What Event Organisers Can Learn from The National Running Show

National Running Show

This weekend was the first annual National Running Show. Held at the NEC in Birmingham, the event is the UK’s biggest non-race affiliated running exhibition. With a line-up of amazing speakers headlined by Dame Kelly Holmes, the event was the talk of the running community for many months. As an avid runner, I couldn’t get involved fast enough.

With so many shows struggling to get enough attendance to interest sponsors, exhibitors and speakers, what can we learn from The National Running Show? No, it’s not just that the running community is a passionate, engaged group that loves to buy kit (though that did help!). In my perspective, there were a few things they did really well that contributed to the undeniable success of the show.

 

Create show ambassadors

Event organisers enlisted 85 ambassadors to help promote the show. In exchange for the relatively inexpensive free ticket to the show, a t-shirt and VIP goodie bag, 85 runners enthusiastically promoted the show to their communities across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for months in advance. If you’re a runner using one of these social platforms, it was impossible to ignore the chatter. What’s more, ambassadors got a special link to promote ticket sales and the ambassador who generated the most sales won a £500 Amazon gift voucher. Overall, this proved to be an effective tactic for many months of easy social promotion in the lead up to the show.

 

Focus on great communication, before, during and after

Regular emails to registered attendees kept the momentum going, generating excitement and anticipation in advance of opening day. In the week before the event, people received a daily email promoting speakers and special events to take part in at the show. Most things were offered on a first come, first served basis and as a result, the queue to get in on opening day was hundreds of people deep. To reassure the crowd, an organiser walked the length of the crowd telling everyone what was happening, quickly eliminating any annoyance. Amazingly, they processed the crowd quickly and managed to keep the day on track. As soon as the event wrapped, everyone received another email thanking them for their participation with next year’s date already confirmed. It was slick, informative and very well executed.

 

Host momentum-driving events

In the five days leading up to the event, a team of high profile endurance athletes ran 135 miles from Olympic Park in London to the NEC in Birmingham. The runners covered an average of 27 miles a day and they invited running enthusiasts to join them for sections along the route. The run was trackable via the website, and many attendees joined where they could. To cap it off, the athletes held a panel in the last speaking spot of the first day to talk about the highs and lows of covering 135 miles in five days. This event provided ample social media content beyond the standard promotions creating interest and anticipation in advance of the show. Allowing other runners to participate provided a unique opportunity to mingle with some high-profile runners.

 

Unique onsite experiences

This wasn’t just exhibitors selling their products. Some exhibitors, like run3D held unique, engaging and high value experiences at their stands. They offered free digital gait analysis throughout the whole show on a first come first served basis. People literally ran to the stand each morning to secure a spot.

The Running Show also hosted a special Ask the Experts section where attendees had the chance to book 15-minute one-on-one slots with many of the speakers.  This provided a unique opportunity to have a personal chat with some of the biggest names in running. I had the chance to chat to Aleks Kashefi, an ultrarunner otherwise known as Barefoot Aleks about potentially running my first ultra! It was a quality conversation and one of my highlights of the event. Vouchers and samples are nice but providing this sort of access to speakers is an experience worth going for.

 

Dangle the carrot

When I listened to Dame Kelly Holmes amazing keynote on the first day, I thought to myself: how are they going to top this next year? And then, I happened to turn over the event programme and there she was: Paula Radcliffe, already lined up as next year’s keynote! If they wanted me to ensure this event is a top priority in 2018, they absolutely nailed it. I’ve already put it in my diary.

Congratulations to the organisers for an amazing 2-day experience. Also, thank you to the speakers and exhibitors. You took a bit of a gamble with a new event.  With no historical data to draw on, it’s difficult to know if it will be worth your time.  In this case, I can’t imagine anyone is walking away disappointed. I’m already looking forward to next year’s event.

Missed the National Running Show? Why not check out our roundup of the best fitness events and tradeshows to attend in 2018?

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