office* show attracts record visitors!
London’s Earls Court was buzzing with activity last week as 3,675 PAs, EAs, Office Managers, and senior administrative staff flocked to the second office* event for two action-packed days of business, education, networking, and fun.
The show’s opening day, Thursday 15 September, enjoyed record visitor numbers and office*‘s the pink-carpeted aisles were packed as thousands of office professionals converged to celebrate the UK’s first annual National PA Day together. That, combined with the grand unveiling of the results of the 1st annual National PA Survey, which provided a positive ‘snapshot’ of how Britain’s PAs view their role in the workplace, certainly gave the Twittersphere plenty to talk about and comments from visitors, exhibitors and speakers helped to spread the excitement of the office* experience to thousands of followers who were unable to attend.
Hailed a “fantastic” success by attendees – the vibrant atmosphere, variety of 165 leading exhibitors, great new products, fantastic Keynotes, and lively, topic-focused seminars, combined to create a ‘must-attend’ event that reflected and reinforced the importance of the role played by Britain’s office professionals in helping to keep the country’s offices working.
“office* is fabulous. It acknowledges backroom admin as well as top of the top PAs. Even bigger and better than last year,” says Isabella Kpobie, MST office manager, Merton & Kingston MST Team.
“office* has opened me up to business solutions that I never thought existed,” adds administrator James Lee.
With many of the show’s 32 seminars sold out in advance, and the Pioneer-sponsored Keynote theatre – which included sessions by Ann Summers’ CEO Jacqueline Gold, Ultimo lingerie’s creator Michelle Mone OBE, and an A/W catwalk show by L.K.Bennett – often filled to capacity, it’s hardly surprising that, for many visitors, office*’s growing appeal is aided by its comprehensive expert education programme. Given that today’s ever-shrinking budgets often sees many PAs and office managers miss out on vital training, office*‘s cost-effective seminars ensured attendees were able to invest valuable time in their own professional development and gain a wealth of useful tips to take back to the office.
The show’s extensive central exhibition showcased over 165 leading business to business suppliers and service providers offering everything from office stationery to facilities management solutions and travel management software. Whilst the show’s new Demo Theatre and bespoke feature areas – the FMA Office Manager’s Village, MIA Destination and Venue Village, and the ASAP Village – helped ensure office* 2011 visitors enjoyed an even greater choice of new products, technologies and venues than ever before.
Of course, it wasn’t all work and no play at office*. The show’s Pamper Parlour, featuring benefit Cosmetics, Katherine Elizabeth Millinery and Lipstick & Curls offered visitors glamorous makeovers throughout the event. Style Icon’s founder Natalie Robinson was on the British Airways stand giving tips aplenty on how to dress to impress. Event Insurance Service’s stand boasted an amazing professional balloon twister, who wowed audiences with his astounding creations – including goofy on a motor bike, numerous vases of flowers, and a monkey hanging from a palm tree! Whilst High Performance UK entertained visitors to their stand with a ‘mix & mingle’ magician and an impressive mind reader! As for The office* Party @ Planet Holywood, well, those that were lucky enough to attend certainly had fun, and for those that didn’t – there’s always next year!
Recording an 18% increase in overall attendance and a 26% increase in total exhibitor numbers, office* is now firmly established as the premier event for the community it serves. With plans for an even bigger show next year already in place, office* 2012 moves to Olympia’s National Hall, London, taking place on Wednesday and Thursday, 12-13 September 2012.
But you don’t just have to take our word for how great the show was – here’s some quotes from office* 2011 attendees:
VISITORS
“This is my first time at office* and have come predominantly for the seminars which are really motivational and will re-energise me in my job,” says Victoria Philipp, PA to heads of IT portfolio delivery, AXA PPP Healthcare.
“It was a great show. I came to look for new products and the event has delivered what I was looking for. I will be back next year,” says Claire Brewer, PA, The Football Association.
“It was my first visit to office* and I think it was excellent. The virtual assistant industry in particular is growing and a show like this is essential to help gain contacts, suppliers and ideas,” says Joycelyn Lewis, VA, Imani Virtual Assistant Services.
