Univeristy of Glamorgan extends its links with SME buisnesses

University of Glamorgan’s Centre for Enterprise has announced, in its exclusive partnership with business event programme Real Seminars, that it will offer delegates a chance to receive a one day business appraisal to identify challenges and recommend possible solutions to aid the achievement of their goals.

This means that delegates to this unique programme of business events will get extra help in understanding what they need to do within an organisation to achieve growth and prosperity. News that is welcomed in a period where economic recovery is edged with warnings on the long term effects of the past 18 month recession.

Dr Gary Packham, Director of Enterprise at the University of Glamorgan said “We are really excited by what Real Seminars is setting out to achieve. By providing a platform where entrepreneurs and business owners can openly speak to experts and exchange knowledge gained from valuable experience, it can only aid the growth of South Wales economy and aid a rise in expertise in the region.” He continues, “The University of Glamorgan is a leading business academic institution, by utilising our skills we can help have a direct impact on this growth. Real Seminars offers us this connection to SME businesses that would not usually look to an academic institution for help.”

Vicky Semple, Director of Spot On events & communications, founder of the programme responded, “Not only are we pleased Glamorgan wanted to be a part of Real Seminars, but to offer such a valuable resource to SME businesses is fantastic, also it helps to set our programme apart from other business events.”

Real Seminars run bimonthly, each event is on a topic that has been chosen by delegates and the SME business community by public vote. The format is relaxed but highly effective by having key note speakers delivering information about what made an impact to their business. Each event is accompanied by a specially invited expert panel who host an open forum with the delegates and speaker.

The next event is “Expanding Times”, on 10th February at the University of Glamorgan’s Treforest campus. Paul Ragan of Collateral Thinking and a panel of experts will discuss successful business expansion methods. For more information and future events visit www.realseminars.co.uk

Tips To Make Your Festive Party Season Easy

So its Christmas, the season where you can literally party somewhere, with someone 24/7. From office & works parties, to client entertaining & industry events there are endless choices for festive fun. So we thought we would put some simple tips to help you make the most of the season:

1. Food orders. This is my absolute top tips of the season. If you have a pre-order selection at your venue, then take an up-to-date order sheet with you, or even better ask the venue to print place names with their order on it. This will save any confusion or unhappy guests.
2. Pre-order transport. Many taxi firms will block book at this time of year. If you know there is going to be an obvious end to the evening, pre-book at taxi or other forms of transport. It will save a lot of trouble wondering the streets flagging down black cabs & also the safety of your guests / staff
3. Keep to your budget. If your opening a tab at the bar, we all know everyone can get a bit carried away as the night progresses. So ask the venue to set a limit on your spend & give you a warning when you are within 20% of the limit. This way you can tell your guests to get one last drink in & thank them for coming. Dont worry the party wont stop, but at least they feel appreciated for the warning & you balance in January is healthier.
4. Dont book too much in. It’s tempting we know, but give yourself a break over the festive time. If your going to parties & lunches every day for a week you’ll soon lose that festive feeling.
5. Use Christmas to reward & incentives. At your works Christmas do, don’t think about the gossip potential, think about how you can use the event to say a proper thank you to colleagues & staff. If you show your appreciation or try to incorporate some team aspects you’ll find in the New Year everyone will enjoy going back to work.

So have fun, if you want some help this year or pre-book next years party, then we would be happy to help. Drop our festive fairy Vicky a line at vicky@spotonec.com or visit www.spotonec.com to see what else we do to help businesses get their events & PR Spot On.

“’tis the season for a jolly, tra-la-lala”

Scouts needing a fresh look to recruit adult volunteers – so we are helping

A new client has come on board and its less Dyb Dyb Dyb but more adventure with this one.

Working with close design & advertising associates we are very excited at Spot On!
From the Penarth Times Sat 14th Nov: “Scouts go on the market”

A TRIO of advertising agencies have been hired to boost the fortunes of a Penarth scouting group.

A consortium led by Penarth-based Folio Typographics, on Coleridge Avenue, and Cardiff firms Designdough and Spot On Events & Communications, is behind a plan to help attract members to the Penarth District Scouts.

Their brief is to produce a marketing campaign aimed at increasing the number of adult volunteers from Penarth, Cogan, Llandough, Dinas Powys and Sully.

