What I learned from a week placement at BeaconHouse Events

Posted on February 3, 2020 by Sophie_Admin

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!

Directors Blog: The Business of Events

Posted on November 26, 2019December 2, 2019 by Sophie_Admin

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.

Making BeaconHouse Events a little greener…

Posted on September 30, 2019October 1, 2019 by Sophie_Admin

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!

Five Years, Five Defining Events…

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Sophie_Admin

And so the adventure began when we delivered our first event with BeaconHouse Boss caps on… The 2014 Family Law Bar Association National Conference and celebratory dinner in the iconic Sage Gateshead. After glowing client feedback, the first step on this orange-hued journey began.
Entertaining 24,000 Great North Run enthusiasts and serving over 1 tonne of carb-a-licious pasta all on a car park between Sage Gateshead and Baltic, seems impossible but we’ve done it every year since our inception! With the likes of Mo Farrah and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall in attendance, it’s the hottest place for runners (and those exhausted from watching the runners) to grab a bowl of nourishment the day before the big run.
A real highlight in 2018 was our first collaboration with Wayne Hemingway MBE and HemingwayDesign, working to deliver the Northern Powerhouse Business Summit as part of the Great Exhibition of the North. With sessions from Mark Carney, Bank of England, and innovative customer UX design, the event welcomed 1,000 delegates from across the North East. There was an incident with an errant pigeon, but as cool, calm collected swans we made sure not a drop of faeces made it onto the esteemed shoulders of our speakers.
We produced an award-winning award ceremony. Yes, you read that right, the Dynamites 18 event won Bronze at the Awards Awards earlier this month. Championing the IT community in the North East has always been important to us, working with Dynamo, but to be recognised nationally for an event that is a pleasure to organise, its winners all round, literally.
The promotion of sustainability a key goal for us. We are thrilled to now work with The Planet Mark, producing their events across London. We are not naive about the effect of events on the environment, so learning from the team at The Planet Mark, we are able to take steps across our portfolio to minimise the negative impact and promote a sustainable vision for the years to come.

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.

5 Reasons you should NOT host an event

Posted on May 8, 2019 by Sophie_Admin

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.

6 Great Reasons to Volunteer in 2018

Posted on February 1, 2018April 11, 2019 by Sophie_Admin

What’s that? You just heard about this great new series to watch…here’s why you should give up your time instead…

1.ENHANCE YOUR CV

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Your employment prospects will immediately improve, FACT.

Who do you think is getting an interview for that job? Elmo with a one page CV, no experience but ‘likes socialising’ or Anita with volunteering experience at three high profile events including the UK’s LARGEST Pasta Party?

“Oh hello Anita, what’s that? Strong with two sugars…no problem” *Anita settling into her new job.

2. LEARN NEW SKILLS

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You will learn new skills working on events. If you like filing that’s fine, but you could be honing your customer service skills on registration, greeting international speakers with a winning smile, making a dent in your 10,000 steps doing stage management, access to restricted events, learning how backstage events operate or gaining knowledge from inspirational industry speakers…for free.

3. BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE

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Trying something new by taking on an event volunteer role will expand your horizons, give you a sense of pride and identity, and leave you beaming, glowing or perhaps perspiring after a shift with a great event team.

4. YOU’LL MEET PEOPLE AND MAKE FRIENDS

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We hire friendly. We are a friendly bunch and so are the rest of our recruits it’s a prerequisite. You’ll meet likeminded people and bond over shared experiences. Unless your middle name is ‘Lazy’, we know you’ll fit in.

5. IT’S FUN

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We event hard and party (eat left over conference buffet) harder.

6. IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH

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No, seriously! Research has found that volunteering can boost your immune system and help you sleep better (not just from exhaustion)!

It can be hard to know where to begin if you’ve never volunteered for an event.

Fortunately, we can steer you in the right direction. We offer opportunities to work on a wide range of events from glittering VIP dinners, conferences, exhibitions, festivals (film to wildlife!) and everything in between. We’ll be able to match you with an event that suits your availability and interest area. Volunteering doesn’t have to be a full-time commitment; the odd shift when you are available really makes a difference.

