10
Leeds & Hull
hy did an
organisation which
spends its days
influencing
healthcare policy decide to venture
into the exciting but challenging
world of venue management?
The answer is simple: a client
demand which couldn’t be
achieved.
Back in 2014 there was a lack of
B2B venue presence in Leeds. Our
delegates would go to London and
receive a great venue experience.
However, when the same event was
replicated in Leeds this was not
always the case. The Leeds of today
is a million miles away, you only
need to look at Unique Venues of
Leeds to see this. Leeds has well
and truly caught up, which is
something I am incredibly proud of.
At the time it felt that the only way
to achieve the same experience as
with London venues was to dive into
the deep end and create our own
venue; pretty risky, but luckily worth
it. With this in mind when the 3rd
floor of 2 Brewery Wharf became
available, the organisation jumped
at the chance to join this incredible
industry.
Megan MacBrairdy, venue manager
at Horizon Leeds which is owned by
the NHS Confederation, on how the venue
was made to meet needs
Below:
Horizon Leeds
As someone who has worked
both agency and venue side, I was
like a child in a sweetshop deciding
on the design of the venue and the
tech to be installed. I took the best
bits from venues I had worked with
and banished the elements which
frustrated me. However, this was
very much a client-led project,
where feedback was at the heart of
every design decision made.
The approach was to create a
tech plan which was bespoke to
each room rather than one size fits
all. Using wireless presenting
technology eliminated the need for
adaptors and our audio was a top
priority due to the growing demand
in using video and virtual meeting
software. There were, and
continues to be, instances where a
Horizon is an
award-winning venue in
the heart of Leeds.
Established in 2014, by
the NHS Confederation,
a membership body that
brings together and
speaks on behalf of all
organisations that plan,
commission and provide
NHS services.
www.conference-news.co.uk
client’s security policy means we
must adapt our technology to meet
their needs.
We championed audience
participation as we felt that it’s the
best way for the client to receive
maximum ROI from an event. There
is some simple but effective tech
which is memorable and can make
all the difference including, catch
box mics, anonymous Q&As and
polling apps.
Event tech provides the
opportunity to change the way
training and boardroom meetings
are run. In our training room it’s all
about multiple touch point
collaborative screens. The
advantages are that data can be
shared instantly and resource is
saved as there is no need for
post-event writeups.
Understanding client needs are
essential, an example of this is the
quad-screen technology in our
boardroom, this facilitates major
incident scenarios, a necessity for
some of our clients.
Moving forward, the use of virtual
and augmented reality in the events
industry should be a must. The
possibilities are endless. Imagine
coming to an event and rather than
being given a 100-page spec doc,
you can hold a tablet up to a
product and learn all about it in a
fun and interactive way. Or rather
than a client having to tour the
country to look at venues why don’t
sales managers take the venue to
the client via a pair of VR googles? I
believe that technology and
customer service are the two main
differentiators between a good and
an exceptional venue.
Without the customer we
wouldn’t exist. Venues must listen
and respond to what the client is
saying. This happens by building
strong relationships based on
honesty and trust. The client is at
the forefront of every decision we
make here at Horizon, which is
reflected in our exceptional
customer-satisfaction rates. This is
our main driver to ensure that
Leeds continues to be ‘anything but
ordinary’.