With the ongoing risk of COVID-19 worldwide, we are committed to hosting a safe and secure environment at each of our events for all delegates and guests.
Our team is now working from home, but continuing to support our clients to find solutions so we can postpone or go virtual and avoid cancelling events.
We are paying close attention to advice from the UK health authorities to play our part in helping look after the people in our team and around us.
16th March 2020, BeaconHouse Events
We’ve been working with Space Group to deliver a three-day event, kicking off with an education day for 200 local students, a celebratory awards evening sandwiched between two days of conference for 400 international delegates. Safe to say events provide so many positive outputs, collaboration, knowledge sharing and inspiration, but large-scale conferences have, and continue to cause a negative impact on the environment.
BIM Show Live, has been no different, but we’re committed to turning the ugly truth, and bad practice into good for all. It started with the theme set out back in 2019, the conference wanted to focus on ‘BIM for Good’, and the goodness should show through every inch of the event.
First stop our suppliers, we’ve worked with a handful of trusty suppliers who all make the magic that is BIM Show Live. Our sustainably sourced lanyards provided by a UK company have agreed to carbon offset their transport from China following our ‘ask to suppliers’ to offer a sustainable solution for the demands of our order. We’re using a sustainable badge solution we sourced for the 2019 conference, (here at BHE HQ sustainability has been a concern for quite some time). Meetings with PR and social teams are conducted remotely over Zoom. The award trophies have transformed from high shine metal to sustainable wood – they’ll still have that heavy aspirational look and feel! Perhaps the most controversial element to mess with is catering. We’ve chosen to cater the full event as vegetarian or vegan food and use locally sourced ingredients only. A bold move perhaps, but we’re confident in our caterer’s quality, and we’re sure the audience won’t miss the meat with the tasty treats on offer. Consideration has been made at every step, even the vegan sausage rolls (spoiler alert), are in recyclable packaging.
In the biggest shake up, we’re printing less, delegates will not be handed a printed programme. Delegates will peruse the schedule of the day on the event app, can message other delegates and set up alerts for sessions they don’t want to miss (i.e. all of them). Speakers have been sourced being mindful of travel requirements, and we’re lucky to have such talent coming from the region speaking; our day one keynote Nic Palmarini is located walking distance from the venue. The delegate communications will encourage our delegates to bring their re-usable cups and bottles for their caffeine and hydration hits.
So why are we asking delegates how they are travelling to the event? We want to benchmark the carbon footprint of BIM Show Live 2020 as the first year in a new sustainability drive, so we’re not ignorant to the fact that our delegates travel from across the globe and we have to include this in our plans. BIM Show Live 2.0, aka BIM Show Live 2021 will be leaner, greener, and more as we work towards a better future. We’re ditching the bad and the ugly and we’re going good, one step at a time, as much as we can. Join us.
Work experience has the potential to be dull. Usually, the excitement of the real world of work is quickly diminished by the seemingly endless photocopying and tea-making experience most end up with. But luckily for me, my work experience week at BeaconHouse was far from that.
From the second I stepped into the office that Monday morning I felt welcomed. Instead of the tightly strung, high-pressure atmosphere I expected, I was greeting by a team of friendly yet hardworking individuals. The approachable staff meant I wasn’t hesitant to ask for help or guidance in my set tasks, allowing me to take much more enjoyment in what I was doing. Once I was settled, I was given the chance to listen in on a conference call about an upcoming event. It gave me a unique insight into the process of organising an event and the steps taken to create the perfect finished product. Now I’m even more appreciative when I’m scoffing down nibbles at a function!
The rest of the day included learning about how employees manage their workloads on a day-to-day basis and the software applications they use. Additionally, I was given the task of researching venue options for a future event. Being able to collaborate and assist on real life projects gave me a realistic, hands-on experience that I thoroughly enjoyed.
The next day I was given the chance to spectate a meeting on establishing company ideals, characteristics and values. This helped me to learn the importance of attitude and mindset in both a work and school environment and the skills needed to thrive and flourish in those environments. Needless to say, it fascinated me much more than the Pythagorean theorem in school.
