Copperbox Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London E20 3HB
The Financial Ombudsman Service settles complaints between consumers and businesses that provide financial services. They resolve disputes fairly and impartially and have the power to put things right. The client’s vision was to create a fun and innovative way to communicate the issues facing the organisation in the post PPI environment to their senior leaders and managers.
When they approached us about their senior managers meeting, our brief was to find a quirky non-conventional venue, based in London and accessible by public transport while being less than an hour away from the client’s office.
We were tasked with managing a seamless event with a mix of plenaries and workshops running simultaneously, so the client could focus on the event objectives.
The event objectives were:
• To bring managers and leaders together in one place, to share knowledge, build and strengthen relationships; and learn from each other.
• To help managers and leaders have a clear understanding of the client’s organisation, and their business objectives.
• To inspire them to be better managers and leaders.
The event gathered approximately 650 - 700 attendees, comprising of managers and senior leaders.
When tasked with finding a quirky venue with great accessibility, our event managers carried out extensive research to identify a location that would check all the boxes. We understand that a venue sets the tone for the entire event, making it a crucial aspect of our planning process.
With very few venues that could satisfy the brief we settled on the Copperbox Arena, a 7,500 seater multi sports arena that hosted the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics and is home to the London Lions basketball team, Leyton Women’s Netball team and London Titans Wheelchair Basketball Club, an impressive setting for the corporate meeting.
Moreover, we recognised the importance of accessibility and convenience for attendees, and the necessity to be near the clients offices. The Copperbox boasted excellent transport links, ensuring that attendees could easily reach the event from various locations.
Delivering a conference format with 10 – 15 workshops, running simultaneously in a sports arena has its own unique challenges. Not least moving 700 people to all 12 corners of the venue - 4 on each tier – every 40 minutes. To overcome this challenge, our team prioritised effective project management techniques, leveraging our industry expertise to predict movement and travel times and accurately plan for a smooth crossover of workshops.
A delighted Chief Ombudsman and senior leadership team were able to engage with their senior managers in a fun and innovative way to communicate the issues facing the organisation in the post PPI environment and establish a platform for future organisational change and restructuring.
And we finished with a basketball competition!
I'm so happy with the day - you delivered what you promised and more! Loos, registration and fab AV. No one got lost and there was plenty of food, no coffee queues and set ups that ran like a dream. Thank you!
Sally Young, Head of Communication Channels
