The Greatest Show Conference!

No. of delegates: 500

Location: ICC Wales

Event type: Two day conference and exhibition

Industry: Construction

Event objectives:

We have been fortunate enough to work with this client for over a decade. Together, we’ve worked to deliver incredible events that continue to get bigger and better each time. In previous projects, we’ve created a cruise ship themed experience, hosted in the Cunard Building in Liverpool, featuring a brass band, roaming dancers, and state of the art decor and lighting. We’ve also crafted a festival for this client, creating a hall of fame worthy line up of tribute acts, as well as incorporating virtual elements to this experience too. Each of these events had a long lasting impact on attendees who were left wanting more, but we took this client legacy to the next level with the 2022 conference.

As a buying group, events like this annual conference are extremely important for this client. To ensure that this event was as effective and impactful as possible, our event planning and execution process was guided by 3 core objectives:

To create the space for attendees to come together, connect and network.
To provide opportunities for our client to showcase their range of products to both clients and partners to find contacts to follow up with after the event.
To impress. After a very successful year within the industry, this client had cause for celebration. So we knew we needed to pull out all the stops and make sure this client’s team and contacts knew just how much they were appreciated.

Event overview:

Taking place at the ICC Wales, this conference wasn’t just the place for attendees to work hard, it was an opportunity for them to play hard too. Our event struck the perfect balance of selling, marketing and strategising with plenty of fun, games and entertainment thrown in the mix too.

The first day started with engaging and inspiring conference sessions, followed by an epic Back To The Future themed welcome party! The client went all out to wow and entertain their guests with retro arcade games, a silent disco, robot wars, and even a crystal maze experience where attendees used logic and teamwork to collect gold tickets and win prizes. All of these blasts from the past were the perfect ice breakers for our attendees, enabling them to create shared memories and experiences together.

Building on the contacts made during their Back To The Future experience, attendees were able to spend the second day building on these relationships. Throughout the day they networked together, interacted with the suppliers being showcased throughout the conference, and became immersed in the latest products and offers within the industry.

To close two fantastic days, guests were invited to end the conference with a bang: ‘The Greatest Show’. Upon entry to the evening’s experience, guests were welcomed by magicians, dancers, singers, acrobats, fire eaters, stilt walkers and aerial dancers. In order to create this immersive experience, which dropped jaws the moment attendees stepped into the room, the First Event team transformed the bare venue into an authentic circus arena. Our in-house technical and design teams created this authentic look with draped ceilings, hanging banners, and perfectly designed props and lighting.

Results:

The conference was a resounding success. At multiple points throughout the event, many of the delegates spoke of what an incredible job we had done in order to pull off an event of such ambition to such a high standard and without a hitch. Each of the 3 client objectives were met, making the 2022 conference the biggest and most extraordinary one yet. Within the space of two days, these guests were taken Back To The Future and on a trip to the circus to see The Greatest Show, all whilst connecting with industry experts.

This client will be heading back to the ICC Wales in 2024 for their next event, giving us plenty of time to get creative, crafting another unique experience for the delegates of 2024.