2,000 visitors attended, using a variety of the town’s business and leisure facilities, including hotels, restaurants and pubs.

One key factor of the event was the use of the Crescent Gardens – the council car park – for the spectacular display of several brand new tipper trucks.  Images of this have been and will continue to be used throughout the tipping industry, increasing regard for Harrogate as a world leading business tourism destination.

Quin continues: “Events like Tip-ex have a huge economic impact on Harrogate, providing revenues for businesses of all sizes.  Harrogate is a beautiful destination and the use of an outdoor space such as Crescent Gardens adds to the town’s superb business events infrastructure through the use of unusual spaces.  It has become more crucial than ever that the town works together to secure and keep these valuable business events – the ability to provide this, and other, outdoor space is an important element in the offering.”

Mobile Telecoms specialists Virtua, in partnership with iBwave, are not only developing innovative communications solutions for their clients but they are also changing the way business is done.

Traditionally businesses tend to sit groups of people together based on their job roles and their need to be close to a fixed phone line. For most this is the standard way of working but it is not necessarily the most beneficial or productive way of running a business.

Virtua, chief executive, Andy Watts: “Today people tend to use their mobiles to conduct business and no longer need to be desk bound. Recognising this fact a number of forward thinking organisations are adopting a new type of telecoms facility called Fixed Mobile Convergence or FMC.“

The technology works by installing a small box on the wall of an office enabling staff to communicate more easily using dedicated mobile handsets at much cheaper call rates.

This way of working could revolutionise the way businesses communicate by freeing up staff so that they can work anywhere within an office complex without the need for a fixed location.

Virtua are currently using their knowledge of the technology to set up the complete FMC solution for their clients and utilising iBwave’s unique set of technical tools to plan and implement the systems.

Watts concludes: “The most important element of these projects is in the planning and deployment phases and by using iBwave’s tools, coupled with our own experience, our clients can be sure of receiving a cost effective, optimised and robust phone system that will enable them to work more productively and more efficiently”.

Communications and PR specialist, Soaring Worldwide has recently been selected by the Harrogate International Centre to take on the management and planning of its PR activities and reputation management.

The PR campaign is aimed at raising the profile of HIC across the business events industry using both traditional PR and social media marketing techniques.

Soaring Worldwide has extensive knowledge of the business events industry and will be helping HIC focus on its core market. HIC is about to undertake a multi-million pound development of its facilities, adding two new flexible event spaces.

HIC, brand manager, Lynne Farrow: “We have chosen to work with Soaring Worldwide to benefit from their extensive industry knowledge and understanding of our market.  HIC is growing rapidly and the launch of the new event spaces will mark a new phase in our expansion plans.  It is the perfect time to start raising our profile and we were keen to work with a team that combines expertise with a love of the destination and venue.”

Soaring Worldwide’s, managing director, Adam Baggs: “Working with HIC is already proving to be an incredibly rewarding experience.  Both HIC and Harrogate have so much to offer and we are truly excited at the prospect and challenge of increasing their profile across a range of media and markets.”

In a recent survey undertaken by Nexus Collections, 23 percent of respondents identified Conference / Exhibition Bags to be the most effective branding opportunity available.

Nexus Collections, managing director, Nick Jones: “Naturally we were overjoyed to see that conference bags, our primary product, are still considered the most effective by conference and exhibition organisers.  When encouraged to provide more information, most individuals feel that it is the bag’s longevity that makes them such good branding opportunities – particularly on the higher quality bags, which you frequently see at subsequent events, meetings or even just used by individuals as everyday briefcases!”

Pens, notepads and lanyards were all popular as well, with around 10% of the vote each.

Jones continues: “Like the conference bags both the pens and notepads have longevity with many delegates taking them away and using them on into the future.  I can also appreciate the popularity of lanyards as they are so visible at events, every delegate and member of the team sees not just their own, but the hundreds around them as well.”

