Best Longstanding Association Event (up to 1000 attendees)
AMBA & BGA Global Conference for Deans and Directors
The AMBA & BGA Global Deans and Directors Conference 2023 held in Seville epitomised excellence in business education leadership and innovation. With a focus on ambition, impact, and integrity, the conference aimed to unite leaders to shape global change. It successfully achieved record-breaking attendance and sponsorship revenue, demonstrating its unparalleled influence in the industry. Meticulous research and feedback informed the conference programme, ensuring relevance and engagement. Strategic partnerships with sponsors were cultivated to support their core business pillars while aligning with the conference’s objectives. Marketing efforts, primarily through email campaigns and social media, led to record breaking bookings despite a modest budget.
The conference set itself apart with unique networking opportunities, including a cultural tour and exclusive dinner events. Diverse session formats, interactive elements, and dedicated account management ensured a fulfilling experience for attendees. The 2023 conference marked the most successful iteration yet, with increased delegate numbers, profitability, and sponsorship revenue over previous years. Its innovation extended beyond industry norms, embracing diversity, sustainability, lifelong learning, and global inclusivity. Seville’s prestigious setting further elevated the event, making it a truly unforgettable and transformative experience for all involved.
British Association of Cosmetic Nurses, BACN Autumn Aesthetic Conference
The British Association of Cosmetic Nurses (BACN) is the largest association for Aesthetic Nurses in the UK, providing vital peer support, guidance to nurses transitioning from NHS roles to private clinics, and ensuring patient safety. The BACN Autumn Aesthetic Conference is the association’s flagship event, a two-day conference and exhibition showcasing the best in aesthetic nursing, and the largest event directed towards Medical Aesthetics nurses.
Amidst the challenges of COVID-19, the conference was restructured in 2023, placing a renewed emphasis on clinical excellence and inclusivity. This included introducing educational sessions on complications, incorporating a fully clinical space for live treatments, and prioritising diversity in speaker representation. The association is committed to empowering nurse voices and fostering inclusivity driving forward professionalism and setting new standards for industry events.
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy – Public Finance Live 2023
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) is a membership organisation for accountants and finance professionals working across the public sector, including in central government, local government, the health sector and the emergency services.
CIPFA’s annual conference and exhibition Public Finance Live sets out to provide members, students and other stakeholders with insight into the latest developments in the sector, encompassing the wider economic and political climate and more technical content that will affect individuals in their day jobs.
Meetings Industry Association – miaConnect
The Meeting Industry Association’s Connect events are a prime example of how a trade body recognised the needs of its members to deliver innovative networking events that, through clever evolvement, continue to exceed expectations a decade on.
Building on the association’s core aims of offering more commercial opportunities and a tangible return on their membership, agents, venues and suppliers, equally benefit by coming together to discuss mutual challenges, best practice and networking to develop cohesive and mutually beneficial relationships for the future.
miaConnect events have earned a strong positive reputation for content, engagement and networking. Their popularity has helped raise the profile of the mia, regularly attracting non-members and providing a great platform to showcase its ongoing work.
The popularity of the events has helped raise the profile of the mia, regularly attracting non-members and providing a great platform to showcase its ongoing work.
In a recent survey, 69% of mia members deemed the events as one of the most valuable elements of mia membership.
Railway Industry Association – RIA Innovation Conference 2024
The 14th RIA Innovation Conference, held on March 27th & 28th 2024 at ICC Wales in Newport, marked a historic success for the Railway Industry Association (RIA), becoming its most financially successful event in 149 years. The conference, themed “Inspired by Innovation,” attracted over 450 delegates and 72 exhibitors, highlighting groundbreaking advancements in the rail industry.
Keynote speeches from both railway and non-railway sectors, including Uber, the Met Office, and IBM, provided diverse insights. The event featured TechTalks, rapid-fire presentations showcasing current innovations, and a Future Focus Zone with cutting-edge technology from academic institutions.
The interactive railway supplier exhibition and ‘Spotlight’ sessions allowed exhibitors to present their innovations dynamically. Partnering with Train Operating Companies, RIA hosted Pitch Sessions where suppliers could directly pitch ideas to industry leaders. Major clients like Network Rail and Transport for Wales had prominent spaces for engaging with innovators.
Evening networking included a festival-themed dinner with live music and games, fostering informal industry connections. The second day welcomed university students to engage with the industry, and an optional 5k run was held in the morning.
The yearly positive feedback from participants underscored the conference’s impact, making it a contender for the Best Longstanding Association Event award.
Scottish Passenger Agents Association – SPAA Annual Dinner
The SPAA Dinner is the oldest travel dinner in the world celebrating its 95th Anniversary in February 2025 and is traditionally held on the last Thursday in February. The dinner differentiates itself from other dinners by its seating arrangements where everyone is individually seated and mixed together as agent or principal to allow maximum networking. This tradition is still adhered to today by the Dinner committee with everyone individually placed.
It is attended by SPAA senior members and owners of businesses in Scotland, Scottish politicians, Senior industry Associations and airlines, tour operators, cruise companies, Travel media and other travel related organisations
High level speakers are always paramount to the event which encourages attendance from all over the UK and overseas. This year the speakers were Jac Dobson, SPAA President and President Barrhead Travel, Steve Heapy CEO Jet2.PLC and finally Liz Cameron OBE, CEO Scottish Chambers of Commerce.
The event is traditionally Scottish with the address to the haggis (all 8 verses) given by the President who chairs the evening’s proceedings. The very popular finale for the evening is a rousing selection of music played by a pipe band which this year was again previous World Champions, Inveraray Pipe Band.
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals – Annual Conference and Exhibition (ACE)
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) focuses on elevating payroll’s significance in the UK and internationally. Their flagship event, the Annual Conference and Exhibition (ACE), is the UK’s largest payroll event, held at Celtic Manor, Wales, and includes education, networking, and the Annual Excellence Awards.
Speaker submissions are open from October to January and reviewed by a diverse committee. The final programme is curated by key members and approved by the Senior Leadership Team. Keynote speakers from industry bodies, such as HMRC representatives, ensure value and relevance.
Marketing efforts have evolved significantly, incorporating video content, social media, and the new community marketing platform, Gleanin. This has led to increased engagement, with the ACE landing page views growing from 6381 in 2019 to 9730 in 2023. Revenue has grown by 20% since 2019, and exhibition space expanded from 25 to 39 stands.
CIPP measures success through post-event surveys, consistently receiving high ratings. The conference supports membership growth by showcasing benefits, networking opportunities, and exclusive content. These strategies enhance the conference’s impact and attract new members, ensuring the event’s continued success and relevance.
The Garden Centre Association – Annual Conference 2024
Our GCA conference is in its 57th year and is an integral part of our annual calendar.
It promotes the benefits of being a member, including rewarding those with the highest scores in our annual inspection programme and presenting them with awards for their successes.
It also gives members the opportunity to network and stimulates them to improve their businesses.
The conference supports our vision of ‘growing greener garden centres’ – encouraging and supporting our members to deliver a sustainable future – and our mission to connect the best garden centres in the UK and inspire and support them to grow and adapt.
In 2024, we set out to grow our media coverage of the event, our sponsorship and delegate numbers, including targeting garden centre members who had previously never attended and more younger delegates too.
We developed and honed some innovative sponsorship and partnership arrangements and ensure our vision, mission and values were at the forefront of all we do.
We succeeded in boosting all our focus areas, while also raising much greater awareness this year for our association and our industry as a whole.