One evening, I was even asked to attend a company event where I assisted with checking employees in using the ticketing software, among other jobs. This was very new to me, but that meant it was a new possibility for learning and growth. The event was interesting to spectate; I certainly learnt a lot onsite!
During my time at BeaconHouse I have partaken in and contributed to many different projects, helping me explore both the industry and the ways in which I tackle tasks. I’ll admit, I was nervous coming in and unsure of what to expect but I have been warmly welcomed and encouraged to work to the best of my ability; the week was everything I hoped it would be.
Overall, my time at BeaconHouse Events has shown me the resilience, responsibility and trust needed in order to thrive in a working environment. It was a very enjoyable yet realistic insight into the industry and I have definitely gained in confidence. Thank you to the whole Beacon House Team for a great week!
Myth: Event professionals get paid to go to parties
Reality: That would be awesome, but no. Like many event organisers, we don’t just organise parties, we organise conferences, meetings, corporate events and SOME of these events have parties attached. Although we’ll be seen at a party, we are working, making sure everything goes smoothly, dealing with last minute problems and letting the client relax. The actual event is just the tip of the iceberg, behind any event there are weeks, months, or even years of organising, decision making and planning.
Myth: Event planners like spending money
Reality: You may have seen the 1991 comedy classic ‘Father of the Bride’ and the iconic exchange.
George: Ok, everything. How much?
Howard: [cutting out] – dred and – ifty a -ead.
George: You’re breaking up. It sounded like you said 150 a head.
Howard: No, no!
George: Good. I was about to kill myself.
Howard: It’s 250 a head.
But in reality, we aim to maximise impact for an achievable budget, and are always upfront and clear about costings. Across many of our events we turn a profit or surplus for our clients…and we wouldn’t ever push anything unnecessary, like perhaps swans waddling around the tulip border.
Myth: Event management is glamourous
Reality: Sampling menus, shopping for decor, networking with celebrities is the summary of our profession according to pop culture – thanks to Jennifer Lopez in ‘The Wedding Planner’. In real life we are more like ‘Oceans Eleven’ only there are no heists. The majority of the time we are working with tight budgets, short timelines, last-minute cancellations, outdoor installs in the bitter cold, 15 hour days. The profession does offer the opportunity to travel and meet very interesting speakers, so it’s understandable why those in a desk job may be envious!
Myth: Anyone can be an event organiser
Reality: Non-event professionals can throw a small gathering, but hey Baby George and his posse of two-year olds don’t have high standards. ‘I planned my own wedding’ you say, sure, but would you not rather have relaxed in those special days and not freaked out when Aunt Brenda decided she was a Fruitarian (subset of veganism – eats: fruits, nuts and seeds). Perfect, thanks Aunt Brenda. Event planning requires a range of skill sets, including creativity, accounting, and having a fantastic ‘Voice of God’ tone for cajoling your guests into different rooms (props to Director Catherine, who has a history of doing voice-over work, and can really command the room). Within the team, we’ve got a range of experience from venue management, association conferences, project management and we’d like to think that we’ve got some of the best in the business, the crème de la crème, from over 500,000+ event professionals working in the UK sector. See it is a real job; there are loads of us.
What we can summarise [WARNING: not-so-humble brag incoming] is that event organisers are some of the hardest working, efficient and skilled people in the whole world! While we might hang out in the green room with Steph McGovern, and have fun scoffing a few canapés during an event, we have a hard-working ethic, are meticulous planners and our clients benefit from our creative flair and commercial acumen.
I have been working in the events industry now for almost 15 years. I have delivered complex events in the North East of England (where I am based), UK wide, and Qatar in the Middle East.
From small workshops and dinners to enormous international petroleum congresses in Qatar and complex national Government events in the UK, I have delivered most types of B2B event in my career.
When people ask me what I love most about events, it often surprises them. It’s not actually the event itself – although that does gives me an enormous sense of achievement – it’s the business behind an event.