Full results :

Which branding opportunities do you find most effective at events?

* Conference bags                22.6%
* Badge Lanyards                10.4%
* Advertising                7.8%
* Conference Notepads            11.5%
* Pens                12.6%
* Posters                6.7%
* Sponsorship of Catering Events            3.7%
* Sponsorship of Educational Sessions        6.7%
* Sponsorship of Guide / Programme            5.6%
* Sponsorship of Signage            7.8%
* Other                4.8%

Following the devastating fire at the Majestic Hotel in Harrogate last month the whole of Harrogate, including Harrogate International Centre and Destination Harrogate (an association of the town’s 12 leading hotels) pulled together to ensure valuable event business remained in the town.

Harrogate International Centre’s, deputy director, Simon Kent, said: “After such a tragic fire, it was imperative for Harrogate to pull together as a community and for all pre-booked and planned events to go ahead. Event business is exceptionally important to Harrogate and our immediate focus was to ensure business as usual.”

Harrogate International Centre, along with Destination Harrogate venues was able to accommodate several of the events planned for the Majestic at no extra charge to the organisers, whilst both staff and customer accommodation was sourced across the rest of the town.  Additional infrastructure was also put in place to ensure logistical needs and transfers were all met.

The Toymaster Exhibition operations director, Ian Edmunds said: “[HIC] helped turn the disastrous event of the 5^th May at the Majestic into the resounding success that was Toymaster’s May Show…  I fully understand and appreciate the difficulties and challenges our event must have presented you all with having booked it on the Monday and needing the carpet laid on the Friday, not the normal time scale I would expect anyone to adhere to.  To say you were all a pleasure to deal with is a total understatement.”

Harrogate International Centre’s Simon Kent concludes:  “Clearly our primary intention was to maintain the current business for Harrogate and ensure the additional revenue streams were maintained for our suppliers, partners and third parties across the town.  However, to have such a resounding endorsement and subsequent confirmation that Toymaster will continue to support Harrogate really is the icing on the cake.”

50% of respondents did not consider accreditation to be ‘important’ when using the services of security specialists in Magenta Security Services’ recent survey.

Magenta, managing director, Abbey Petkar:  “Accreditation demonstrates our ability and our trustworthiness – it is the benchmark of professionals and this statistic is surprising in the light of the overall survey results.  The accreditation question was particularly revealing when compared to the fact that that 53% of respondents cited ‘fear of theft’ to be the prime security threat to their businesses in a separate question. Clearly, employing the services of a properly qualified security company has got to be the sensible option when it comes to protecting valuable property, yet it seems that some organisations have still not grasped this crucial point.”

The results of the survey clearly show that whilst theft is a real concern and guarding is clearly the most effective protection against attack, the importance of accreditation is still under-appreciated.

How important is accreditation:

• Very unimportant – 0%
• Unimportant – 25%
• Average – 24%
• Important – 50%
• Very Important – 0%

With more than 12% of respondents confirming that between 50 and 75% of their facilities budget is spent on manned guarding it is vital such a budget is spent on professionals who are properly qualified to do the job?

Petkar continues: “These statistics are a strong argument for educating business on the importance of hiring properly qualified security experts rather than taking a risk with non-qualified organisations. At Magenta we believe accreditation is critically important as there are a lot of ‘cowboy’ firms purporting to be security experts. Facilities managers must learn to check the credentials of any firm they are considering using for security purposes.”

“In my view it is essential that individuals working in the private security industry undergo a structured SIA training programme that results in a recognised qualification. This will in turn result in a more competent and professional workforce and also improve the public image of the private security industry. Indeed, hiring unqualified security staff to protect your business and assets is a risk in itself.”

Businesses surveyed included retailers, public authorities, recreational facilities and commercial buildings.

Harrogate International Centre has made two new strategic appointments to strengthen its sales and marketing capability.

Alison Griffin returns as head of sales and marketing on a short term contract and Paul Ashton, formerly with G-Mex (now Manchester Central), is to take up duties as sales manager.

