Case study: Dynamo North East – Flying the flag for the North East tech economy

Dynamo is a membership organisation made up of tech companies, large North East employers, consultants, technology hubs, education providers, local government, and suppliers. Their mission is to achieve regional tech growth, promote the North East externally, develop skills and education, and support regional research and development and team at Dynamo believes that there is no limit to the North East’s tech potential. That’s where we come in. Ten years after BeaconHouse Events delivered the first-ever Dynamo conference, in 2023 we now curate and deliver a number of flagship events every year and have become a trusted partner of the Dynamo board and directors.

How it started

Dynamo was our very first BeaconHouse client back in 2014 and we have worked with the team ever since to deliver world-class events designed to grow and connect the North East tech scene, with a focus on collaboration, innovation, and skills. Back in 2014, the Dynamo founder approached us to develop and deliver their first annual conference.  ‘Dynamo 14’, was expected to attract 200 delegates, but a combination of vision, teamwork, persistence, and determination resulted in over 350 attendees coming together to discuss the future of the North East tech economy. Not only that, the BeaconHouse team delivered a programme of 80 speakers, doubled the sponsorship target, and created a complex and well-received programme that we have continued to build on year after year.

Flash forward and we have gone on to bring to life an increasingly busy events programme across the year, including the highly-anticipated Dynamites Awards, held right here in the North East each November.

What we deliver 

Across the year the Dynamo account team researches, develops, and delivers a wide range of events to excite, celebrate, and shout about the achievements of tech and IT businesses operating across the North East. This includes:

The Dynamites Awards     

Now in its 10th year, the annual Dynamites awards are a staple in the North East tech calendar. It’s a chance to celebrate the top talent in the North East’s IT and technology and regularly attracts over 500 guests, filling the Banqueting Hall at Newcastle Civic Centre. The team at BeaconHouse Events provides event marketing, guest booking and management, sponsorship generation and relationship management, budget management and cost control. Together with the management of the judging process, script writing, and production, production of staging and AV, venue management and liaison, and venue dressing. Months of planning go into making this a night to remember. In 2017 we introduced the ‘People’s Choice’ Award to the evening, putting the power in the hands of the regional community to choose their winner. The hugely popular online vote received almost 1300 votes in just 4 days, but it was host Daymon Britton who stole the show, stepping on-stage in a pair of orange speedos after a creative piece of theatrics thought-up by the BeaconHouse team left him ‘racing’ towards the event…

Year after year we challenge ourselves to outperform the previous event and ensure that the Dynamites have a lasting effect on the North East tech landscape.

Annual Dinner 

2023 heralded the 7^th (two missed due to Covid) Dynamo Dinner, and every year it has been the go-to networking event of the spring season in the tech community. With over 120 guests attending each year, the Dynamo Dinner is a true celebration of the North East’s thriving tech sector and a chance for guests to network and connect with others in the industry. Over the years we have taken over some of the most iconic venues in the North East, including The Mansion House, Wylam Brewery and Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art – creatively using each space to inspire people to share ideas, collaborate, and build new relationships. BeaconHouse is responsible for the execution of the event from start to finish, including finding the perfect venue, creating a vibrant menu, and curating experiences to surprise and delight guests throughout the evening.

Dynamo Conference

From 2014-2022 we worked with Dynamo to research, set up, launch, manage, and deliver the hefty annual conference in the Northeast. The event attracts hundreds of delegates each year from the region’s leading and growing IT and software companies, local councils, specialist professional services, universities/colleges, and other related industries to help shape the IT and tech sector in the region. Traditionally held in person, the conference shifted to a fully virtual approach in 2020 to allow for maximum engagement from Dynamo members across the region. Speakers and attendees were able to connect in the comments and during breaks take time to view the Expo booths and speed network. The content was recorded and made available shortly after the conference for delegates and members to experience all of the content from the day. Overall the team at BeaconHouse managed over 915 minutes of content, 77 speakers and over 200 attendees, and 10k impressions online it was a fantastic showcase for tech in the region! In 2021 we went for a hybrid format allowing people to come back together in smaller numbers, or join virtually to allow for maximum comfort and flexibility.

The evolution of TechNExt

In 2023, after 9 successful years of bringing the Dynamo community together, BeaconHouse led the strategy and vision to create a more impactful, more purposeful and more engaging festival for the north east tech sector. By creating the value proposition and pitching this to Dynamo directors the team secured headline sponsorship and curated and project managed a programme of events delivered across the north east region, over a week.

Sponsorship 

Alongside the delivery of the events, the team leads sponsorship generation for the larger events in the annual Dynamo programme, namely the Board Dinner, Conference, and Awards. The commercially successful nature of the key events that we deliver ensures the longevity of our relationship and gives the potential for further growth in the future, including expanding the cluster events programme to give even more people access to inspiration and ideas.

Due to the nature of the client’s work in the North East, most events are delivered here in the region. However, the impact of Dynamo on the tech landscape of the North East has meant that we have created events that have been hosted in London, including a Cluster Launch at The House of Lords!

Working together

As well as planning and delivering the Dynamo events portfolio, the BeaconHouse Events team supports on a strategic level and works alongside the Dynamo North East board to identify the vision and aims for each year, curating and evolving the event programming to fulfill the required achievements. The Dynamo team takes the lead from our experts and is incredibly receptive to new technology and innovations being incorporated into events, allowing us to push the boundaries of what is possible and deliver new and exceptional delegate experiences, even after a decade of working together. From evaluating events live using Sli.do technology to adding a Peoples Choice selection to the Dynamites Awards, the Dynamo confidently trusts BeaconHouse’s expertise and we can’t wait to see what the future has in store for our partnership.

What the client says 

“Tech has historically been thought of as a sector in and around London and Dynamo is here to change that assumption. There are such great companies and great success stories here in the North East and BeaconHouse Events play a key role in making sure that the region, the UK, and the rest of the world are paying attention.

“Over the past ten years, BeaconHouse Events has been integral in making Dynamo the success that it is today. They have established themselves as an indispensable extension of our team and continue to work closely with the board to craft a full programme of self-sustainable member networking events for 10 years. Two of the stand-out events BeaconHouse have taken from concept to delivery are the hugely anticipated Dynamo Dinner, and always sold out Dynamites Awards. Working closely with the Board, BeaconHouse has been instrumental in gaining additional funding for Dynamo, allowing the expansion of the core Dynamo team, and evolution of the North East tech calendar, including our major annual celebration – TechNExt.  .

Dynamo’s future includes an enhanced number of events to encourage networking and collaboration; more perks and benefits for members, and new attempts to get more people to celebrate the successes of the region’s tech sector we are excited to work with Sarah, Sophie and the whole BeaconHouse team as we continue that journey.”

David Dunn, CEO of Dynamo and Sunderland Software City