Strategy is key to any business, and the same goes for an event. An event without thought, planning or direction, will more than likely fail to deliver impact. Strategy is crucial. I absolutely love turning profits and surpluses for clients. A carefully planned and well thought through event, taking the aims and objectives from the client, creating something that delivers and exceeds expectations, is a must.
Anyone (sensible!) can take a budget, spend it on food, drinks and a room and get people there to listen to someone speaking. The key is finding how that event will deliver results for the client – whether that be buy in from staff, customer acquisition, income generation or something else entirely. How will the event be sustainable and become an annual fixture? How do you make sure your content is relevant? How do you make sure people want to attend? How do you make sure there is sponsor engagement? The answer is always – through being strategic and respecting your audience.
An engaged audience is surely what we are all aiming for. Otherwise what’s the point?
At BeaconHouse Events we have worked on many seed event ideas with our clients. Some literally start at zero. Nada. Nothing. No budget, no speakers, no location and no audience. Just an idea. I love the challenge of creating something from nothing. And making the event cover its costs and generate a surplus. It’s all in the strength of the idea, the contacts, the network and the knowledge of what the audience will want to hear – why will they come, what do they want to learn, do, see, hear and feel at an event?
All too often, the value of the audience’s time is underestimated; “it’s free to attend so people will come along, right?” Not right, not always. In fact, not charging people to attend an event often results in the audience not putting as high a value on the experience. With a price tag attached, your audience has to make a conscious decision to invest not only their time, but their money. People value their time perhaps even more than the money it costs them. If they won’t achieve what they personally want to from attending – learning, making new connections, sharing knowledge – they won’t come. Even if they have paid, even if you do put on a glass or two of wine. No-show rates for the events industry can be up to 40% for free of charge events, but still up to 25% for paid for ones. The more reason you give your audience to attend, the more likely they are to show up so the journey shouldn’t stop with them booking their ticket.
Money is of course critical to many businesses, events and clients. Events don’t necessarily need to make money, in fact for many of our clients it’s not about that. However, often, events do need to cover their own costs. Working out how an event can be monetised, and in turn deliver value to the sponsor, partner, attendee is really what makes me tick and in fact what keeps us in business! Here at BeaconHouse HQ, I proudly sport the ‘finance queen’ badge. I love number crunching, but without strategy, without understanding the business of your event you may as well give up before you’ve started.
There are plenty of small, simple things you do to conserve energy and run a greener office. From eco-friendly cleaning products to turning down the thermostat, we’ve been taking our top hacks for reducing our office carbon footprint and trying to improve our impact across the venues we host events at. Work continues within the team to find more sustainable solutions across the board, so we’ll be adding to our measures throughout 2019 and beyond.
Sustainability swaps we are taking are
Standby to OFF
We are all aware that standby isn’t great for the environment, but it’s also not the best for our wallets either – each year, UK households waste £227 million from appliances left on standby. So, we turn off all our appliances at the plug when not in use.
Single Use to Reusable
The lure of single-use plastic for quick food service is common but we’ve been asking venues to either ensure our delegates are served with crockery, or if required recyclable trays. We also ensure our pre-event delegate communications encourage bringing reusable cups/water bottles that can be filled up (and rinsed) at stations around the event
Meat to Veggie
Meat-free meals have a far smaller carbon footprint than meat, and the desire to eat closer to a plant-based diet is growing, so the venues we’ve worked with have been providing some exceptional veggie and vegan menus. When there is an expectation of a meat/fish course, we’ve been turning to game, wild fish, and poultry for feasts with a lower carbon footprint.
National to Local
We are spoilt in Newcastle for choice of suppliers, from eco-friendly printers Northern Print to a wealth of local food suppliers championing great produce (Hexhamshire Organics, Belly of the Beast), we don’t have to stretch out of the region and transport cargo across the world.
Taxis to Tours
Our events often include multi-site usage, and we’ve been championing informative and fun (we promise) walking tours to get delegates across cities to other venues. We can’t always promise the weather will be fine, but it’s a great extra networking and social activity for delegates visiting the city.