Alison Griffin returns to a role that will see her overseeing all aspects of the venue’s sales and marketing activity, including the launch of two new event spaces which are due to be built over the course of the next year.

Paul Ashton, a seasoned sales professional with considerable industry knowledge and experience, takes up his post in July and his initial focus will be to increase proactive sales in HIC’s core markets to match the venue’s unique portfolio of conference, meetings, exhibition and event spaces.

Harrogate International Centre director, Stuart Quin: “Alison and Paul join at a crucial time for HIC, we are undergoing extensive reviews of our management structure, as we direct our sales and marketing focus to create a greater solution oriented approach to sales and event management.”

“We look forward to the impact Alison and Paul will have on both the team and the future of our business.  Like many other venues, HIC has faced broader industry challenges such as smaller budgets, shorter events and lower delegate numbers during the last year.  Instead of sitting back, our sales team has worked more closely than ever with clients helping them to develop their events through new products and services.”

“Alison has a visible track record in raising the marketing profile of HIC and returns to provide strong management direction and motivation to both marketing and sales teams.  It is really good to welcome Paul Ashton to HIC. His wealth of experience gained in Manchester and elsewhere, and his knowledge of organisers and large UK and international events, should prove instrumental in delivering an increased number of events to Harrogate.”

As the upturn continues to improve business the Barbican is investing further in people by recruiting Oliver Hargreaves to join its Corporate Sales team.

The Barbican’s Head of Corporate Sales, Anthony Hyde says “This appointment shows that despite the recession the Barbican is continuing to invest in its staff in order to strengthen our position as Europe’s leading combined conference and arts centre.  We are looking at the future positively and Oliver Hargreaves will bring additional energy to the team.”

Oliver Hargreaves will focus on working with new and existing clients specialising in the conference suites, cinemas and any meetings with fewer than 300 attendees.

Oliver joins the Barbican with a degree in Events Management with Marketing Management from the University of Gloucestershire. He has also spent a year working with the Cotswold Conference Centre.  Oliver says “I am looking forward to working with such an experienced team and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.”

Virtua UK Ltd, a leader in the provision of Telecoms specialists, has selected Anite’s Nemo Handy tool for testing mobile networks.

Virtua is pioneering the deployment of in-building Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) solutions for retail and commercial properties.  To ensure that no detail is overlooked, Virtua uses the very best technical tools available, one example being Nemo Handy, supplied by voice and data experts Anite.

Virtua, chief executive, Andy Watts:  “Nemo Handy has set the standard for handheld network measurement devices since 2005 and continues to do so today. It is the most widely deployed handheld measurement tool in the world. Its extensive measurement capabilities are incorporated into a small mobile terminal that is ideal for performing measurements both outdoors and in busy and crowded indoor spaces – perfect for Virtua’s needs.”

With state-of-the-art real-time and customisable data views, Nemo Handy displays all the relevant network parameters on the terminal screen, at the same time recording all the important network parameters. Network information that is collected can be transmitted for post-processing in Nemo Analyze for further analysis.

Commenting on this partnership, Andy Watts said: “The combination of features offered by Nemo provides everything the Virtua teams need to deliver exceptional performance to our clients.  Working closely with Anite is proving to be an exciting process as we develop products and services together. The most important elements of these FMC projects are the planning and deployment phases – Anite’s tools, coupled with our own experience provide our clients with a cost effective, optimised and robust phone system that will enable them to work more productively and more efficiently”.

Heikki Koivuaho, senior vice president of global sales and marketing at Anite Finland Ltd commented:  “Virtua is pushing the boundaries of FMC and telecoms technological development.  Their team is designing and implementing systems in challenging environments so it is vital they have the right tools for the job.  They are consistently pushing our equipment’s capabilities and we are excited about their growth and ideas for the future which in turn allow us to investigate new technologies ourselves.”