Roadshows were a big hit up until 2019, then we had a
two-year, Covid-enforced hiatus, but now they seem to be back, bigger than ever,
explains Simona Negretto, national conference and event manager, Vue
Conferences & Events…
With the demand of face-to-face events still being at an
all-time high, it seems that businesses are realising the roadshow is a great
way to embrace everyone in the business and deliver the latest news and
strategy forecasts in a very concise fashion.
Roadshows can take a couple of formats, from moving the same
event to a different location, giving each locality a relevant focus or having
the same event at different locations at the same time, even linking them
together with hybrid capability.
This is a highly sustainable format withdrawing the need for
a vast amount of travel and hotel accommodation.
A case in point
The affordable housing construction company Gleeson realised
this with their autumn roadshow becoming a guaranteed date in the diary each
year.
Prior to new marketing director Amanda Parkinson joining
Gleeson in late 2019, the business hadn’t entertained the idea of a multi-site
event. Parkinson organised a broadcast conference in January 2020 with a second
streamed in February 2021 to all the regional offices.
In September Gleeson transformed the concept and staged a
live three venue roadshow in Darlington, Blackburn and Sheffield. Here, 800
staff were split into three divisions and the same format was copied from one
venue to the next. Using just half a day, each event began with a hearty
breakfast of bacon rolls, pastries, plenty of fresh fruit and a caffeine fix of
tea and coffee.
This broke the ice and encouraged natural networking from
the senior team with regional staff and ground workers. A company update
combined with regionally relevant news followed, with presentations from the
management team shown on the big screen.
Regional managing directors then presented their successes
and achievements, and staff engagement awards were given to deserved teams at
the relevant sites.
“It’s the perfect format. Our chief executive is very much a
people person, and this allows him and all the senior management team to chat
to everyone on an equal level in each region. All the employees really enjoyed
this aspect, and it shows the far-reaching magnitude of such events.” said Parkinson.
“It’s worked so well for us. The cinema setting is
exceptional for a road-show format. The seating is comfortable, everyone can see
the speakers and the big screen gives presentations a real ‘wow’ factor,
particularly the videos, making the whole experience utterly amazing for
everyone.”
