Outstanding Manchester takes to TOPS show

Following the success of two London-based TOPS shows, Outstanding Branding this month held its first ever regional end-user show in Manchester.
Having delivered such well-received shows in the South, the pressure was on to provide a quality show with high visitor numbers and a good number of leads for the 32 suppliers who supported the show. With more than 60 professional marketers attending the three sessions on the day, and more than 150 leads generated for the suppliers, sales director Andy Thorne said the show delivered on its objectives.

“Putting on a show to match the success of the previous TOPS shows at the Tower of London was always going to be a challenge, particularly in a region where we don’t currently have the level of exposure that we have in the South,” he said. “However, with the support of the suppliers, our great team, a fantastic venue in MediaCity, and three great guest speakers, we achieved the number of quality visitors and leads we wanted.”

Guest speakers included the bpma’s Gordon Glenister, whose presentation on making the most of promotional merchandise was well received with several visitors requesting copies of the presentation to share with colleagues.

Justin Blackhurst, Global CEO of Digital Next delivered a popular talk on How to Get to the Top of Google and Stay There, while Mike Herbert of Brickhouse Promotions gave a taste of the future in his talk on 360video.
All the presentations were streamed via Facebook Live, with the talks also now uploaded to YouTube for anyone who couldn’t attend to watch. Suppliers and visitors gave positive feedback with several suppliers calling it the best end user show they had attended.

Clients commented on how exciting it was to be able to touch and feel a whole range of products while getting information and ideas from the expert suppliers. “As always, we have to thank our fabulous supply chain for their professionalism and support on the day,” said Sarah Penn, managing director, Outstanding Branding. “We hope they all enjoyed The Outstanding Supplier Supper (TOSS) that we held for them at Café Football the night before the show. I’m constantly amazed at how hard our industry can party and still put on a great show in the morning.”

TOPS will return to London in 2017.

© Copyright 2022 The BPMA | All rights reserved.