Best Longstanding Association Event (over 1000 attendees)
Association of Corporate Treasurers – Annual Conference 2024
The Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) hosted the 21st Annual Conference in Liverpool on 20-21 May 2024. A key event in the treasury industry calendar, it contributes significantly to the revenue of the Association with an exhibition, classroom-style training, multiple streams of varied conference content and a large networking dinner.
Conference content is curated by the ACT’s Event Production team, with discussion around key challenges facing ACT members and the wider corporate treasury community. A multi-channel marketing plan was delivered, considering acquisition, retention and engagement through paid, owned and earned media. There are three primary co-lead sponsors: HSBC, NatWest and SMBC, with 80 further sponsors and exhibitors. The Annual Conference has shown consistent sustainable, growth throughout its lifecycle, both in volume and revenue, with attendance rates the highest ever and revenue up nearly 10% YOY.
The mission of the ACT is to educate treasurers, support members and influence policy. The Annual Conference provides the ideal platform for knowledge sharing, forging connections and discussing policy.
British Insurance Brokers’ Association – The BIBA Conference 2023
The BIBA Conference is an annual two-day event held every May reuniting the insurance industry. Now in its 46th year, it has grown exponentially to become the largest insurance broking exhibition in Europe. We have held the event at MCCC continuously since 2014 and have a full agenda of Keynotes, Seminars and Fringe sessions in the Auditorium and breakout rooms, Exhibition covering the full 10,000 square metres of Central Halls 1&2, exhibitor hosted meeting rooms and a Wellness Zone. BIBA is a membership association so supporting members is paramount, hence we give them unrivalled access to industry experts, knowledge, networking opportunities and member benefits they cannot get elsewhere, and all of the event surplus is re-invested back into membership. Our 2023 event saw record attendee numbers and a sold out Exhibition Hall with 9000 attendees networking and doing business with over 220 exhibitors. The theme was ‘Rising to the Challenge’ – chosen to illustrate economic and political uncertainty, cost of living crisis, recent pandemic and personal challenges our broker members were facing, but that with collaboration, resilience and support the insurance industry can continue to provide for customers.
Institution of Engineering and Technology – European Conference on Optical Communications
Europe’s leading conference on optical communications is one of the most prestigious and long-standing events in the field worldwide. The 49th edition was successfully delivered by the IET and saw over 1,400 scientists and researchers from 39 countries come together at the SEC in Glasgow.
The event included 559 speakers across 9 parallel tracks, live streaming, five social events,14,500+sqm of exhibition space and management of over 200 event committee members. With such a multitude of stakeholders involved, all with competing objectives the event takes over 3 years’ of sound planning to deliver. Feedback from delegates was extremely high with the event achieving impressive financial, environmental and customer satisfaction targets.
National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers
The NACFB Commercial Finance Expo (CFE) has established itself as the UK’s leading intermediary-led trade show for commercial finance professionals since its inception in 2010. From its modest beginnings, the Expo has experienced remarkable growth, attracting over 2,500 delegates in 2023 and expecting to surpass this in the upcoming 2024 event. Rooted in the aftermath of the recession, the Expo was conceived to cultivate relationships between brokers and lenders while providing a platform for networking and knowledge exchange.
The success of the CFE is evident in its expanding popularity and positive feedback from industry insiders. The event boasts a record number of exhibitors, with testimonials lauding it as the premier event for business interactions in the commercial finance realm. Exhibitors and sponsors alike benefit from heightened visibility and access to a captive audience, with sponsorship opportunities consistently sold out despite industry-wide budget constraints.
The NACFB continually strives to enhance the attendee experience through thoughtful event design and engaging sessions, driving improvements year on year.
RCGP Annual Conference and Exhibition 2023
The RCGP ACE 2023 broke all records, achieving the largest number of attendees ever in Glasgow, the highest SPEX and delegate revenue generated, and the most positive attendee feedback in the event’s history. Wonderly has been delivering the conference and exhibition as RCGP’s PCO since 2016. The event has been alternating between Liverpool and Glasgow as hosting cities – with the latter being more difficult in terms of delegate acquisition and revenue generation. However, 2023 has been a whole different story.
Thanks to the mature relationship between the College and Wonderly, we were able to extend planning cycles and launched the campaign a full 12 months before the event – at a virtual event organised specifically for the occasion. The longer planning and lead times, allowed us to overachieve all around, from delegate numbers to SPEX revenues. It generated so much SPEX demand that we had to expand the exhibition floor and add an additional theatre to accommodate more sponsored talks than ever expected.
Most sessions were fully booked, including sponsored sessions. On the day, the delegate and SPEX experience was phenomenal, with attendees spontaneously coming to registration telling us that this was the best event they had ever attended.
The Digital Entertainment and Retail Association – Record Store day UK
In March 2024 the digital entertainment and retail association, ERA, reported that the number of indie record shops in the UK had reached a 10 year high on the back of Record Store Day, an annual celebration of indie record shops, organised and run by ERA which has become a national event and a catalyst for the recovery of a format – vinyl records – and a vital part of music’s ecosystem, the indie record shop.
ERA co-ordinates the day, securing ambassadors – this year, Kate Bush – securing the exclusive record releases which draw the crowds and attracting the media partner (BBC Radio 6Music) who decamp their drive-time show to broadcast live from a record store each year.
ERA has secured 4 sponsors for the day and has raised over £100,000 for the charity WarChild through the event
The Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health – RCPCH Conference 2024
The RCPCH Conference is the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s annual flagship membership event. Despite a year of key change and transformation for the team, the 2024 edition of the event broke all records, achieving the largest number of attendees and the highest SPEX revenues generated since records began – with the most positive attendee feedback in memory.
The three-day large-scale event, themed around “Building a bright future together”, achieved over 2,300 delegates and doubled the revenues generated from sponsorship and exhibitions versus previous years. Despite a year of change and transformation, with new team members and new dynamics, the teams involved pulled together in a humongous effort and in a very short time, delivering beyond everyone’s expectations.
For the first time, the team partnered with an external PCO, Wonderly, to outsource sponsors and exhibition sales and get support on some key elements of operational delivery including registration, customer services, abstract and poster management. The teams from both organisations worked incredibly hard and very quickly – and immediately managed to integrate seamlessly, each contributing their key skills and expertise, to establish new processes and ways of working that ultimately delivered the most successful RCPCH conference in memory.
UKISUG Connect 2023
UKISUG Connect is the largest annual gathering of SAP professionals from across the UK & Ireland. With over 1,000 SAP customers, experts, partners and professionals in attendance.
Spread over three days, UKISUG Connect is the go-to event for all SAP users, with knowledge-rich keynotes, engaging breakout sessions, a range of workshops and an exhibition hall of over 70 SAP partners.
