11 London
Live From Tobacco Dock , Studio Render
Quayside Walkway
potentially more than that as events were postponed and cancelled .
“ Virtual events took off really quickly , when brands and corporations realised there ’ s still a need to communicate whether it was with customers or internally . We created two studios , one in the Dock Gallery and the other in our enormous Great Gallery and featuring a stunning 16m LED screen . We worked with our AV service partners to create a ‘ plug and play ’ offering , complete with HD quality recording equipment , a hybrid portal and an experienced broadcast crew so our clients could provide a compelling experience for attendees onsite and online .
“ Beyond that , we really wanted to support our clients and to see how we can provide the elements and spaces they need . We ’ ve been in regular contact with them and our agencies , throughout the whole pandemic , understanding how the market is changing , sharing insight : what they ’ re doing next , what their plans are , how long they ’ re
postponing , when they ’ re thinking about hybrid , when they ’ re thinking about fully in person etc .”
There is always something happening at Tobacco Dock . Their striking rooftop bar , Skylight , kept the visitors coming even while the greater venue was awaiting rules to allow business meetings and larger scale events to return . At time of writing , they ’ ve hosted over 32,000 people up on the roof since Skylight ’ s post-lockdown reopening on 12 April .
But what about adapting to meet the needs of clients , I ask Read . “ Let ’ s deal with data connectivity first . We already had a substantial pipe into the building and data network , but that was beefed up from 3Gb to 10Gb bandwidth to provide our clients with unsurpassed connectivity and reliability – perfect for global live streams and product launches .
“ The other thing we ’ ve looked at is the ways in which we can move attendees around the venue safely when larger events return . The advantages we have over other venues is the number of entrances and egress routes we have . We ’ re already working with organisers for when in-person events come back , instead of typical scenarios when people come in via the Wapping Lane entrance or from Pennington Street , we ’ re actually using all eight entrances to reduce queuing and have safer queuing with social distancing , if that ’ s still in place .”
Tobacco Dock is well worth a visit and more convenient to reach than you might think . Train travel is easy , with the Wapping Lane entrance just a five-minute walk from both Wapping and Shadwell Stations on the Overground . As the venue is just outside the Congestion Charge zone , you can make use of the 500 + space car park opposite .
It ’ s a tricky venue to encapsulate in a single word , but at the risk of coming across as cliché , the best I can think of is “ unique ”. And that ’ s before you discover Tobacco Dock Virtual … which you ’ ll have to learn more about on Mash TV in the coming weeks . www . conference-news . co . uk