Events and Engagement Done Differently: Issue 2
Rob Woodhead
Dad to two, husband to one, outdoor lover, stoic thinker and experienced CEO and business leader.
Welcome to issue two of our newsletter!
The events of the last few years and their economic impact means that businesses are facing more uncertainty than at any point in recent memory. This uncertainty will often lead to a battening down of hatches and the slashing of any expenditure deemed unnecessary. For some businesses, events and activations are the first things that tend to have their budgets cut, so we have to help turn those stakeholder conversations about “event spend” to “engagement investment” and create events and experiences that give measurable results and demonstrate real value.
So how can you do things differently to prove the worth of an event and justify the expenditure? That's what we're answering in our featured articles and on our recent webinar, details below ??????.
It is widely accepted that events could potentially deliver twice the value on the same budget if we go right back to the start and plan in objectives and measures right at the beginning. It sounds simple, but many events fall short of their potential because it was never clear what they were actually setting out to achieve. An event can only create true value for stakeholders if it changes behaviours – they do something?different?after attending – and we can measure the impact of those changes.
There’s plenty to get through, so please get in touch if you’d like to pick up the conversation with us. We hope you enjoy this month's edition!
Join us for Ignite
Our free-to-attend Ignite Comms Forum; where like-minded colleagues from a variety of organisations and sectors come together to share challenges, ideas and best practices relating to all things comms.
Our last session was held in March – take a look at what those attending had to say about the session here.
As a measure of their success, the events have been running for over 7 years now, and our next forum will be held on Wednesday 21st June, with a virtual session in the morning and a face-to-face session at Aviva in York.?
Spaces at the sessions are limited to invite-only, so if you’d be interested in receiving more information about this and future forums, please register your details?here?and we’ll be back in touch asap.
OMG! The first crucial step in events planning
I think we can safely say it’s been a whirlwind few years in the world of events and workplace experience. Covid has fundamentally changed the workplace and the way businesses communicate with colleagues and customers. Now we’ve come out of that straight into a really challenging financial climate. All of this has led to more pressure than ever on budgets and an increasing emphasis not only on delivering but also demonstrating real value and return on investment.
With the demand for ROI greater than ever, we wanted to give you our simplybetter tips on how to plan and deliver events that truly deliver value to your attendees and your stakeholders. Find out more.
Sustainable & accessible events: Quick wins on a budget
We have talked a lot recently about?sustainable events?and one question that keeps cropping up is “what are the quick wins I can achieve with a limited budget”? It’s much easier for larger organisations to utilise dedicated ESG teams and big budgets, but how can all businesses achieve an impactful, sustainable, accessible event with more limited resources?
Don’t worry! There are still plenty of quick wins you can put in place to make your next event as sustainable as possible without breaking the bank. Find out more.
Designing events that drive better engagement
If you missed our most recent webinar, ‘Designing events that drive better engagement’, we talk about this as well as the importance of your event environment in embedding behaviour change and extending the lifespan of your events to maximise value. If you have a spare half an hour or so, grab a coffee, make yourself comfortable and find out what our experts had to say.
Provident
The challenge
simplybetter was tasked by Provident Financial Group (PFG) to create a unique immersive and interactive experience for all colleagues, to help embed their new purpose and values. The venue had already been booked – Magna, a former steelworks factory in Sheffield – offering us a blank canvas to work our creative magic.
领英推荐
The solution
A focus on the event environment and active learning was key here. We created a series of different zones and experiences incorporating print, video, bespoke structures?and interactive experiences; including a street food networking café, a history walkway to the main plenary session, a huge screen which lifted to reveal a series of immersive breakout sessions where delegates were introduced to ten winning mindsets through a series of hands-on activities.
Join the simplybetter team
Want to come and join the simplybetter family? We've got some fantastic roles available. To find out more get in touch via [email protected]
Don't just take our word for it though! Here's what our newest team members had to say about their first month with the simplybetter family.
It's been amazing to support four amazing charities chosen by the simplybetter team, and we wanted to share a little bit more about them and showcase the fantastic work they do...
Today we're bringing you updates from two of our four amazing organisations in our community.
Menfulness is a men’s social wellbeing group that - through activities and counselling - supports and promotes improvement in men's lives. Their YouTube link gives you an insight into their crucial work watch it here
Jack Woodhams is their co-founder and commented:
simplybetter's generous donation of ￡870 will go directly to supporting our counselling offering, which has supported over 200 guys to access free, easy access counselling over the last 2 years. It's been a game changer and is undoubtably saving lives.
Chellow Heights is a large special school which is split across two sites. Their pupils are aged 2-11 years, with a range of learning, medical, physical, emotional and behavioural needs. The school’s vision is to provide a safe, happy, high-quality environment, where all pupils are supported to develop their self-help and independence skills so that they can become active participants in the community and ambassadors for other children with disabilities and learning needs.
Community & Family Liaison Officer Kate Hansard commented:
"The money donated this year will be going towards the costs of running extra swimming session for families in the Easter holidays. We are so thankful for the continued support of simplybetter as we would not be able to do extra sessions without the extra funding to pay for the staffing costs."
We have more updates to come so watch this space...
We’ve had a busy couple of months as the simplybetter team looks ahead to a jam-packed spring of live events. It’s been great to see our project and creative teams work together to design such exciting, creative concepts and I know the team can’t wait to get out on-site to deliver these projects.?
It’s also been fantastic to see the new members of our team grow into their roles – you can see the passion they have for events and it certainly made me think back (a long way back!) to when I first started in the industry. It’s so important that we create an environment where our people have the confidence and skills to excel in their roles and that we support their development, as well as their wellbeing inside and outside of work, to help them achieve their goals.
All the best,
Rob Woodhead
Managing Director