The 'Elsecar March 2012' De-brief:
Quite simply, we were delighted with it. Sunday was just a regular Elsecar Sunday - started slowly around 9.45am and built up by lunch time. This is the normal Sunday pattern at Elsecar so nothing new there. Mother's Day is always something of a concern - it can go for us or against us, but we have no choice in the matter as the Elsecar dates are set in stone. We have to have certain weekends each year no matter what falls on them. This time I feel we had the best of it, as many people coming though the doors were bring mother with them for the day out. Saturday however, was just amazing! It was officially, the busiest ever Elsecar Saturday, even beating the 'good times' before this dreadful recession! People were coming in early and by 9.30 we had a host sitting in the cafe waiting to be told they could enter the show! The queue was in full swing by opening at 10am and was out of the door and out of sight. We finally saw the end of it our side of the doors by about 12.30pm! It is ages since we experienced this and were so happy to see it back again. Maybe, just maybe, dare we hope, we are turning a corner.........................???Overall, even with Sunday being back to an average Elsecar Sunday, the show was one of the best we have done in the venue making it into the top three since we took over.
Although it is not an exact science, our levels of 'cash back' given out to visitors gives us some indication of whether people are just browsing or actually taking part in things. The cash back was the highest for Elsecar for some time, another hopeful indication that exhibitors were having a good show. Certainly from those we spoke to the feedback was positive and many reported a mega Saturday and a reasonable Sunday. I think this was much needed to restore positivity and lift exhibitor spirits. This long, hard recession is taking its toll on everyone, but a shot in the arm like might lift things a little. We are hoping for some more 'booster' shots in forthcoming shows.
We know that for whatever reason there will always be the few exhibitors who do not have a good weekend one when all around seem to be doing so - there is no rhyme or reason for this and it is always one of the mysteries of event promotion. They may be in a usual spot, the stand will be the same, they are normally busy but for one show they will just be 'invisable'. Wish I could find the answer to this one for all parties concerned! Hope no one suffered the 'invisibility syndrome' at Elsecar!
Yesterday was 'Finish up the Elsecar show' day. First I entered up all the notes on exhibitor records of things that I had been asked to do. I make hurried, scribbled notes during a show and have a sheet of things like:
X wants same stand next time;
Don't put X in same space next time;
X liked being next to Y;
X doesn't like to be near loos;
X has a banner now;
X has acquired backboards;
X 'needs a lighter spot;
Try and find X a quieter space; .......................... and so much more.
After that comes the changes to bookings:
Add Stoke M;
Add Wood Green;
X wants to cancel ** Show;
Have we got space at the next Elsecar for X?
X will let us know about ** Show next week .................. and so on.
I have to do these soon after a show, as there have been occasions when a week later I look at these scribbled notes and can't remember what they meant! It is always a good idea to e-mail confirmation of anything like this after the show folks, just in case I miss writing it down during a hectic weekend.
My second job was to plough through all the Feedback Cards, both Reader and Therapist, enter the results in the register and envelope them up for handing back at the next show. There were heaps of them - and this time fairly evenly spread between therapist and reader, which is always nice to see. As Elsecar has quite a few therapists we won't see again till the August show, some of these need posting out too.
Third job - never got to that, as the phone started ringing at 10am, the time we had said on the message we re-opened, and never stopped! Suffice it to say Manchester workshop tickets are flying out of the door. This is in the capable hands of Chris who started the day with a sheaf of internet orders from the weekend, even before the phone orders started coming in. He finally gave up at 10.30pm last night and said the rest of the processing would have to wait for today. How exciting to be this busy with still the best part of 4 weeks to go! Some speakers have been contacted and asked to repeat their talk at 5pm for a 'second sitting' as their original time slot is already full!
So, Elsecar done and dusted - Manchester here we come! Today? Phones permitting, today was earmarked for an e- mail out to all exhibitors announcing this new Blog, a physical mail out to therapists and esoteric stores in the Cambridge area to get the word spreading about the new show, to start chasing up for copies of expired insurance from Manchester exhibitors, to produce the new tickets for the 5pm slots at Manchester and to produce floor plans for the two new shows. Ummm, maybe just a tad ambitious - why do I have a feeling I will be seeing midnight again tonight!
Hope you all have a great day.
Angie xx