At BeaconHouse Events we take your privacy seriously and will only use your personal information to administer your account for volunteering opportunities. Your details will not be shared for marketing purposes.

The BeaconHouse Guide to Making Newcastle Your (event) Home…

Posted on January 11, 2018April 11, 2019 by Sophie_Admin

We love organising events in and around this beautiful city but if you are contemplating Newcastle as a location for your conference, meeting, AGM or event our city guide has everything you need to know to affirm the ‘toon’ is the perfect backdrop for your event. Let us guide you…

Seven bridges connect Newcastle and neighbouring Gateshead, offering people a great place to live, work and visit. The birthplace of Byker Grove and Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner (whom non-Geordies may know better as Sting) to the world-famous Greggs pasties, you simply can’t say no to the welcoming native accent. Along with a rich heritage of industry and innovation all whilst being passionate about the future, it is obvious why so many want to ‘gan yem’ to the toon.

With the likes of Sage Gateshead, The Boiler Shop, an array of hotels and other unique venues there are plenty of options to choose from. The fantastic transport links by road, rail and air allows easy access into the city so we are ready to welcome everyone flocking up the A1. You’ll see, it ‘aint grim up North.

NEWCASTLE CASTLE is a must see steeped in 800 years of history (don’t forget to exit via the gift shop).

If you fancy donning a hard hat and travelling beneath the city, book THE VICTORIA TUNNEL tour, a mineshaft-cum air raid shelter is truly extraordinary, but not for the faint of heart.

GRAINGER MARKET covers all your shopping needs, butchers, bakers, a Marks & Spencer Penny Bazaar, patisseries, florists, delicatessens and street food galore.

If you have a thing for tile floors the CENTRAL ARCADE is an Instagram worthy stop off.

WYLAM BREWERY or its full title The Palace of Arts, is a microbrewery hosting gigs, food fests and tours, don’t miss.

The reet canny TYNESIDE CINEMA is unique in the UK, with free Newsreel screenings every day at 11:15 and delicious popcorn to boot.

THE LIT AND PHIL is the perfect spot to take a moment and settle into a book, be inspired by their collection of over 150,000 works of literature in beautifully historic surroundings.

No trip to the North East would be complete without a photo at THE ANGEL OF THE NORTH, spread your wings and #Selfie.

Take a route straight through what is known as parklife…or JESMOND DENE, Lord William Armstrong a Victorian manufacturer kindly diverted a river through the valley and planted the gardens, so we could have a place of outstanding natural beauty in the city.

We love stotties and Broon Ale, but we have so much more to offer in terms of bait. At the COOK HOUSE, you can have lunch in a shipping container which comes with the seal of approval from Michel Roux Jr. Or if you fancy dining in the banqueting hall where Edward III received John Balliol in 1334 then BLACKFRIARS is perfect for locally sourced fare. We have a Michelin starred restaurant (yeah you heard Manchester!), the fantastic HOUSE OF TIDES serves delectable tasting menus on the quayside. PEACE & LOAF gets a mention thanks to the plethora of snacks served along with your meal, mini loaves, amuse bouche, canapés, and palate cleansers, this is fine dining just a little bit cooler and chilled out. And for views we can’t miss out SIX, see the Tyne in its full glory from the sixth floor of the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. We have the best burgers at MEAT:STACK, sensational Chinese at HEI HEI and authentic Neapolitan pizzas at CAL’S OWN. Pack your stretchy trousers.

Radio 4 listeners applaud our beautiful Georgian GREY STREET as the most beautiful in the UK crowned at the top with Grey’s Monument. It is full of restaurants and bars, most notably you can become a gin connoisseur with a visit to DECANTUS and PLEASED TO MEET YOU just off Grey Street, two bars dedicated to the distilled tipple and a great start to any neet out on the toon.

Dates for your Diary

Rolling out the red carpet NEWCASTLE FILM FESTIVAL is set to be a blockbuster of an event this Easter 29 March – 1 April.

If you fancy a day trip, or want to have a wild weekend travel further afield and get WILD AT KIELDER 6 – 7 May

With just a few tit bits having been released, we can’t wait for the full programme of GREAT EXHIBITION OF THE NORTH, 22 June – 9 September.

