COLUMN: MARKETING MATTERS
A hub of opportunity
Claire-Lena Miller-Davis, sales manager – exhibitions at TECA, on
selling a new venue to exhibition organisers
I
have recently returned to Aberdeen after
spending the last 11 years working in
the special events industry in Sydney,
Australia, which was a fantastic experience
that cultivated my knowledge of the industry
and I was inspired by some of the world’s
most innovative and imaginative event
producers.
Arriving in Sydney initially on a working
holiday visa, I began as an executive
assistant for both the sales and service
managers at Sunseeker Australia. This
paved the way to my love of events as I
had the opportunity to play a major role
organising the International Boat Shows,
which took place across Australia including
Sydney, Brisbane and the Whitsundays.
The company had a highly anticipated
and strong presence throughout the shows
which was largely due to a combination of
our marketing campaign and contracting of
promotional models, live entertainers and
catering suppliers to promote the brand and
its elite-ness.
In 2007 I joined Sydney Prop Specialists,
one of Australia’s leading event décor and
production companies starting out as a
specialised event theming supplier and
was sponsored by the company to stay in
Australia. I worked my way through the
ranks of the company before departing
in early 2018. Throughout my time with
the company I grew both personally
and professionally, developing close-knit
relationships with both suppliers and clients.
One of my key achievements
with the company was
directing 150 per cent growth
in revenue through service
expansion; turning the
focus from being an
event supplier to an event
management and consulting
group.
Returning to Aberdeen
I have noticed a lot has
changed since I have
been away, and it has
been fantastic to see
the investment into the
city’s economy and more
specifically leisure and
culture. Aberdeen is a hub of opportunity
and currently the city has so much potential
that has not been tapped into.
This is why I am so passionate about the
opening of The Event Complex Aberdeen
(TECA) and the array of new events and
shows we can welcome to Aberdeen which
will undoubtedly transform the city into one
of the go-to places for events, not just in
Aberdeen but the UK.
For those who don’t know, TECA is
Scotland’s brand new events venue and
arena bringing the best entertainment and
a world-class fan experience to the north
east of Scotland. Replacing the Aberdeen
Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC),
TECA is the largest single investment of its
kind in the UK; a £333 million development
delivered by Aberdeen City Council in
partnership with Henry Boot Developments.
I am thrilled to be part of the team
involved in launching this state-of-the-art
facility when it opens this summer. The
venue will have up to 48,000sqm of flexible
event space including seven conference
“One of the main
obstacles has been
the reluctance of
event organisers to
take a risk in coming
to a new venue”
suites, three exhibition halls,
nine meeting rooms, a superior
12,500 capacity arena, luxurious
hospitality suites, VIP lounge,
and a high-end 150-seater
restaurant.
The new venue will be over
four times as large as the previous
AECC which means we need four
times as many events to fill the
space! Hence I am actively seeking
new business to bring to TECA that I
think will have Aberdeen’s population
buzzing and help to inspire a new
sense of creativity in our community. I have
reached out to most of the nation’s top
exhibition organisers to promote Aberdeen
and the opportunities on offer.
A big selling point for the new
development is that we will have two onsite
hotels – the adjoining four-star Hilton with
200 bedrooms and the Aloft Hotel with
150 bedrooms, great for those coming
from further afield. With unrivalled public
transport connections, TECA is located right
next to Aberdeen International Airport,
just minutes from the city’s new western
peripheral route, and in prime position for
rail links between Aberdeen and the North
of Scotland.
At the time of opening, TECA will be the
most sustainable venue of its kind in the
UK; powered entirely by the city’s household
waste. As a city, we have one of the UK’s top
performing economies so I, for one, think we
have a lot of opportunity to invest back into
both the city and its people.
However, I have found one of the main
obstacles has been the reluctance of event
organisers to take a risk in coming to a new
venue, and indeed destination, whereby the
success of the show has no prior benchmark
to compare it with.
People, understandably, like to play it
safe and stick to what they know and where
they know, but in doing so they are missing
out on so much potential that has not been
taken advantage of.
We are currently working closely with
organisers whose exhibitions range from
consumer shows covering topics such as hair
and beauty, gaming activities, pet wellbeing
and food and drink as well as trade shows
relating to the energy sector, retail and home
decor and hospitality and tourism.
Once the doors to TECA open, the venue
will very much sell itself, both to organisers
and event attendees. TECA will offer a far
more flexible and technologically advanced
space than the current AECC site, enabling it
to compete nationally and internationally for
new events as well as broadening the appeal
of the North East to business and leisure
visitors from across the globe.
Events in Scotland are changing, and I am
proud to be part of it.
exhibitionnews.co.uk | February 2019
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