My biggest achievement to date is the success of the 2019 gunnercooke Symposium.
As the sole events manager for the firm I am responsible for delivering an annual programme of internal development events, providing partners with:
Networking opportunities, creating and executing of an external events programme and event sponsorship opportunities for both the firm and individuals.
I work alongside the marketing team to develop the marketing strategy for events and wider campaigns for the firm across our social media channels.
In addition to my events role, I work as part of the partner services team which includes managing key referrer relationships, running a keeping in touch programme, and the development of a gifting and concierge service.
Skills acquired within events and marketing
• Developing and executing a yearlong internal and external events programme which was successfully moved online during lockdown
• Transforming office spaces not designed for events into fully equipped events spaces
• Creating new relationships with suppliers and venues for the smooth and professional running of events
• Working with external suppliers to produce film content for events and during events
• Delegating event planning tasks to other staff members when necessary and managing their progress
• Coordinating event sponsorship including organising collateral, advertising on social media and follow up post sponsorship in a variety of ways to ensure we had utilised the opportunity
• Managing and overseeing events on the day, including problem-solving, welcoming guests, directing event set-up, communicating with staff and organising suppliers
• Communicating with the marketing team to create effective advertisements for each event, and crafting marketing materials such as print and internet advertisements for individual events
• Managing event finances in a timely manner and creating informative and accurate financial reports
• Monthly reporting of KPI’s and ensuring they are constantly met and improved
Skills acquired as part of the partner services team
• The development and implementation of an internal campaigns calendar to run across our network
• Working with the finance team to identify our key clients; I keep in touch and build relationships with these clients to ensure we are utilising any opportunity that may arise
• Keeping in touch scheme—I work as part of a small team who keep in touch with new partners in particular throughout the year ensuring we help them build their networks and support them during the transition to the new model
Creation of a concierge magazine
• After researching concierge services, I selected high-end service providers to be part of a concierge service offered to partners
• Negotiated offers and discounts on products advertised as part of the service, where discounts weren’t appropriate I worked out packages and offerings for partners using the services that were exclusive to gunnercooke
• Now working with 15–20 high quality suppliers who submit content for a quarterly magazine sent out to partners
Gifting services
• I created an online portal for partners to order a wide range of branded materials from generic notepads to bespoke vinyl records for them to send to clients
• Working with high quality UK suppliers, I have created a high-end range of gifts for partners to receive as part of an incentive scheme
• Arranging bulk discounts on products for the service as well securing whole sale costs for branded baskets used to send the products
• Existing relationships with Postal services allowed me to negotiate special rates for sending gifts