Other events include a re-branding exercise, a new website supplying local and regional PR, outdoor advertising and organising a scouting adventure in May 2010.
You can read the full story here: http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/news/4732540.Scouts_go_on_the_market/

So we are running the PR & designing an adventure event that will encourage adults to discover the adventure side of Scouting & signing up to help local groups.

More information will be posted over the campaign period. So for now “we will promise to do our best…”

WOW Real Seminars Makes A Difference

Well its been a week since Real Seminars launched & we are still getting glowing reports from the delegates.

The concept is simple! Real businesses giving Real experiences of the event topic in question. Then we introduce an expert panel to debate & deliver their own experiences & recommendations.

The first event was on collaboration, featuring Tom Ware of Welsh broadcast company Rondo Media. Tom spoke of his plans to collaborate with competitor companies from Wales to have more market strength in the highly lucrative but competitive US television market.

The panel was heavy weight entrepreneurial, corporate & academic stong with Paul Ragan of Collateral Thinking, Matt Burge of COMMSCORP, Gerald Hughes of Sony UK and Dr Gary Packham Director of Enterprise at University of Glamorgan.

The panel encouraged delegates to think about what can be gained out of a collaborative business. There are risks but there is more to be gained, through knowledge share, pool of resources as well as the economic force. 

Delegate feedback suggest that several delegates have now either considered a collaboration with another company or have gained insights that will make a difference for their current working practices.

To find out more about Real Seminars go to www.realseminars.co.uk the next event will be in February 2010 & we are asking businesses to choose the topic for that event at www.realseminars.co.uk/topic-section/

Real Seminars was the concept of Spot On e&c’s director Vicky Semple said “the idea came from attending many types of seminars to aid the establishment of my company. I was often left unenthused by what I listened too, left confused as the speaker was not relevant to my situation or indeed ended up being sold too” she continues “this programme will actually be the real experiences or companies in the SME market place, which will inspire others in a similar position to take action and improve.”

Working with the University of Glamorgan there are 4 events planned for this season, then to move forward with a regular programme. The idea is this programme will sit within the South Wales business community & serve as a point of information & resource on best practice methods in business.

The Real Seminar Team, Speaker & Panel

Spot On launches Real Seminars

Real Seminars launch Western Mail 07/19/09

Originally uploaded by semplevictoria

We have been busy working on a new business seminar programme with support from the University of Glamorgan Centre for Enterprise, Real Seminars.

The programme involves real businesses sharing real information about real issues they have faced in business with a very real business audience. The programme of 4 events kicks off on 10th November at the Atrium in Cardiff with Tom Ware of Rondo Media talking about collaboration projects with his competitors to be in a marketable position in the lucrative North American broadcasting market.

We’ll post more information about the programme in the coming weeks, but for more info and to sign up to attend the event go to www.realseminars.co.uk

What would make you volunteer for a good cause?

So we are all touched by events that cause others suffering in one way or another, be that illness, natural disasters or poverty. Only a small percentage of people will actively go out of their way to make a difference, where as the majority will donate a little money and the rest just block it out of their head.

So the question is what moves you to make a difference?

Oxfam last TV ad campaign (2008) started to look differently on how we respond to calls for help from charities. They moved away from the images of depression, disease and famine that the general public are just over exposed too. The campaign success was a matter of opinion for many (personally just didn’t like the advert) But it leads me to think, what makes me want to give…

Usually its what is in it for me? Will I feel good for getting involved? Is there a commercial opportunity through PR etc & how easy is it to give (giving is time as well as money).

Do I need shocking? Do the images charities and organisation usually use actually shock me into acting – No. As said before we are over exposed to these images and our brains can easily be distracted by something more positive rather than dwelling on the negative.

Do I need inspiring? Yes, something is needed to capture my imagination. When we took part in a Barnardo’s corporate fundrasing gig, it was because the activity appealed to me. It was an Apprentice style challenge or making money on one day with a business idea – well sign me up was my reaction as soon as I had the email.

Basically this is my ramblings of  trying to get down into the cracks of human nature, what makes us tick in order to give something for a ‘good cause’. It would be great to get some responses on what makes you take that decision to help an organisation, so feel free to comment.

To conclude – my ramblings – I personally feel that appealing to the individual makes you take action. What ever motivates me in live will motivate me to give up my time for a good cause.

Blown the aftermath

Well well, blown magazine is officially launched and in style too!

The launch happened on Monday, where we had 150 guest experience highly visual performances from Jaakko, Tim Bromage, Paul+a and Victorian English Gentleman’s Club.

