Venue Focus
Take a deep breath
The NEC has demonstrated that venues can, and will, come
up with ideas for new events
T
he idea for the
Respiratory Show came
from the NEC Group’s
market intelligence manager,
Marc Aston, after research
into the healthcare sector.
Aston said of what he
found: “Respiratory illness
really interested us because
it is one of the major killers
in the UK and one that is
seeing deaths increase rather
than decrease. Our research
highlighted that there were
events in this sector, but
they were small and aimed
at certain professions within
the field.”
Once the idea was sparked,
Aston had the unusual
predicament of being a venue
seeking an event organiser.
Nevertheless, Aston
reached out to CloserStill
Media, with NEC’s market
development director,
Richard Mann. He says this
decision was due to their
reputation: “CloserStill
have a fantastic track record
in bringing healthcare
communities together and
were therefore an obvious
choice.”
CloserStill’s expertise
in the healthcare sector
was invaluable to the NEC.
Using their contacts within
the respiratory industry,
Aston was able to answer
critical questions, as well as
provide evidence that the
show was worth investing
in. CloserStill suggested the
event take place alongside
Best Practice and Best
54 — December
Practice in Nursing, as it
would encourage more
visitors.
The event offered a
conference programme
delivered by a range of
respiratory experts across
both primary and secondary
care settings, in addition
to hands-on courses for
delegates to experience latest
techniques for a number of
key topics.
The show was supported
by NHS clinicians and
healthcare professionals
working in respiratory care
and was free for all NHS,
social care, public sector
or qualified healthcare
professionals.
Senior show manager
for CloserStill Media, Ian
Reynolds, spoke on the
success of the event: “Within
a day of opening, we have
already had over 100 per
cent uptake in exhibitor
re-signs and new bookings
for 2020, so couldn’t have
Facts about the NEC
• The NEC contains more than 182000sqm of
indoor space, 20 halls, 34 specialists conference
and meetings suites, and the over 15000 capacity
Gentring Arena on site
• In the past 37 years, more than 60m people have
attended events at the NEC
• The NEC Group reported a revenue of £162.1m in
2018
• The NEC has hosted the international dog show,
Crufts, since 1991
asked for a better reception
for the show’s launch. We
have big ambitions for The
Respiratory Show moving
forward and see this as
the start of a fantastic
partnership.”
This is not the first time
the NEC has contributed to
the development of an event
– the NEC Group Business
Intelligence and Analytics
team frequently support
shows on target demographic
work, whether they are
established shows or wanting
to launch.
Ashton said of the NEC
Group: “The value add that
is provided for organisers is
a real a point of difference
from the NEC Group’s
competitors. We’re proud
to be thought leaders in the
market, from our work on
marketplace categorisation
to our extensive trends
knowledge.” EN