Substance events
From intimate gatherings to conferences bringing together 1000+ people, Substance events stand out. Here are some examples.
Getting buy-in to tackle anti-social behaviour
The Anti-social Behaviour Act brought with it new powers for police and landlords to get tough on perpetrators. Hyde in Hampshire already had one dedicated anti-social behaviour officer and came up with an innovative proposal to create the county’s first ‘shared’ anti-social behaviour team funded and staffed by a number of Hampshire’s Registered Social Landlords (RSLs).
The idea needed to be tested, and buy-in from other landlords had to be gained, so Hyde decided on an anti-social behaviour conference to explore the idea further.
We were brought in to help organise and format the conference. Over 100 people attended the event at St Mary’s Football Stadium, Southampton, including many RSLs and their tenants. Speakers included representatives from the Home Office Anti-social Behaviour Team, the police, Audit Commission, and residents with firsthand experience of anti-social behaviour. We also arranged workshops to further debate proposals. The conference was a huge success and funding was pledged, leading to the successful creation of the county-wide team.
Making a Big Bang
Southampton City Council hired us to produce The Big Bang! – an event celebrating the city’s creative industries and the opening of new studio space and media centre for local artists.
To make the event as interactive as possible, we arranged tours of the new studios, giving visitors the chance to meet the artists and buy some of their works. We also organised the invitations, catering, sourced and briefed the speakers and wrote a special brochure documenting the development of the creative industries in Southampton. Our media campaign secured coverage and interviews in artists’ magazines, local newspapers and radio.
Creating a memorable 40th for Hyde
We worked closely with Hyde’s communications team to make the organisation’s 40th birthday conference a truly special event. The event brought together 1200 staff at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London to celebrate the achievements of the last 40 years whilst also hearing plans for the future.
Key addresses from Hyde’s senior management were interspersed with teambuilding activities including tribal drumming, gospel singing and even learning the Haiku. Staff also received a very poignant address from solo Atlantic rower Debra Searle who championed the importance of “choosing your attitude” through testing times. Over a top-notch lunch, staff enjoyed giant games, including supersize Connect 4, Jenga and table football. The day closed with the Staff Excellence Awards screening films that documented the work and achievements of colleagues from across the Group. Feedback was excellent, with many staff remarking that this was the best event they had been to.
Inspiring conversations about sustainable development
When the government launched the Sustainable Communities Plan, Hyde created ‘In Principle’ – a publication outlining how it would take forward government thinking in its own building developments. The challenge was to launch this to development and regeneration staff so that they could see how it affected them.
We organised a conference at Millbank, incorporating a Question Time-style event where Hyde’s teams joined influential industry people including MPs and speakers from Land Securities to debate each of Hyde’s ‘principles’ such as urban design, housing density and mixed tenure developments. We also ran a series of ‘cafe conversations’ where groups discussed each principle and how they would incorporate it into their work. When moving on to a new principle, each group had to bring something new to the discussion and build upon what the previous group had said. Delegates left with a much clearer idea of how government policy could not just affect but inspire their work.