ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Last month we set off on the Autumn / Winter leg of the Department for Education’s Get Into Teaching roadshow.

‘Roadshow’ is a term widely used in the events industry but it got us thinking what are all the ingredients of the roadshow format.

Obviously not all roadshow events are the same, just as exhibitions, conferences and award ceremonies differ so do roadshows. But they do have core commonalities and features. As the name suggests, the event hits the road, often travelling around the country, continent or even the world.

Moving from venue to venue each event is broadly the same in terms of format and content. So does that make it a bit boring? Well, no. Each venue presents different opportunities and challenges, even when returning to the same venue year after year things change and it’s never quite the same. And then there are the event participants and attendees, rarely the same crowd and therefore there are different dynamics, expectations and challenges.

But what exactly does planning a roadshow involve?

From sourcing venues, checking capacities and accessibility, organising AV, room layouts, additional space required for storage, cloakrooms, organisers office and of course then all important toilet facilities. Logistical considerations include get in / out times, set and breakdown, access lifts, attendee registration points, briefing of key teams, organising accommodation and transport – phew it’s actually quite a long list and there is plenty more to add to it.

We always insist that our teams arrive at least 3 hours before each event opens to attendees, checking and double checking that everything is as we need it to be and that we are all set to hit the road.

And on that note, we are off to Norwich today, followed by London, Southampton, Bristol, Newcastle and Leeds.