We all had so much fun, especially at the after party in Buffalo, where Ed Pereira and Eddie Chave treated us to some mashups on the decks and Geraint P and We Know Mason wowed us with live music. I met up with the Art Director of the mag today at another business event and we compared tiredness notes (after party rocked on till the early hours).

Check out my rather rushed pics from the night and rock on London’s 1st blown party.

Blown is available from next week at Borders stores across the UK and specialist outlets – go on grab a copy and treat yourself to some ‘cultural intellegence’.

Meet the Blown team

The amazing Jaakko

End of the beautiful Tim Bromage piece

Just a little shot of the guys up for a party on a Monday night

Blown launch

We are running the blown magazine launch event next Monday and I can actually say I haven’t been this excited in a long time. One of those events that made me smile from the moment I had the brief - has the usual event management trials and logistical tribulations that comes with the territory, but nothing that doesn’t take the smile off my face, not one second of it, its been a joy to work on.

So we have a formal launch, with live performances, speeches, plenty of wow factors and importantly the right people coming. Then we have the After Party, which is all about letting your hair down and whats fantastic is that everyone, yes even you, are invited to come along. Buffalo in Cardiff from 8.30pm. Only restriction is on how much fun you want to have on a Monday night!

So blownis a brand new biannual high brow arts magazine, covering performance art, fashion, music, art, design, photography, art festivals and exhibitions. Its beautifully designed and its essence is ‘cultural intellegence’ – giving first person reactions and commentary on every article, it is a great read as well as looking amazing on your coffee table.

So i’ll update you after the launch, put some pics up and let you know how it goes. blown gets is Spot On that’s for sure

Look up if your in Bala this week

The Blimp ready for lift off

Originally uploaded by wilstephens

Check out this blimp baby! Hoping for a dry low wind day today to launch it ready for the Dewin launch event at this years Eisteddfod.

Spot On did the Health & Safety reports (lots of them) & organisation of the clients’ team to put this blimp up. It took alot of work but it will be worth it. Well dont Cube for the design & all things Dewin!

If your in Bala this week take a look at the sky line you will not miss it!

The Big Bang, product launch theory

When launching a new product or service you want everyone to know about it, right?! There are so many messages, new products all pitching for exposure it may be hard to be heard out there.

To create a ’bang’ is just that - touching the people who will buy the product or service. Launch events, well any event really, are a gathering of people who are already interested in what they are attending - which makes them a captive audience! Use this wisely, you wouldn’t attend an event you had no interest in, so they are likely to buy your product/service, they might be looking for more information, or indeed a reason not to buy.

So, create consistent messages that all employee’s & marketing material give out, you are the face(s) of the product/service become the product/brand/service at the event. If its a youthful product, then be youthful – no stuffed shirts & aged board members, if its a professional service, then be professional, get the suits out, if its a electrical product, then make sure there are enough sample areas and talk gadets with people, see where I am going with this…

Give demonstrations, have your audience interacting with the product, sample it. The more a person can find out information and experience something for them selves the more they will convince themselves of its necessity in their lives. And also talk about it after the event to other potential customers…

So you can create a literal ‘big bang’ at the launch by spending lots of money on special effects, high profile venues and free drink, but really what you need is to spend the money on getting the right people to your event! After all you have probably invested time, money and resource in getting your product ready for market, don’t waste it on irrelevant people/ hangers on!

Where is your audience going to be found? B2B launches oftern take place at exhibitions and conferences – go a little further than just booking a stand, could you run a seminar to put your self as a figure of authority? Host a special event there, which is promoted through the exhibition organisers “12pm dancing cars to launch robotic systems new…” – its a one off show that gets people to your stand and to understand your product and they will talk about it well after the exhibition doors are closed. Create a BUZZ!

Also remember where they are, if your golden invite list are in Leicester, don’t launch in London because it seems ‘cooler’ – they wont travel just for you, unfortunately.

Make your audience feel if they are not at your launch then they are really missing out! What are the real benefits of them coming.

Use PR, but spend the time priming the media about your product – talk to them don’t just send a press release out under embargo, do you know how many they receive daily! Get them to buy into your product, give them a sample, if its the right media they will take your product directly to your audience.

Budgets -  Think about how much a new client is worth in your business lifetime? How much money would you pay to get that new client? 20% of their lifetime spend with you? 50% maybe. Well at your launch you are doing just that.

The Big Bang product launch theory is all about getting the right audience to your event, do that and your produce/service will certainly start life with a bang!