review

TheTrafford Business Expo 2014You really couldn’t have asked for a better day to host the Trafford Business Expo 2014. Tuesday July 1 was a glorious sunny summer’s day basking in 22 degrees of sunshine, perfect for bringing the visitors out to such an iconic venue as The Point, Emirates Old Trafford. The day started with a steady stream of exhibitors, boxes, pop-ups, wheely bins and busy activity setting up the stands on the 2nd floor of The Point. It was a testament to the encouragement from organisers James Caldwell and Eve Powis from Innov8, in a pre-show briefing a few weeks earlier, that had the exhibitors going that extra mile in the sheer variety of memorable activities that were geared to engage the visitors. Innov8 have been organising conferences and exhibitions across the UK and beyond for a great range of clients, and following the success of the Stockport Business Expo over the past few years, they launched the same successful B2B formula for Trafford. As sole media sponsors Trafford Business Connect ensured the event had a big promotional push, and sure enough a few weeks before the big day we saw all 52 stands completely sold out, plus visitor registrations beating original expectations by substantial amounts. The show itself opened at 10am, and with an eager queue building up outside the doors the expo modernised grounds of Old Trafford. opened with a rush of visitors and a Not that the exhibitors had chance to mad scramble by exhibitors putting take advantage of the lovely weather as together last minute touches to hundreds of visitors descended on the their stands. stands in a steady stream throughout The venue was perfect, especially the day. on such a hot day, with a row of The organisers had the foresight to set open doors leading to an outside up break-out areas flanking the stands, balcony overlooking the newly and these proved especially crucial for The Trafford Expo was a huge success for the RRG team. We had 6 vehicles on display right outside reception. We also researched and contacted our database to invite customers to come down to the LCCC and see the new models and to book a test drive. The Expo was at a great venue, very well situated for commuter links, and I’ve never seen people queuing to enter a B2B event like this before. There were great interactions and people were genuinely interested in our cars. The food and drinks provided ‘‘ were of an extremely good quality and they ticked all the right boxes - it was the best Expo I’ve attended and we will definitely be back next year. Warren Eaton, RRG Toyota Group Manager‘‘

Trafford Business Expo 2014

supplementary meetings and general networking amongst both visitors and exhibitors. As promised there were four speakers presenting free seminars throughout the day in adjacent suites, and these too proved incredibly popular and were full to capacity. The exhibitors themselves certainly rose to the occasion and there were a fantastic array of stands all making sure they left a memorable impression with the visitors. Darbys Solicitors were noticeable with the addition of a rather handsome live eagle keeping a close eye on proceedings. There were 3D Printers being demonstrated, free massages on a purpose built massage chair, scalextric competitions, exhibitions of antique cameras, cupcakes, sweets, drinks, corporate gifts galore, and ever-popular free giveaways from most of the exhibitors. Trafford Business Connect was also keen to add to the occasion with our extremely popular ‘Hook a Duck’ competition, offering a free quarter page advert in this very edition for the lucky winner. Each participant filled their details on a draw ticket and the winners were drawn at random - congratulations go to Chris Oatway of Ralli Solicitors of Sale, and their advert can be found on p12. The event proved a great success with many exhibitors more than happy with the constant stream of businesses throughout the day. Trafford Business Connect has already committed to next year’s expo with Innov8, and plans are in place to make it an even bigger and better experience for everyone. Latest news is that at least a dozen exhibitors have made it clear that they wish to sign up as soon as possible.

‘‘ ‘‘ We are delighted to have organised an event that has been so widely praised by companies across Trafford and Greater Manchester. We set out a very clear vision for the event early on that it should allow businesses that are based or trade within Trafford to find new partners, clients and suppliers to push their business growth forward. The feedback from Exhibitors and Visitors has overwhelmingly confirmed that we met this ambition. Our aim now becomes to make the Trafford Business Expo even bigger and more dynamic for 2015. Just like to mention what a fantastic day Stephens & George Print group had at the Trafford Business Expo. This was our first expo in the North West and I was pleasantly surprised with the variation of ‘‘ James Caldwell, Director of Innov8, Organisers of Trafford Business Expo 2014 businesses and the number of Free Seminars people attending which made a great atmosphere. Richard Smith, Sales Executive, Stephens & George ‘‘ A huge part of the attraction of the Trafford Business Expo was the inclusion of free seminars by a high profile range of speakers. Throughout the day the free seminars took place in breakout suites at The Point, where capacity was reached at all the presentations. These were all geared to add value for any business that wished to learn more about specific areas of business growth, and the four speakers did not disappoint with a varying range of experiences and topics covered. We have attended 10 exhibitions this year and I can honestly say the Trafford Expo was by far the best. The venue was excellent ‘‘ Alex Lynn and conveniently located, the McCann Martin organisers were very professional Altrincham HQ MMU and President and best of all there was significant footfall. of ISBE A sign of a good exhibition is noise. The more noise you can hear the busier it is and hopefully the more business you will do. Well that theory rang true for Premium Collections as we were kept busy most of the day and at one point had three people queuing to speak to us. Post event we have several meetings arranged with prospective clients. We look forward to the same event in 2015. ‘‘ Paul Daine, Managing Director Premium Collections Limited The Centre for Enterprise at Manchester Metropolitan University exhibited for the first time, and it was refreshing to ‘‘ see new faces. A particular benefit was the recruitment of companies to our growth programmes, establishing communication to another local authority, finding a potential associate trainer and networking in a superb venue with people genuinely interested in our activities. ‘‘ Adrian Stores, Business Recruitment Manager, Manchester Metropolitan University

Brigit Egan

The Oakridge Centre

Andy Preston

The Future of Sales Book your stand on the Trafford Business Expo 2015 Go online for more information and to book your stand:

www.trafford-business-expo.co.uk