Programmes to Apps
Where possible, we’ve been reducing the production of any print, and moving programmes online with interactive apps, where delegates can organise the sessions they will attend, chat with delegates pre-event and keep up to date on the latest information.
Commercial Bins to a SINGLE Bin Bag
With our client Space Group, we’ve made a big (or rather small) commitment. To take a two-day conference with exhibition and awards ceremony, BIM Show Live, and reduce the waste from filling commercial bins to fill one, single, standard, the type you’d have at home, black, bin bag. Which means we are looking at every element of the event, ensuring we are reducing at every step from launch to delivery.
We’ll keep you updated on progress!
Now I shouldn’t need to explain why the North East is quite so special, from the majestic, turreted castle and grand cathedral in Durham, you get the perfect vantage point from the LNER train (only 2h 50mins from London) to the criss-cross illuminated footbridges connecting the cosmopolitan and historic Newcastle and Gateshead, and vast landscapes and picture-perfect castle-lined Northumberland coastline. I think I once saw Hogwarts Castle through the mist, I’m sure of it.
We’ll start with an obvious one. There are lots of reasons why the North East is an attractive proposition for anyone looking to host an event, product launch, conference or meeting – but one that gives event planners less of a headache in organising them is the mass of transport links across the region.
Need to fly there? Newcastle International Airport is only six miles northwest of Newcastle city centre, meaning that overseas guests have very little trouble traversing to the venues held within. With 80 direct destinations serviced, it’s not hard to believe that a lot of the passengers are there to attend one of the many events going on in the region.
It’s not just overseas guests that are helping fund the burgeoning Newcastle events scene. The city heavily benefits through Central Station connecting Newcastle to the rest of the country. The Metro service allows travel within the airport, Newcastle, coast and Sunderland.
Historically rich venues such as Newcastle Castle and the Boiler Shop have grandiose spaces to create a rich experience for guests. And as well as more traditional venues, NewcastleGateshead also plays host to quirky unusual venues such By The River Brew and Tyneside Cinema – not to mention the beautiful views from Sage Gateshead and the top floor at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.
The range of venues doesn’t stop there; we’ve hosted events in breweries, theatres, football stadiums, forests and pop-up events on carparks. The scene certainly isn’t ‘grim nor boring up North.
Of course, lots of cities have great public transport links and diverse venues, so surely that can’t be the only reason it’s so great for holding events? You’re right it’s not. But I raise you the famous warm Geordie Welcome. It may sound cliché, but it is true, Newcastle is the friendliest place on earth. We have museums, we have culture, we have restaurants of stellar quality (that won’t cost the earth), and the urban panorama of the bridges silhouetted against a rosy sunset is unrivaled.
If that hasn’t convinced you – we are certainly on a roll in the city, with Greggs opening the first Newcastle drive-thru. We know easily accessible sausage rolls (and vegan rolls) would tempt anyone to host their event in the land overseen by the Angel of the North.
If you are starting to notice droopy shoulders around the office, the question is how do you create an experience that your team won’t hate?
The most successful and memorable team-building events are the ones that are a complete contrast from a day at the office. That’s why becoming a farmer for a day (and eating like a king) at Hexhamshire Organics was the perfect organic bonding experience for us.
After rising with the dawn chorus, the team of intrepid explorers ‘Team BHE’ donned their wellies and travelled to Hexham, to Hexhamshire Organics. We were to spend an exclusive day with Bob, Ann, the ducks, the chicks and the Tamworth pigs!
Upon arrival we were greeted with a hearty farmhouse breakfast including organic, homegrown Tamworth bacon and sausages. It’s no wonder the Tamworth pork is sought after by the top chefs in the region. Cue a quick health and safety briefing and the story of the farm from Bob and we were stomping around the farm, taking in the sights.
Starting at the seven poly tunnels, housing an array of organically grown fruit and veg we were able to learn more about the procedure from seed to harvest, and the special organic methods to keep the pests at bay. Sampling fresh produce along the way, our particular favourites were the mustardy ‘Red Frill’ and lemony ‘French Sorrel’, which also magically appeared at the lunch table.
