C&IT Agency Forum is the flagship event in our busy calendar of activities. It’s an opportunity for senior event agency professionals to meet leading industry suppliers and to learn, debate and discuss trends and developments in our industry. Alongside the forum itself there is a full programme of evening activities to include a formal gala dinner.
We decided to host the event outside of London this year and Manchester seemed an obvious choice because of its central location and excellent transport links. Manchester Central was the ideal venue with its flexibility of spaces, meaning that we could create the best layout for our event.
The combined Charter Rooms 1-3 allowed for us to build an impressive set for our speakers and presentations, whilst Central Hall 1 housed our 1-2-1 sessions, group huddles and catering for all of our delegates. The Gallery, linking the two spaces, then provided a registration and information area making the whole event self-contained which led to increased delegate retention throughout both days.
Getting delegates to take three days out of their busy work calendars to attend any event is always a challenge. Manchester Central helped to promote the event through their established marketing and communications channels as well as through conversations and connections with relevant local contacts. We found that delegates were really excited about coming to Manchester for the event and to our delight we exceeded our expected delegate numbers!
The venue team were extremely helpful. As event organisers based in London, their knowledge of Manchester and ability to link us in to the right people – including other venue and hotel partners – made our job that much easier. In the run up to, and during the live event, the team were on hand to answer any questions and last-minute requests as well as providing advice and support throughout the process.
We would definitely recommend Manchester Central to other event organisers; the venue is perfect for both conferences and exhibitions and the staff were great!”