Following the British BIDs annual conference really gave some good advice on creating events to improve business within Purley. Katie Coombes from MayNineteen looked at 3D approach which is Discover, Design, and Deliver.
Discover: Let’s look at the objectives first what is the point of the event, what does success look like? How will we measure success? This led to some interesting points such as how much to invest into events such as Christmas Lights turn on. Yes we love the Christmas light and we need to have a serious look at how we can improve the current offering. However as an event to get people to spend in the Town, Christmas lights turn on are not always the best ROI. However in the same breath we can look at Place attachment, in that towns where people have more of an affinity are proved to have a higher spend, sound obvious though but worth remembering. So does the Christmas light turn on have a higher place attachment? Basically we need to ensure that any event we need have the end goal of drawing in more business, whether short or long term.
Design: Wow ! What a lot of work needs to go into designing a successful event. Getting it right and most of all making sure it is done safely. There are so many factors that can go wrong, so event need to planned meticulously, from getting the licences, insurance, layout, venue, names and ages of staff, entry, exits, numbers of attendees, Everything.
Deliver: Delivery of a good event means that planning for every eventuality. Something will go wrong. Make sure we know who should be where and when. So let’s look at what we can do for Purley. We have already had discussions on variety of events. Health and fitness week, Beauty and fashion week, Food Week as well as supporting the summer festival and the Christmas lights. We have also looked at setting up monthly street markets and even a cinema on the roof of the carpark. Whatever we look at we need to ensure that it is branded right for Purley, so Purley Kings of Food or Purley Queen of fashion. What is Purley famous for? To quote Monty Python “Purley Squire, Famous place, say no more” Suggestions on a post card or even email.