“The training seminars and keynotes were brilliant – they’re why I visit each year. They are really inspirational and give me great tips I can’t get elsewhere. I’ve attended two today and both were fantastic. I’ll definitely attend next year,” says Sandy Faulkner, PA, Bournemouth Borough Council.
“It’s given me a pocket load of personal development opportunities,” says Kerry Dawson, IMTS Senior Secretary, Leeds Metropolitan University.
“The seminars gave me some amazing tips to take back to the office and some great career advice. I will definitely attend next year!” says Dawn Sarton, PA, Transport for London.
“I have been blown away by how much there is here. It’s a first-time visit and I’ll be recommending the show to my colleagues,” says Lynn Pettengell, Office Manager, Dialog.
“It was my first time at office*. I’ve been here the whole day, we have found lots of useful products for our office and will definitely be back next year,” says Michelle Cronsha, legal secretary, Wm Morrison Supermarket.
“Organisation of the show is great, there’s a nice atmosphere and the seminars are useful and very good value for money. There’s a lot of variety in the exhibition and I’ve found it great for networking,” says Denise Shillingford, Medical Secretary/PA, NHS.
“Michelle Mone was excellent, very inspiring especially if you are unsure how to achieve your dreams. There was a lot of variety in the exhibition – it didn’t just concentrate on one area and there were things I didn’t expect to see,” says Debbie Mayger, PA to sales & finance directors, Techlink.
“The show was very well organised – I’ve really enjoyed it. I found the seminars motivational, picked up some great tips and reminders for how to make my life easier. The seminar passport was great value for money,” says Heather Glass, support co-ordinator to head of housing services, Midland Heart.
EXHIBITORS
“Last year we had 150 leads in two days, this year we had 130 on day one! We’re definitely rebooking for 2012,” says Dominic from Lashmar Theatre Tickets.
“The show has upped its game from last year. We are looking forward to following up leads with a broad range of attendees,” says Jemma Griffiths, corporate account manager, Fortnum & Mason.
“The show is really buzzing and we’ve been flat out. The quality of visitors has been amazing,” says Trevor King, director of corporate clothing and gifts supplier T King Associates.
“office* was a huge success for us. It was a real pleasure from beginning to end. The team were so supportive throughout the preparation for the show and we had such a great response from the attendees about our business. It was also a lot of fun as well!” says Henrietta Barker, co-founder of recruitment company YouYou.
“office* delivered on its ability to drive in its target audience in volume and quality. It has certainly proved its value to us by delivering high calibre buyers to our stand. We have already committed ourselves to the 2012 show,” says René Dee, CEO of one of the country’s most dynamic groups of venues, The Westminster Collection.
“Having a stand at office* gave us a great opportunity to get out of the office and meet both existing customers and potential new ones face to face. The atmosphere was really friendly, and all of the visitors were happy to stop by our stall and have a chat. We’d definitely be up for doing it again next year,” says Sabrina Hamilton from Fruit For The Office.
“We attended this show for the first time and are very pleased that we did so. It was an excellent event, enabling us to promote Pukka brand awareness and to gather very encouraging feedback from end consumers about our products. Overall, we are very positive about the show and we hope to attend again next year,” says Marge Barnes, overseas sales & marketing manager, Pukka Pads.
“What a fantastic show, very busy with great feedback from visitors and already had enquiries! We’ll be back next year,” says Liz Burke from Oak Filing.
“It was a great show and we met many people who loved the idea of getting cashback on their business and personal spending. PAs said they shop on Viking, Expedia, Interflora, Thorntons, Virgin etc and as we have all of them they can easily earn over £1000 cashback annually!” says Swati Bhargava, CEO & co-founder, PouringPounds.com.
“This has undoubtedly been the most successful show we have attended in 12 years. On the first day we signed up in excess of 700 new registered users. We will be back,” says Mike Caridia, managing director of pa-assist.com.
“office* is an exceptional forum for PAs/EAs/secretaries and office managers. There was a fantastic buzz throughout the 2 days and our stand was constantly visited by prospective members. My workshop delegates for ‘The Positive Art of Networking’ were all extremely enthusiastic and many had returned from being there last year and will definitely be returning again. Well done for organising such a wonderful event for the secretarial industry and we look forward to being part of office* 2012 at Olympia,” says Sue France, UK chairman for European Management Assistants (EUMA).