Feature
Ticking all
the boxes
One year on from the launch of the
new permanent Hall 1 at Farnborough,
venue director Michael Watton reflects
on the impact it has had for organisers
and visitors
“I
couldn’t have wished for a better
reaction to what we’d envisaged for the
venue,” Michael Watton, venue director at
Farnborough International, tells EN.
Before Farnborough’s new permanent Hall
1 launched at the start of last year, Watton
spend much of 2017 selling event organisers a
dream, conducting sites tours around a venue
still under construction and painting a picture
of what the finished product would be able to
offer as a multipurpose events space. And, it
seems, he did a pretty good job.
“When I saw the plans for Farnborough,
I knew instantly that this was a great
development opportunity for the
Homebuilding & Renovating brand,” comments
Nick Noble, commercial and events director at
Future, one of the first organisers to hold an
event in the new venue. “The location lends
itself fantastically well to what we need to
launch a show that has longevity. I instantly
had trust in what they were promising which
is why I signed up to the venue well before the
building was finished.
“The facility itself is hugely impressive.
When our exhibitors walked in they were
blown away with the professional feel
of the venue. Of course, there are minor
improvements that can always be made and
what is refreshing is Michael and the team’s
willingness to adapt accordingly. I already see
a longstanding relationship with the venue, so
much so, that we are about to sign a three-year
contract to enable us to develop the show to
the next level.”
Farnborough and HB&R are a perfect match,
adds Watton, due to the high-quality potential
consumer audience around the venue.
“Our demographic is way above the norm in
terms of socio-economic profiling within the
UK,” he explains. “It’s very affluent, it’s very
influential and delivering that audience is a key
48 —April
Hall 1 at a glance
20,000sqm footprint
12,500sqm hall
9 function rooms
2 entrance foyers
3,500 free parking spaces
Michael Watton
factor that we can demonstrate to our clients.
“There’s no better example of that than
Homebuilding and Renovating. Nick and the
team at Future were very quick to realise the
potential of holding another geographic version
of their very successful product here to deliver
a new audience. And they delivered way above
expectations.”
The main challenge of transitioning into
the new venue was largely the change itself,
Watton continues.
“Moving from a temporary structure to
a permanent building obviously brings a lot
more home comfort and advantages,” he says.
“The changeover was a big challenge, but that
change has happened now, so the shows are
growing and improving.
“We’re all creatures of habit, so to go into
a new environment you’ve got to change your
behaviours. But the fundamental experience
of going to an exhibition and talking to your
customers didn’t change.”
The venue has also welcomed a range of new
business, including the Vertical Flight Expo,
which will be making use of the venue’s ability
to accommodate demonstrations and aircraft,
and logistics event ITT Hub 2020, a new launch
from Binswood Media focusing on technology
and innovation in the heavy transport sector.
“In the long term we want to become
known for what the location here can deliver,”
continues Watton. “We’re known for aerospace
and we want to expand that into the science
and technology sectors. We’re very close by the
what is effectively UK Silicon Valley, there is a
high proportion of high-tech industries in our
local market.
One year on from the launch of the new
venue, Watton is optimistic about the future.
“We’ve proved the concept,” he concludes.
“Now it’s about demonstrating the growth that
that proof of concept will bring.” EN