Expo adapts quickly to changing world

The Childcare & Education Expo had just rebranded and refocused before the pandemic struck. How did you, as the organiser, adapt during the lockdowns and tiering, both as people and as organisers of national events?

The rebrand to Childcare & Education Expo was something we were really excited about. We saw an amazing visitor growth in our primary educators and we knew this had to be reflected in the brand. It felt great becoming more inclusive of the entire early years and primary education sector so it was unfortunate that we didn’t get the chance to truly launch this in 2020. 

Although, every cloud has a silver lining! Not being able to run our live events meant we were challenged to find new ways to reach our community and bring the early years and primary education sectors together and so the Childcare & Education Virtual Summit was born! 

The Summits allowed us to take the educational aspect of our live events, such as CPD Seminars, to create a place online where we could re-connect the sector and support them during a time where they really needed it. We based the entire event on sector feedback to make sure the topics covered would be relevant and then injected our personality with raffle prizes, crafts, free resources, competitions and lots of brilliant offers! We’ve found adapting a lot easier than we thought we would but I think that’s partly because we’re just so passionate about what we do.

The virtual Expos were really good - we tuned in for a lot of the sessions. Tell us a bit more about them, for instance how did you find them from an organisational perspective, how did the industry respond to a zoom Expo and what sort of feedback did you get from participants?   
Thank you – the hard work really did pay off. All of a sudden, the team had to up-skill to the world of technology and after sadly becoming a very small team due to Covid, it was daunting to start off with. It was a very different experience organising an online event compared to live but we’ve enjoyed it every step of the way! 

To tell you the truth, we were quite taken aback at the feedback we received for the Virtual Summits. We really hoped the sector would find them valuable but as this was so new for us, we were unsure how they would be received. The response was simply fantastic – people felt valued and recognised for the dedication to their roles and left with an abundance of new ideas, support and advice. We’ve even had a number of attendees ask us to carry on with the Virtual Summits alongside the live events!

What are your plans for your events as 2021 unfolds? 
As you probably already know, Manchester is moving to 2022 and changing location! Our third location is now ‘North’ and will be located at the Bolton Wanderers Football Club. For our 2021 events in London and Midlands, looking at how the governments ‘roadmap’ is going, I’m positive we’ll be seeing everyone face-to-face very soon. 

Your events have always been so important to this industry, as an opportunity to get face to face with colleagues, competitors, suppliers, experts etc… you and the team at Broadway Events are a sociable bunch, so you must be looking forward to seeing people again and giving them the chance to meet up?
The day we can see everyone face-to-face through something other than a screen is going to be a good day! Naturally, working in the events industry we all love to socialise and to be surrounded by people. Something that has become very clear is how much we love running events in such a passionate and caring sector. Over the past 10 years we’ve made friendships that will last a lifetime and we really appreciate that. We’re really looking forward to re-connecting with old and new visitors and exhibitors. 

The pandemic has required us all to be extremely resilient, but it’s also inspired a lot of ingenuity and creativity. What lessons do you think you’ve learned from the last 12 months? 
I think one of my biggest takeaways is to always remain open-minded, so that when you need to adapt and learn new ways of doings things, it won’t seem so intimidating. It’s not just children that need to learn, we should all be learning on a daily basis and working towards new goals and dreams.
I’ve also learnt how not to sweat the small things. With so many changes and hurdles to overcome, it’s so important that you can see what a priority is and what isn’t. We’ve seen that people have become far more accommodating – I think everyone just wants to see people succeed right now.  

And you personally, Emma - how have you been through all this. Managing a team and managing your way through the toughest time we’ve all experienced must have been difficult. How’s your mindset as we look towards the light on the horizon?
The support of my amazing team made life a lot easier. Every sector has struggled in their own way and my heart goes out to everyone who has.
What really shone through last year was how vital it is to have strong connections and be surrounded by people who want to help you as much as you want to help them. We couldn’t have done it without the astounding support from our community, speakers, sponsors, partners, friends and family.

To keep up-to-date with the expos and register your interest, go to https://www.childcareeducationexpo.co.uk.

The views expressed in our articles do not necessarily reflect the views of Morton Michel.