A warm reception for the COOL Conference

Over 150 people from a variety of companies in the meetings industry gathered at the IndigO2 on Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd June 2009 for the 2nd in a series of events being organised by R3 Events and Mash Media on the “Commercial Opportunities from the Olympics in London” (COOL).

There was an impressive line up of speakers who are now in a position to tell their grandchildren that they once appeared live on stage at the O2!

Andrew Stokes from Marketing Manchester kicked off proceedings with an insight into the legacy left by the hosting of the Commonwealth games in 2002. Mike Mulvey from London Business Network then urged anyone who has not yet done so to hurry up and register with CompeteFor where you can find out about tender opportunities. See: https://www.competefor.com/london2012business/login.jsp

Delegates had the option to head for the VIP lounge where the inaugural Meetings industry networking exhibition (MINE) was taking place, or to delve deeper into particular topics by attending workshops on a variety of subjects.

In the afternoon Tracy Halliwell from Visit London and Chris Foy from Visit Britain gave delegates an insight into what events are being planned before and during the Games. This was followed by case studies from companies who either won business in Beijing or who have already been awarded contracts for London.

Former 400 metre runner (and rubik cube expert) Derek Redmond entertained the audience with reflections on his successful career and joined delegates at a pub quiz which took place after the conference.

Day two featured presentations from first time sponsor Deloitte who spelt out their plans for the next few years while Coca Cola who have always sponsored gave a refreshingly open account of how they expect to reap the benefits of their significant investment. A CIM perspective of what SME’s will and will not be allowed to do in terms of marketing with reference to 2012 was presented.

A presentation from the Holland Business Promotion Office was followed by further workshops and then a fascinating tour of the Olympic Park, which was much enjoyed by all who participated.

The first event held on this topic by R3 Events and Mash Media was a one day conference in November 2008 and attracted just over 100 participants; this one was attended by 150 people over two days.

Companies represented included: Venues such as The Barbican, Manor of Groves, the Crown Plaza and Sandown Park Racecourse; Event organisers such as Nimlok, CT-Live, KDM Events and Boleyn Events; Local authorities such as Tower Hamlets and Greenwich, Caterers such as Create and Compass Group, Insurance companies such as CoverEx and Hiscox, Printers and designers such as BAF Graphics and Print United; Associations such as NOEA, ESSA, and ISES

The event organisers R3 Events were delighted with the outcome. MD Rory Ross Russell commented “We tried to add a few new elements to the event to allow more in depth discussion on particular topics and more networking opportunities. The optional workshops worked really well and resulted in lots of questions from the audience; while the quiz and the tour of the Olympic park meant people got to know each other much better and left with plenty of new business cards in their wallets”.

Ross Russell added “With the clock ticking away towards 2012 we anticipate a further growth of interest in attending these seminars and we will be looking to meet that demand. We are delighted to have had the support of Visit Britain and Visit London on this event and we also were grateful to LOCOG for agreeing to present the popular workshop on brand protection.”