office* – the UK’s leading annual exhibition and conference dedicated to meeting the business and training needs of PAs, office managers and executive support professionals – has been nominated for a prestigious Best Trade Show Exhibition (under 2,000sqm) Award by the UK’s Association of Event Organisers (AEO) in its annual Excellence Awards.
The exhibition industry’s equivalent to the Oscars, this is the first time that office* has been shortlisted within this hotly-contested category. In addition to office*, other trade events in the running for 2013 include food to go show lunch! (winner in 2010 and 2011), which is also organised by Diversified Business Communications UK. The news came just days after visitor registration opened for office*’s fourth edition, which will feature over 175 leading suppliers and service providers when it returns to London’s Olympia on 8-9 October.
David Maguire, who took over as office*’s event manager last year, is delighted with the positive feedback that the nomination has generated amongst the show’s loyal supporters: “This is the ultimate accolade for any exhibition and we are absolutely thrilled to have been selected as a finalist for best trade show at this year’s AEO Awards. The whole team here at Diversified UK has worked tirelessly since the show’s launch in 2010 to build an exceptional annual event for a very important – but long underrepresented – audience, and it has helped to unite an entire professional community in the process. This national recognition really is a fantastic endorsement for the show going forward.”
Informative, inspiring, buzzing, brilliant, motivating, fun, effective, and essential – these are just some of the words attendees have used to describe last year’s office*, which saw 3,687 industry professionals packing the aisles over the two days. With 93% of surveyed visitors in 2012 rating the show as excellent/good, and 81% indicting that they would re-visit, 2013 looks set to be another great year for office*.
“office* has been an extremely productive day out of the office which is always so hard to justify. I’ve found everything here – fantastic, informative seminars and a huge range of products and services,” says NHS PA Mark Walsh, commenting on his office* visitor experience last year.
“office* brought together all aspects of the secretarial and administrative community and made it clear that not only do we add value but, in an ever changing world, we strive to attain further standards of excellence so that we can support business going forward,” agrees Karen Johnson, PA at Pantheon Resources Plc. “Thank you to the organisers for getting that message across.”
“office* is a brilliant mix of learning, networking and fun. It reminds you how great the PA profession is and why we should be proud of what we do!” concludes EA Judella Fereira from Kensington and Chelsea TMO.
Given that the show annually attracts thousands of visitors from a variety of industry sectors, from FTSE 100 companies to niche small businesses, the exhibitor list for 2013 is comprehensively eclectic. Confirmed companies to date include Emirates, Lucky Voice, Marlin Apartments, MBM Omega, Urban Bite, Wines Direct, 3M UK, Ascott Hospitality Management, Avery Dennison Office Products, Brother UK, Center Parcs, CitySprint, Hays Specialist Recruitment, Hemsley Fraser Group, Pitman Training, Reed Learning, Stabilo, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Tristar Worldwide Chauffeur Services, and VenueDirectory.com.
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