Overview

Ultramarine Partnership’s core business is in–flight retail publishing. The founder, entrepreneur Max Williams wanted to bring 150 airlines and in–flight retail suppliers together at an Ultramarine hosted two day conference in Brighton. The result was ARC (Airline Retail Conference) – the only conference that specialises and focuses on in–flight retail innovation.

The Wizards brief

• Help us create a conference that gets individuals from different organisations and countries interacting with each other in order to engender a spirit of collaboration to influence the future of in–flight retail.
• Give delegates an unforgettable experience so that they spread the word about ARC and come back year after year.

There were a couple of restrictions: budget (this was the first ARC conference) and space (the conference venue was stunning but boutique...)

The Solution

The Wizards proposed a two prong approach:

1. Having expert Wizard Richard Colley as the conference MC
2. Dedicating an entire afternoon of the conference to a Wizards facilitated brainstorm about innovation in in–flight retail

Why it worked

Firstly, because Richard was not an in–flight retail expert, he was able to give a fresh perspective and bring ideas from outside the industry. Also, Richard enjoys working with large groups. He makes people feel at ease, surprises and challenges them. He has a particular talent for reading the energy in the room and reacting accordingly. His consulting and coaching background means that he was able to give the conference a sense of progression.

Richard’s network includes a number of expert facilitators from a change consultancy whom he managed to convince to get involved at no cost. This meant that the innovation afternoon could take place in small groups, enabling extensive interaction between delegates and some very feasible ideas for the industry to take away.

What participants thought

“Very different, very innovative, very good. Congratulations.”

Martin Moodie
The Moodie report

What the client thought

“Richard was instrumental in the success of ARC2007. I lost count of the number of delegates who commented on Richard’s humour, energy, refreshing approach and the extra mile he went to create an atmosphere ripe for debate, discussion and progression. The retail innovation afternoon was very exciting and the perfect way to get delegates interacting. Not being from the in–flight industry, Richard was able to bring new ideas and approaches from other industries. We very much look forward to working with him at ARC2008.”

Max Williams
Managing Partner
Ultramarine

The longer term impact

Delegates are chomping at the bit for ARC2008. Richard Colley is working with Ultramarine to design an even better experience for ARC2008 possibly involving other Wizards as well. See you there!

Looking to host a conference with a difference? Contact the Wizards to find out more

For more information about ARC, please visit www.arc2007.com