Review
says Driscoll. “They brought with them
lots of great speakers. It’s something we
want to roll out across all of our shows
moving forwards.
“Every individual has the ability to
do something towards a sustainable
supply chain and it’s part of the United
Nations 2030 global goals. It’s been really
interesting to see how content brings
more communities. We’ve been able to
launch a Pure Conscious fashion section
within the show and that’s something
that retailers are all talking about. It has
brought more enthusiasm, more energy,
more visitors, more exhibitors to the
show and that’s really by being relevant.”
Much of the change has been driven
by the impact of coming under ITE’s
‘transformation and growth’ programme,
which has seen the organiser commit
to heavily investing in its core events, a
tactic that CEO Mark Shashoua agreed
could be defined as a ‘spend money to
make money’ approach.
“I think it’s fair to say that under
Ascential we were non-core,” continues
Driscoll. “With ITE it’s an exhibition-
only organisation and we are feeling the
benefits of that. We feel supported, we
feel invested in. We feel that we’re in
the company of like-minded colleagues
who really want to create must-attend
content-led events.
“All we’re talking about is how to do
exhibitions brilliantly. It’s a very joyous
environment to be in. Historically
these exhibitions were part of a big
Pure London
Pure London
media company, whereas ITE is a
magnificent global exhibitions business.
The investment that’s gone into ITE is
fantastic and it’s great to be part of that
very energetic environment.”
The renewed focus on content can be
clearly seen at another acquisition from
Ascential, Spring Fair. Having had seven
speakers in February 2018, the 2019
edition of the show welcomed 87.
“That content was noticed by all,” adds
Driscoll. “We really are creating content-
led must-attend events, which deliver a
better return on investment for all of our
customers. That was a tangible example
of how ITE has helped us reorient the
value proposition.
“The Spring and Autumn Fair re-edits
were big projects for us this year. One of
the things we’ve benefited from was an
absolutely excellent re-booking process,
led by the best practice team within ITE.
We have learned immediately from ITE
how to do things better, and how to really
galvanise the messaging and the process
so that we can do things more efficiently.
The Spring Fair rebooking was the first
time we were really able to benefit from
those investments.”
Back in the world of fashion, Driscoll
plans to roll out a hosted buyer
programme for Pure London in 2020,
something that has been introduced very
successfully to MODA. MODA, which
has offered a hosted buyer programme
for five years, will be expanding with a
matchmaking service for buyers.
“We’ve just done some research on our
hosted buyer program,” says Driscoll.
“Ninety eight percent of the attendees
to the hosted buyer program spend at
MODA, and 41 per cent spend more than
£150,000. What we can see is that the
hosted buyers absolutely love the hosted
buyer programme.”
So, what does the future hold for the
newly revitalised portfolio of events?
“My mantra is ‘a cool head, a firm
hand and warm heart,” she concludes.
“My plan is to lead my people to achieve
growth for all the events, a great return
on investment for our exhibitors and for
all of the UK people to feel passionate
about what they’re doing.
“Uniting everyone who touches the
UK division behind a common goal is
something I’m really going to be focusing
on.” EN
April — 39