Last week we were thriving against the odds: sheltered from the torrents of rain and gales force wind inside The Lady Eastwood Centre working at The Newark Well Being Show. There is no need to repeat the tens of accolades: The show was superb, and none will dispute what The Community achieved.
My feeling was we achieved more than a fantastic event. For the first time in three years, I could ‘feel’ the connected vibes of the show. Ian commented on the felling of Community as he walked the floor, taking photographs and recording interviews. What counted was the opinion of Community Members whose weekend was somewhat slow. Not a one saw the show as anything other than a success. They see the bigger picture: and most beautiful of all, The Community know they are the Well Being Show.
When speaking to Visitors one question asked is: “Will you visit all of our events?” and many answered with a “Yes”. A London Visitor said she has already booked train travel for Lincoln, Nottingham and Newark for the rest of the year. While writing about travelling to the show, Visitor reach over the 15 +16 February weekend was: London. Cumbria. Oxford and Chester.
Goodness knows what the attendance would have been had the weather faired better! Ian thought we’d have hit the magic four figures. And many Community Members agreed with the speculation. All that remains to write is: “Thank you to everyone who braved the weather, the rain hammered down and the winds were relentless inevitably roads were blocked, and many took incredible detours to be with us”. Not one Community Member failed to attend. Nigel of Aura Fusion had a medical issue on Thursday and could not travel after his operation. All of us wish Nigel a speedy recovery.
Nottingham Well Being Show:
I’m pleased to comment this will be a full house this will be a superb Well Being Weekend for Visitors. We wonder if many of the Visitors who could not attend the 15 + 16 February Newark weekend will travel to Nottingham. This is a strong possibility, especially as so many Visitors comment they will attend all our shows this year.
As you know: Nottingham is a difficult nut to crack. We certainly saw consistent attendance at the first Jubilee Conference Centre Well Being Show. So The Community should build on the foundations laid last year.
Of course, you can count on new and innovative table plans to help with the attendance and flow of the show. Talk, workshop and presentations number fifty in total: so, there is plenty of reasons for Visitors to attend The Nottingham Well Being Show.
One area of growth is The Children’s Activity Area: Comments on the Children’s Activity Area are growing and fantastic. This Visitor asset is increasing in popularity. I love setting up the tables: However, packing away is even better: The children leave brilliant pieces of art behind. Pictures of family and friends are many, as are representations of cars, homes, schools and holidays. I’m putting thought in expanding the asset. Any suggestions would be welcome.
Promotion for The Nottingham Well Being Show is extensive and relentless. We have enjoyed plenty of interest from the mailing list send-outs. Incidentally, the list was verified in January and we were surprised to see a small loss of fewer than one-hundred leads. And we now receive very few ‘unsubscribes’ from mail-outs. The two factors indicate a keen interest in the Well Being Shows. 2020 should see the list rise to over ten-thousand in number: Three years ago the listing provided by Annie was verified and the number crashed from fifteen-thousand to five! Regrowth of the list is evidence of new and rising Visitor figures over the last three years. Jon is working tirelessly to promote the show with flyers in the Nottingham area. The initial print run of ten-thousand is exhausted, and another five-thousand will be pushed out over the next two weeks.
We no longer use any form of local magazine advertising. We kept a sharp, focussed lens on Visitor awareness of the shows during 2019. Visitors attending Well Being Shows from magazine advertisement was almost zero. The investment of £1500:00 in this media is a waste of resources. Readers may be interested to know banners are not as productive as imagined! However, we continue to use larger banners pre-show at our events: and not for the reason of promotion: the banners are more for directions on the day. So expect to see banners at venues well ahead of time where permitted. We cannot put banners up early at the Jubilee or Epic Centre; although, specific roadside and the venue’s promotional packages are used to the full.
One last comment:
If you have not listened to our Friday podcast, I urge you to do so: Anyone who doubts the influence of The Community or how our precious Visitors perceive the shows will learn about the progress being made: Listen HERE
So that’s this week’s thoughts and insights. Thank you for being part of The Community: whether Visitor or Community Member you are creating a unique and loved Well Being Experience.
See You Soon
Liz
Liz Clark – MD LizianEvents Ltd
