A strategic partnership

10 June 2014 Katy Barden

The NEC Group is currently looking for a strategic business and marketing partner for the National Exhibition Centre, Europe’s largest exhibition centre which is at the heart of the UK.

Annually, the exhibition centre has a captive audience of 35,000 businesses exhibiting across its 500 shows including the world famous Crufts, Horse of the Year Show, Spring Fair and Autosport International. Principle decision makers from these businesses attend the venue for between two and five days engaging with brands and industry thought-leaders. Over two million visitors attend these shows for, on average, five hours, providing unprecedented access for the NEC’s strategic partner to engage with both business and consumer audiences. Corporates include major brands such as Jaguar Land Rover, Barclays and EE and some of the country’s most successful SME’s with a cumulate annual turnover of £68bn.

There are a range of new business opportunities which the strategic partner could immediately target, for example, the NEC Group has an annual property and liability insurance spend of over £700,000. There is also an estimated £4m event insurance market through the exhibitors and event producers - a captive audience to which products and services would be promoted to prior to the event through the NEC customer service team.

For insurance companies with a wide range of consumer facing products, the strategic partnership presents a compelling new business opportunity. The NEC's 2.1 million consumer audience spends approximately £300m on general insurance and insurance products specific to the various passions and interests they are indulging at the shows. For example, the 220,000 visitors to Crufts and Horse of the Year spend, on average, £300 per annum on animal insurance totalling £66m per annum.

Conservative estimates of securing 1% of all new business opportunities across exhibitors, consumers and event organisers, plus direct business with the NEC Group, equates to £8m per year.

In addition to the direct business opportunity and the platform to engage with the NEC’s captive and highly engaged audience - the NEC Group is offering naming rights to the NEC venue itself. Alongside significant brand awareness growth via a complete rename and rebrand of the venue, additional benefits would include use of the halls for annual staff or corporate functions, tickets to shows and concerts for use in consumer marketing promotions and corporate entertainment and the ability to create bespoke activations within the NEC’s facilities.

To discuss this opportunity further and explore how you can exploit the compelling new business opportunity and bring the strategic partnership alive for your business, please call Nathan Thompson on (+44) 07881 343359