Ann had prepared a beautiful spread for lunch, a Tamworth gammon joint, herby roasted potatoes, some beautiful side salads, beetroot, roasted peppers, and the star of the show was a garden frittata made from the farm’s own hen eggs and freshly picked summer vegetables.
After one, two or three plates of lunch we were fueled up ready to herd the pigs! We had to work together to get the Tamworth’s from the field into the enclosure. After a few laps of the field, and a fair few trips into the undergrowth for one shy pig, we finally got the last pigs into the enclosure. Our communication skills, patience and determination were put to the test, and we have the photo evidence to prove it. The Tamworths are very intelligent creatures but alas not hugely compliant.
Next up we split into teams to take our pig to ‘show’. Bringing our chosen pig into the enclosure, we made sure she was content with a little snack and got to work on the full salon experience, washing every inch of the Tamworth, enquiring where she was planning on going on holiday, and then drying the fine specimens. It was now time to parade the pigs in their glistening finery show coats. Katie in her pristine white show coat and ‘Penelope’ pig were clear winners. It was great to have hands-on involvement in caring for the Tamworths, it certainly was a change of scenery from fielding delegate calls in the office.
After that physical exhaustion, we were treated to more of Ann’s delicious cooking, with a beautiful pavlova and chilled glass of rose. Although the work was not yet done! It was time to take a ride round the scenic orchard on the tractor to keep the grass trim. A fine method of transport, but back onto foot to round up the ducks and get the chickens to bed so we could collect their fresh eggs.
We ended the experience crowning the person who was most welcome to join Bob and Ann and work on the farm – well done Katie, and the person who should really stay in the city – commiserations Sarah! The experience comes highly recommended for teams wanting a day away from the office filled with fun, nature and learning.
What did we learn after a refreshing day in Hexhamshire?
Life truly is better at the farm.
Here at BHE HQ we are looking forward to another five years of highlights, thanks to all our clients and supporters, we couldn’t have done it without you.
You want to keep people apart
Events bring people together for a common purpose. Choosing to host an event will see you running the high risk of facilitating lasting relationships through networking. You and your team will be forced to build partnerships, meet prospects, and sell more products or services.
Inviting clients and prospects to an event they would genuinely be interested in; means they’ll be lured in by your non ‘salesy’ approach and unfortunately likely to accept your offerings. You’ll lumber yourself with a lot more work.
You’ll have to spend money and time
Champagne reception for your nearest and dearest clients, makes Joan in Accounts shudder. When you have an important message to communicate to a large audience of clients, employees or stakeholders, a simple email that they may, or more likely not read will probably suffice. Perhaps send it with the high importance exclamation mark, that might extend the attention span from the average eight seconds.
It will put your brand centre stage
Events command attention. If you’d rather your business was far from the limelight, it is essential to avoid this sort of commotion. An event will only encourage delegates to become company advocates and become further engaged in your brand. Sounds a bit clingy, better to keep them at an arm’s length.
People will be at risk of having fun
Keep morale at a consistent level by avoiding a yearly award show for employees or customers – winners are likely to have an unhealthy ‘spike’ in motivation and encourage others to aim to win in future years.
Make sure to put a stop to any staff conferences or seminars. Beautiful and alternate locations encourage inspirational and out-of-the-box thinking, no point causing an unnecessary distraction. Employees can meet colleagues in the break room and learn about innovations in their own time – engaging in refresher training is unnecessary.
Removing teams from the comfort of the office will encourage ‘over relaxation’ and cohesive working – consider the operational complexities of this before instigating, you will risk attracting new staff and regrettably retaining qualified staff for years and years.
Focus will be removed from your core business
Events require focus and expertise – you’re too busy being an expert in your own industry. Working with a national award winning event agency will just highlight a lot of hard work required to make your event a success. You’ll be forced to work with another team of experts, learn things you didn’t know, extend the reach of your expertise and showcase your skill. We get it, you were happy just cracking on, no point shouting about it – the day to day won’t do itself.
