was taken on by Tinie Tempah – or ‘ Tinie ’ as he is now known - and Sam Jones , founder of Elev8 , a man widely regarded as greatest ever pitcher on Dragons ’ Den .
Described by the session ’ s host Andrew Busby as “ two of the coolest men around ”, the pair discussed NFTs , the metaverse and changes in the digital landscape , in front of a largely young , packed-out crowd in Olympia ’ s Headline Theatre .
The show ’ s main event added to the ‘ festival feel ’ that Bradley emphasises , with what felt like half the venue queuing up to grab their seats .
Bradley received the bad news of Bartlett ’ s cancellation early on a Monday morning , but adds that it “ caused more issues in my head ” as the event ’ s speaker agency swiftly found a strong replacement .
The show ’ s addition of Tinie came via Jones as the rapper turned entrepreneur is one of his main investors .
“ Within a day we moved on . That ’ s the only way to survive in the exhibitions industry – to be resilient , to improvise and to overcome .”
Show floor buzz The buzz at the venue was also created by live music , flash mobs and a champagne bar that gathered members of the retail industry together at the end of the first day .
“ There were headline acts , not just trade show people who you expect to do the circuit . I ’ ve always wanted to run a show that doesn ’ t have that feeling of an everyday exhibition .”
Bradley says bringing in big names is a model that other exhibition organisers will now look to emulate off the back of the show .
“ I wouldn ’ t be surprised to see A-list celebrities appearing in other trade shows in the next few years .”
He adds that small details such as using imagery of the main speakers as if they were headline Glastonbury performers were key marketing tools for implementing his vision .
“ I stole a lot from live events , rather than other trade shows . I don ’ t want to necessarily run a trade show , I want to run an event .”
Bradley says RTS ’ marketing campaign was different to other shows . His team pushed out a promo video “ like it was a summer blockbuster movie ” while not using “ standard , stock exhibition video music ”, as well as posting images of Bradley as Mystig Meg and the Greatest Showman .
“ Our social media campaign was based upon reunion and bringing people together and it got away from all the corporate stuff .”
Reuniting retail As for why the RTS was the most exciting event he had worked on in his career , he says : “ There ’ s a lot of factors around that – the fact there hadn ’ t been a show for three years and the fact there wasn ’ t going to be a show in this industry .
“ There was no organisation or exhibition company that would support a retail technology show . The industry needed it and felt absolutely devastated and abandoned that it wasn ’ t going to happen .”
Bradley is certainly no stranger to the world of retail technology , having launched Retail Business Technology Expo in 2011 , organised by Reed ( now RX ), which was later rebranded to Retail Expo .
Following the cancellation of Retail Expo 2020 , RX took the decision to not run the event a year later , but Bradley felt the industry needed and deserved another show .
“ When I spoke to the industry , there was a real feeling of disappointment and sadness . As a show over the previous 10 years , it had served really well to bring the industry together .
“ There was a feeling from the exhibitors and retailers of ‘ what happens now ?’
“ When Nineteen approached me to run it with them , it was a no brainer .” Bradley says building a database from a highly disruptive retail sector proved a major challenge for the event , not to mention launching while Covid restrictions where still in place .
He says the combination of his strong team , an excitable market and support from the retail technology media industry made the job of launching the show far easier .
“ Walking into the show I felt like the whole industry was behind me . Everyone wanted it to succeed . You don ’ t get those feelings very often – I felt very proud to be involved in it .”
Bradley says 85 % of the booth for next year ’ s event was booked on site and it ’ s looking likely that the event will expand into Olympia ’ s National Hall , meaning the size of the show will double .
“ It ’ s a real success story . It ’ s only going in one direction and that ’ s bigger . Maybe that will be the theme for next year – ‘ bigger , better , brighter ’.” EN
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