Events: managed & filmed

Gumboots Media organised a one-day event for London Underground. Three hundred delegates - both Underground staff and external suppliers - gathered at Westminster Central Hall, London, for the second Design Matters! conference. Below is an outline of how we managed the event.

Planning

Having secured the contract, Gumboots Media had eight weeks to plan and prepare for the event. Initial site visits addressed the kind of sound equipment we needed, staging, camera positions (the event was filmed in every room), seating and table layouts, the placement of visual media and hardware along with determining the best available sight lines for filming.

Next we put together our crew from our network of skilled individuals, which has been compiled over many years within the business. We also filled some positions with media students from our close association with the ACS International School. Wherever possible and with careful supervision, we do our best to place media students into jobs so that they can gain invaluable experience within the events and media industry.

Creative

Gumboots' creative team, led by David, then developed the media assets for the event. We started by presenting three concepts for London Underground to choose from and then created a branding scheme that could be rolled out across all media assets relating to the event. This process began with the design of a
[ logo ] and an [ HTML email ] invitation that linked back to a database and kept track of who had sent an RSVP, or if someone was unable to attend, who their replacement would be. We then designed the
[ media pack ], which incorporated the seminar notes, [ booklet ] and other relevant printed matter.

Our focus then turned to the design of the day itself. Draft designs were put together for the [ posters ] that decorated the event, the signage, the PowerPoint presentations and the [ stage ] itself. We also arranged numerous plasma screens for the venue to display the schedule and Design Matters! 2 [ animations ].

Triple checks

The running order was cross-checked with equipment and staff requirements. We then gathered together the crew for an on-site briefing and a run-through 24 hours before the event.

Final client update

A final status report was given to London Underground 24 hours before the event for approval.

The event

Three hundred delegates descended on Westminster Central Hall and were instantly engaged with 'all things design' pertaining to London Underground. The keynote speaker, London Underground's managing director Tim O'Toole, gave an informative and entertaining address along with an enthusiastic Q&A session afterwards. The three afternoon seminars in nearby rooms also proved to be popular.

Both the running order and the event went extremely smoothly, with staff performing their functions efficiently, to schedule and unobtrusively.

Wash-up meeting

Gumboots met with London Underground to analyse the event and check we successfully met all of our client's requirements. London Underground's feedback was very positive, especially with regards to Gumboot's friendly communications and updates, the striking branding and the calm but organised way in which we managed the event.