IT Directors Forum 2014, See You There!

The IT Directors Forum – 2003 to 1013

I was first introduced to Richmond Events in 2002 by one of my longest standing customers – Bourne Leisure. I happened to attend one of our progress meetings a few days after a couple of Bourne Leisure’s IT management team had returned from the event. The initial conversation was around us attending the next IT Directors Forum. The plan was to fulfill two needs – to meet up with them in the evening after dinner; and as a means of giving Astro some exposure to new potential customers at board and senior management level. We had previously attended many annual trade shows including: TMA in Brighton and Networks at the NEC in Birmingham. However, these exhibitions had been on the decline for some years. The worst of these was a three day exhibition we attended at Wembley where less than 100 people walked through the doors over the three days. Exhibitions were also getting more expensive and it was very difficult for us to be on a level playing field with our larger competitors. Exhibitors with more money to spend would dominate the space with larger, more elaborate stands so we were quite often overlooked.

There was a time when we had to be at the main exhibitions to be taken seriously. Some of our customers expected it of us. Our most extravagant exhibition was Networks 97 at the NEC (I believe it was 1997, but this is from memory). We had a motor racing theme for a recent product launch. So, with our partners Memotec, we hired Tiff Needell to work with us on our stand. The exhibition was a few days after Tiff’s Le Mans drive for Jaguar, and Tiff kindly offered his racing suit for a business card draw. Tiff was excellent value and great fun to work with.

We also hired a Formula 3000 racing car as a static exhibit, but this nice to have show piece caused me one or two headaches. I now question the sanity of having such an expensive item in a very hostile ‘wild west’ environment. When the car was delivered to the NEC the racing team were told they couldn’t deliver their prized vehicle onto our stand, it had to be transported through the exhibition hall by ‘specialists’. Half an hour later, I saw a fork lift truck winding its way to our stand with one prong through the roll bar of our very expensive car which was swinging around underneath. I remember being close to a nervous wreck by the time they had literally swung it into position. But then, only a few minutes later, a stand worker arrived with a stepladder straight out of a Charlie Cairoli DIY sketch. He proceeded to straddle the racing car with the ladder and was hovering over the top of it with a handful of tools to finish the stand build – while I was giving birth to several litters of kittens. Joking aside, I am sure I can attribute at least 50% of my grey hair to that single episode of my life.

“… and I will never forget the experience of Tiff driving me around Brands Hatch … appearing to only occasionally look where he was going while lapping just about every other driver on the circuit”

In addition to the racing suit draw, we had a draw for a chance to win a track day at Brands Hatch with the Nigel Mansell Racing School with Tiff providing racing instruction and taking the winners out for trips around the track. I will never forget the experience of being driven around Brands Hatch by Tiff. Check out Tiff’s web site with the very cool introduction video here. Tiff was speaking to me just like that as he was driving me around Brands Hatch, apparently only occasionally look where he was going while lapping just about every other driver on the circuit. That probably explains why he told one of the Driving School team to make sure my harness was tight before we set off! However, I suspect it was payback time for the cocktail umbrellas I (stupidly, given the upcoming racing day) put in Tiff’s Irish whiskey while in the bar following a long day on the exhibition stand.

With the budget and resources we had at the time, we peaked at that exhibition along with many other exhibitors. TMA and Networks declined to the point of extinction, so, when Natalie of Richmond events showed up at our offices for that first meeting to present ITDF it was a breath of fresh air. Bearing in mind I was used to the hard sell of the exhibition sales people it was really refreshing to meet Natalie as she was more concerned that ITDF was right for us. I was also concerned as at that time we didn’t have any sales people and I thought it may be way outside my comfort zone. What was really refreshing is that it didn’t matter how large your company was, you got the same size name board and area to work from at the event. This was a major plus for me having just gone through many years of the exhibition rat race.

“…I loved the fact that the event was on board a ship, that the professionalism was maintained throughout all stages”

I distinctly remember my first ITDF on board the MV Oriana. When I got on board the ship I thought I was going to be a fish out of water (no specific reference to being at sea intended) but to my surprise I really enjoyed it and immediately felt at home. I loved the fact that the event was on board a ship, that the professionalism was maintained throughout all stages of our engagement with Richmond Events from the pre-event preparation, through the event itself and the follow up. I remember saying to Natalie at the time that it would have been impossible to contact the people we met over the two days using any other form of marketing. I still believe that.

Having attended so many IT Directors Forums, for many years now I have viewed the event as a club where I can meet up with old friends, clients and colleagues as well as meet new people in an environment that oozes professionalism. This year is no exception as I am really looking forward to setting sail in May.

“…we would be delighted to meet you in one of the many on board bars for a drink and a catch up before or after dinner”

I will be on board the Aurora with Steve Hodges this year and although we have specified five key products outlined in the ITDF catalogue we will of course be more than happy to discuss any other products or services from our portfolio. If you requested a meeting with us but were unsuccessful please do make use of the contact forms on board, we would be delighted to meet you in one of the many on board bars for a drink and a catch up before or after dinner.

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If you have a mealtime slot with us, please be assured that we treat all meal times as down time. If you would like to discuss business with us over your meal that is fine, but we promise you there will be no Powerpoint presentations at the Astro table.

“…please do take some time out of your schedule to come and see us, we really look forward to welcoming you aboard”

After dinner you will generally find us in or around the Karaoke Bar or in the Casino. Mr Hodges will be doing his best to maintain his positive track record in the Casino while I will be attempting to maintain my reputation for singing any song in the style of The Eagles.

It has certainly been an eventful 12 months for us since ITDF 2013, so if you haven’t seen us recently, there is a lot to catch up on. Please do take some time out of your schedule to come and see us, we really look forward to welcoming you aboard our 12th IT Directors Forum.

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For more information click on the links below…

IT Directors Forum
Charlie Cairoli
The Official website of Tiff Needell
Managed Wireless Networks
Wide Area Networks
StarLeaf Cloud Based Video Conferencing
Home Working
Unified Communications