Best Covid-19 Bounceback - Conferences

Earlier this summer Rockitfish was awarded Gold Winner for Best Covid-19 Bounceback in the Conferences category at the Conference & Events Awards staged at Old Billingsgate Market.

Judges Comments: “The judges said they liked their values and it was really good to hear retaining the team was a priority! There were really impressive numbers and business refocus was commendable.”

The following is a summary of our submission.

Background

2020 was looking to be a record year. Rockitfish experienced significant growth in 2019 (27%) and by March were already 15% ahead of our sales objective, booked twice as many projects as at the same point 2019 and our pipeline was markedly higher than at any point in the past. We'd also taken on 2 new staff at the end of 2019 (20% increase in headcount).

We were very confident we’d established a credible and capable creative event agency and were totally confident in the quality and capability of the team.

And then the pandemic hit. Everything cancelled and we had nothing on the books.

Plan

Our 2020 plan went out the window. We’d worked hard over 6 years to get the business to this point and believed wholeheartedly in the strength of the current team. Stopping – permanently or temporarily – was out of the question. But there was no question, we would have to adapt.

Our first action was to communicate firmly our number one priority – to survive with both our business and team intact. We then visited with the team what was at the core of Rockitfish: our vision, our mission, our DNA. These would continue to guide our decision-making. Our values – adventurous, smart and passionate – would drive our collective will to explore solutions and evolve.

Everyone played a role in developing a new plan – generating ideas to both create opportunity in the short-term but also get the company in the best possible shape for the future. The Directors also kept a tight focus on the financial plan.

Priority for all was to be in contact with clients to assure them we weren’t going anywhere and were here if they needed us.

Vital to keeping everyone informed and engaged was constant communication – at a collective and individual level, and through both meetings and social gatherings. We constantly shared information, spoke with colleagues, celebrated small wins and sought opportunities to enjoy lighter moments.

Activity

Individuals were allocated tasks and set about generating ideas, building a network of suppliers, identifying and assessing products and platforms and learning new skills.

This activity resulted in the development of a comprehensive Virtual Event proposition and a brand-new suite of products and services – none of which we offered previously. To support this, we developed web pages, digital brochures and fully customisable presentations. Internally, we developed resources comprising product information, supplier agreements and costing models.

The following is a summary of how our proposition evolved over 2020:

April – Team Engagement in a Virtual World: Remote Social & Team Events

This comprised 2 elements, initially offering around 50+ events (now 100+):

• Virtual Team Challenges: App based gamification to involve audiences of all sizes in online team challenges designed to drive effective teamwork. Activities include Escape Rooms, Murder Mysteries, a Live Music Quiz and Master of Tasks.

• Event in a Box: Our home delivery service to remote workers, hosted by an expert and getting everyone involved from the comfort of their own house. Activities include Craft Workshops, Cheese and Wine Tasting, Culinary Workshops and a Cocktail Experience.

May – Going Live & Online: Guide to Virtual Meetings & Events

This was our Virtual Event Production proposition, offering advice and solutions for digital Conferences, Awards, Launches and Celebrations at a range of budget levels.

June – RockitBox: Bespoke Gift Boxes & Care Packages

Creative customised gift boxes and care packages designed to engage, reward, recognise or inspire remote workers and clients. Fully customisable and at a range of budgets, with gift personalisation, branding, packaging and distribution. We developed 12 sample boxes including the WellBox, RewardBox, LearnBox, PartyBox and EventBox.

July – Workplace Wellness in a Virtual World

Workshops and activities to drive wellbeing programmes for remote employees. Our Workplace Wellness topics include: Wellbeing and Mindfulness, Nutrition, Health and Fitness, Food and Drink, Arts and Crafts.

August – Christmas 2020: Doing it Differently

We created a collection of festive themed activities in a comprehensive online brochure, as well as offering bespoke solutions.

Results

Steady growth from the Spring, then significant progress from September, culminating in our busiest ever December.

In summary (2020 v 2019)

• 971 enquiries – up 262%

• 611 new enquiries in Q4 – up 1,228%

• 342 events – up 280%

• 250 events in Q4 – up 793%

• 185 active clients – up 278%

• 157 new clients – up 504%

In addition, we:

• Retained staff – no losses/redundancies due to Covid-19

• Produced and launched our Sustainability Policy and Plan

• Refined our Venue Sourcing process

• Refreshed our Project & Event Management processes and documentation

• Supported team members in any external Learning and Development

• Implemented a new CRM system and venues/suppliers database

2021 & Back to Live

2020 was an incredibly challenging year but undoubtedly we emerged stronger. A fantastic final quarter boosted morale and and we now had an extraordinary breadth of new services.

Having delivered over 340 projects to 185 clients - of which 157 were new - meant the team had an incredible opportunity ahead of them. Further, there was the anticipation of the return of live events.

For the directors, we had succeeded in our primary objective – keeping the business and team intact. And we now had a more experienced and capable group of people, that were closer than ever having dealt with adversity as a team.

2021 proved to be a far more successful year than we ever imagined (2021 v 2019)

• We hit a turnover number in excess of £2million – growth of 26%

• Our Gross Profit number grew by 64%

• We added another 3 members of staff – a 25% increase

• We worked with over 240 clients – growth of 396%

• We were joined by over 170 new clients – growth of 562%

• There were almost 1,700 enquiries – growth of 532%

• The team delivered 462 projects or events – growth of 413%

Our work was split 50/50 virtual/hybrid and face-to-face; and 90% of our in-person events confirmed and operated September – December.

This was one of many Awards the team were delighted to pick up in 2022. We continue to grow at pace and have doubled the size of the business by the end of the year.