Be an event avoider – avoid the ocean of event opportunity, it is vast, deep and full of risk – best to stay safe, grounded and risk-free.
The inaugural CN Agency Awards took place on Thursday 21 March at London’s Cafe De Paris. The event was a glamorous celebration recognising the agencies that work behind the scenes of the events industry. After nominations in Best Small Agency and Client Team of the Year, we were awarded the trophy for Client Team of the Year, recognising our work with Dynamo North East. BeaconHouse work with the board at Dynamo to set up, launch, manage and deliver the inspirational Dynamo Conference, exclusive Board Members Dinner and hugely popular Dynamites Awards. Alongside managing the membership, BeaconHouse also organise Member Networking events and have helped shape and deliver a sustainable, thriving membership network, offering real benefit to members and the NE IT sector.
Every year C&IT recognises top talent under 35 years old in the A-List and BeaconHouse Director Catherine Coulter was selected for the class of 2019. Judges were impressed with Catherine’s story launching BeaconHouse Events in her twenties and growing the company to the go-to event agency in the North East. Recent clients include AkzoNobel, Dentsu Aegis, European Thyroid Association, True Potential, Great Run Company, Atomicon, The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and Great Exhibition of the North working with key stakeholders Accenture, Cisco and LNER. The BeaconHouse portfolio ranges from award ceremonies to outdoor festivals and international conferences featuring notable speakers such as Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England and Bruce Daisley, European VP for Twitter.
Speaking of the award wins, Catherine said “A fantastic achievement for the team at BeaconHouse – two wins which not only recognise our quality delivery for clients, but also acknowledge the work across the company, building a thriving Events Management Agency in the North East. We were so delighted to just be shortlisted, but these wins acknowledge the hard work put in by the whole team across the last 12 months, we are very proud to be based in Newcastle but making a national impact.’’
Before the biggest social media gurus were the ones flogging us skincare and fashion, but this new breed of influencer is more in favour of discussing the pros and cons of their favourite cleaner for scrubbing stains off the kitchen sink. Yes, Insta cleaning gurus are taking over as the ones to follow and double-tap, showing off their spotless homes and their techniques for how they did it.
Leader of the pack is Sophie Hinchcliffe, known to her many fans (1.6m, to be exact) as Mrs Hinch with her spick and span house and instructional Insta stories. And our obsession with learning tips and tricks to keep our houses clean shows no sign of slowing. Audiences have been captivated by Netflix’s latest cleaning show, ‘Tidying Up With Marie Kondo’, and we just can’t get enough.
Enter Cath Hindle from Clear The Clutter, the local answer to Marie Kondo, our regional organising expert. If you want to tackle the clutter that is holding you back, Cath is your woman. Cath helps clients reorganise their homes, and by extension, their lives. The purpose of Cath’s presence is simple: to make people feel happy in their homes. So if you are short on time, or money (there may be value in your ‘clutter’), and need a bit of helping hand you can to find the joy in decluttering. As you connect with the items you own, what is just stuff, and what things actually mean something, Cath gives you the tools to confirm how you feel about each item you own.
“Marie Kondo helps people to declutter by asking them if their items spark joy but I prefer the William Morris quote: ‘Have nothing in you house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.’ This sums up how I encourage my clients to think about their stuff and then provide them with the energy and strategies to organise it. It is the most satisfying of professions and one that I truly believe can make a huge difference to your living spaces, mental health, relationships and time.”
Clear the Clutter’s clients are a mixed bunch. From people wanting to make steps to move on after bereavement, people who are getting divorced, married or moving in with someone, people moving house, people downsizing, families moving loved ones into sheltered accommodation, people who are time poor and folks who need a bit of help with jobs or areas of their home or business that have got on top of them.
So, if you fancy trying a different version of self-care this year, get in touch with Cath at Clear The Clutter for a free consultation, she’s waiting to tackle your clutter and destroy your dumping ground so you can function freely.
We’ll BRB we just have a need to browse some thoroughly satisfying snaps of immaculately organised drawers and cupboards on Instagram.