Best Development of an Existing Association Event
Association of British Insurers
The ABI Annual Conference is the insurance industry’s premier event. Traditionally held in conventional venues, our conferences have featured a central plenary space, three breakout sessions, and six exhibitor stands, all dedicated to disseminating industry expertise and knowledge.
In 2024, we faced a bold directive from our Director General: to embed our organisation’s purpose and strategy, ‘Together, Driving Change to Protect and Build a Thriving Society’. Rising to this challenge, we overhauled every event deliverable, transforming each element of the conference to align with our strategic and societal aim. To do this we made innovative changes in our choice of venue, secured high-profile external voices, increased the number of breakout sessions to 12, introduced new and elevated exhibition, developed an enhanced marketing plan, and launched several industry initiatives.
The results were extraordinary – attendance surged by 41%, media engagement rose by 25%, and profits soared by 53%, surpassing all targets and expectations. This remarkable success has made the 2024 ABI Annual Conference the most successful event in the association’s history.
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy – BACP Children, young people & families conference 2024
The BACP Children, young people and families conference 2024 has been an incredible achievement for our association this year by becoming our largest attended hybrid conference ever delivered to our members, reaching a combined total of 1436 delegates and achieving a 12% booking increase and 17% increase in income compared to the CYPF conference in 2023.
This year, we enhanced our event platform to offer a more interactive and user-friendly experience for both in-person and online delegates. We refreshed our graphics and improved the user journey and achieved a 106% increase in engagement through live polls, submitted questions, and upvotes.
The passion and commitment of the event planning group was key in developing an enriched programme to explore collaborative ways of working with neurodiversity when supporting children, young people and their families. The conference provided a learning environment to enhance knowledge through research and evidence-based practice, integrated presentations from people with lived experience to provide important insights, and create a safe space to encourage reflective learning.
Independent Publishers Guild – The IPG Spring Conference 2024
The Spring Conference is the flagship event of the IPG, the UK’s largest association of publishers. For more than six decades it has been one of the most popular and influential events of the publishing year, bringing together hundreds of IPG members and partners to gather ideas and inspiration from expert speakers, share practical advice and enjoy the best networking in our industry.
The Spring Conference continues to evolve and grow—always based closely on the feedback and needs of delegates. After many years as a residential event, we pivoted to online and hybrid Conferences during Covid restrictions, before changing working styles and cost pressures on our members prompted us to create a new format, without diminishing its renowned sense of community and camaraderie.
Our new-look Conference was more accessible and inclusive than ever, with a new location in central London, flexible ticket options, subsidised places and fresh features like a ‘Bring a Book Breakfast’ icebreaker. An outstanding programme and engaging marketing attracted a record 355 guests and 24 sponsors and achieved exceptional delegate ratings. Comments included: “Fun, productive and helpful… The friendliest, warmest industry event I attend… The best Conference I’ve attended… hats off to the IPG team.”
Institute of Employability Professionals – IEP Basecamp 2023
IEP Basecamp furthered our mission by providing frontline practitioners with the tools and knowledge they need to excel in their roles. The event facilitated the exchange of best practices, fostered professional development, and strengthened our community. By addressing the immediate needs of practitioners, we advanced the overall goals of the IEP and contributed to the professionalisation of the employability sector.
IEP Basecamp 2023 was a resounding success, breaking new ground by transforming our established IEP Summit into a dynamic and impactful event for frontline practitioners. Through innovative research, effective marketing, strong sponsor support, and a focus on attendee experience, we delivered an event that exceeded expectations and significantly advanced the aims of our association.
National Care Forum – Care Innovation Challenge 2024
In an difficult environment, following decades of underfunding and negative media coverage, the National Care Forum Care Innovation Challenge is a beaming light. It shouts “we are here, we value each other today and in the future, we have a future and we are coming together to create opportunities through innovations in business practices and new technological and data tools”. The programme is unique, being the only programme open to anyone and everyone with the key vision of creating sustainable solutions to key challenges facing the care sector, and most importantly improving the lives of those who live and work in social care.
Railway Industry Association – The Railway Industry Supplier Excellence (RISE) Awards 2023
The Railway Industry Supplier Excellence (RISE) Awards, hosted by the Railway Industry Association (RIA), celebrates outstanding contributions in the railway supply sector.
The 2023 RISE Awards was strongly developed from the previous years ceremony, introducing many new, exciting elements.
The 2023 awards were held at the London Intercontinental, featured notable highlights such as a keynote address by Rail and HS2 Minister Huw Merriman MP, and an engaging host, Ayesha Hazarika.
The event was praised for its quality, seamless execution, and networking opportunities. As preparations for the 2024 RISE Awards begin, the successful transformation in 2023 sets a strong foundation for future growth.
STEP – STEP Cayman Conference 2024
The STEP Cayman Conference aims to enhance the jurisdiction’s standing, attract diverse speakers, and foster networking opportunities. In 2024, the conference embraced a new approach, featuring fresh speakers and addressing pertinent issues like mental capacity and undue influence. Notably, it facilitated policy change discussions, leading to the Deputy Premier announcing the abolition of the perpetuities act. Operational efficiency was improved through streamlined sponsorship processes, resulting in increased sponsorship and delegate numbers.
The conference’s success was evident in its increased international attendance, expanded sponsorships, and boosted profits. A sunset cruise addition proved popular, enhancing networking opportunities. Attendees lauded the event, with 86% rating it as ‘excellent’, signalling a significant improvement from the previous year. Ultimately, the conference served as a catalyst for showcasing the Cayman Islands, fostering policy change, and providing valuable networking and educational experiences for attendees.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development – The CIPD Festival of Work 2023
In order to extend the voice of the CIPD, break down silos within organisations, and push a more collaborative approach to improving working lives, the CIPD Festival of Work needed to develop in a number of different ways to previous shows. At the same time, we needed to increase the commercial viability of the show via means other than delegate revenue (moving to a free to attend model). Through close collaboration between the CIPD, Wonderly and an array of other stakeholders, we believe that we created an event that attracted a curious audience, who left feeling inspired.
The Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys – CITMA Paralegal Conference 2023
Our inaugural CITMA Paralegal Conference held on 27th September 2023 marked a significant milestone. Tailored specifically for CITMA Paralegals working in IP, this landmark event showcased our commitment to professional growth for this growing sector of our membership.
The event programme was built in collaboration with a volunteer task force of CITMA Paralegal members who provided their expertise and knowledge on key topics to ensure the programme was highly relevant and attractive.
It is our aim to recognise opportunities and help contribute to the growth and development of the CITMA Paralegal membership and wider paralegal profession. With its clear initiative, financial success and exceptional feedback, our Paralegal Conference is evidently going in meeting this goal.