Start training now and get your place in the world famous GREAT NORTH RUN, Sunday 9 September.

Need to know

Climate: Cold* with a warm welcome
Currency: Pund
Religion: Majority worship at the Church of Shearer
Language: Geordie
When to visit: Any day of the year, we are always open!

*A coat is never required and will culturally be better accepted.

Event Management in Newcastle: A day in the life of an Event & Marketing Manager

Posted on November 1, 2017April 11, 2019 by Sophie_Admin

Over the past month I have been planning for an international film festival, worked onsite at an #OfficeRocksNE networking event, overseen marketing activity for various charity events, as well as seeking out new venues. Venue finding is such an important element, the clients we work with expect the best and we deliver. If Carlsberg did venue searches…

My day usually starts at around 8.45am. I begin by checking through emails and tasks via our project management software Basecamp. I have quite a task list to get through today. Firstly, I need to send out some enquires to suppliers. I am researching award trophies for the aforementioned Newcastle Film Festival. It is a blockbuster of an event which was dreamed up a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away by the inspirational Jacqui Miller-Charlton, and trust me it’s going to be out of this world. The date for your diary is 29^th March – 1^st April 2018. I’m so excited for you to see what the team has been planning and you can find out more on the website.Once I find a supplier suitable for the job of creating awards to rival the Oscars, we’ll send a proposal to the client to choose from with our recommendations.

Next, I pop my marketing hat on (it’s sparkly – naturally). We are currently recruiting for a couple of new positions, Event Coordinator and a maternity cover Event Manager, so I’m making plans on how we will advertise. I take time to create content that can be used over social media and in a newsletter to the team of lovely volunteers and event staff we’ve worked with on previous events. (Deadline is Wednesday 8 November if you are on the hunt)

LUNCHTIME!

Morning over and it’s lunchtime. We are based at Hoult’s Yard, so enter – Yard Food. Their ‘sammiches’ and soups are the hearty fuel that fires the BeaconHouse team engines.

2pm: This afternoon I’m looking at a newsletter for a charity event we produce with The Chronicle Sunshine Fund, Celebrity Question of Sport,. It will be held at the Hilton NewcastleGateshead on the 30^thNovember with some pretty special guests. I create some copy for the newsletter, edit a template that my colleague Bex, the Event Manager on that project had already started, then send over for final approval. We’ll schedule the newsletter to hit that afternoon or for mid-morning the following day as we are targeting a list of business emails.

Tonight we have the #Dynamites17 Award Dinner, my colleagues have been onsite at the venue all day. I’m heading over at 4pm to lend a hand. I’ll be taking over the client’s social media to live tweet the winners. Before leaving the office, I flag any emails that need a response tomorrow and update Basecamp, satisfyingly ticking off tasks completed, and updating any outstanding duties.

Upon arriving at Newcastle Civic Centre I get stuck in with the team, adding the finishing touches to the tables, making sure each setting is perfect. Then we take a moment check off all jobs on the event schedule led by Clare who is running this event. Next up it’s the ever-so-glamorous quick change in the loos to be ready to receive sponsors, award shortlistees and guests to the event.

Once the champagne reception is complete and guests are sitting, the first accolades are awarded. I observe the action in the room and provide commentary on twitter and engage with conversations occurring on the event hashtag. Twitter is excitingly busy with chat regarding the hosts spectacular on-brand orange suit! Being super organised, I have all sponsor and potential winner tags ready to go as it’s essential we tag the correct accounts in a timely manner. Dinner is served to the guests and the events team re-group upstairs for some slightly less fancy fare. At this point I’m able to excuse myself, while my colleagues continue providing onsite management and merriment until the early hours.

Working in events isn’t for everyone. You need to gear up for seriously hard work, have a level head, expect the unexpected, don some comfy heels…but wow… it also has its perks, seeing your client smile after a year of preparation, working in amazing spaces, learning new skills every day, being part of a team that really cares about what they do, NEVER having the Sunday blues, and the FREE food helps! It certainly is the job of a lifetime for a to do list loving type like me.