No drizzle in Brizzle with South West marketers hot for networking
Review of the Bristol Link-up II, the networking event for marketing professionals
The 4th August saw the Only Marketing Jobs regional marketers networking initiative set a new record for attendance, as swanky BSB Bar played host to more than 200 business professional revellers.
No unusually for Bristol the venue was half-full before the official opening time of 6pm. What is it about Bristol and after-work drinking?! This set the tone for the evening, with the out-of-bounds areas being opened to accommodate the throng.
Those involved
At 7pm attendees were welcomed to the occasion and introduced to sponsors and event partners, which included: Carol Mann, director of website strategy & planning company, Smart|WP; Mark Thornton, owner of CV writing service, Platinum CVs; and Suzie Sharpe, career coach and owner of corporate personnel development company, Key Change Training.
Also amidst the crowd were Nick Wilkins, representative from Cambridge Marketing College and Jane Silk, regional chair of CIM. Great to see such prestigious organisations spreading their good word.
The South West is home to some fantastic marketing recruitment agencies and this event was lucky enough to attract the lovely Melanie Scoobie from Xchangeteam and the wonderfully enigmatic girls from Fishtank. If you are seeking marketing jobs in the South West, you should be contacting these companies.
Contact-making
Of course, the purpose of networking is to make new contacts; but some people are better at this than others. So to encourage relationship development the Link-up events are now supported by networking guru and owner of Advancement Careers, Lloyd Dalton-Brown, who inspires people to meet other people, with verve and purpose. This was a change to the first Bristol event in February and attendees took to it naturally, thoroughly embracing the seven quick-fire speed introduction sessions. Speed networking, power networking: call it what you will, but it works. New business contacts, guaranteed.
Spirit & sparkle
Despite the constant rain(!) Bristol remains a happy place, where people tend to go about their lives with a spring in their step. This event was evidence of an invigorated community where networking is not just done, it thrives. It was amazing to see so many attendees embracing the power of face-to-face interaction, and going about it with passion and vigour. Nice work, Bristol.
Bubbles & blushes
In a first for the Link-ups, the recruitment-agency sponsored champagne draw was won by a competitor. As amused hush descended on the venue, it was the dubious honour of Fishtank’s Julia Rees to hand a bottle of Veuve Clicquot to local horn-locker and new recruitment buddy, Jules Haynes, from Marketing Mix. The photo of the champagne exchange is priceless. Testament to Bristol’s recruitment community, though, that it was smiles all the way.
Join the Bristol community
Bristol is a thriving hub for marketing and advertising professionals. They really ‘get’ networking and make the most of it, whether online or face-to-face. If you would like to connect with attendees of this event you can view the registration list and join them in the South West sub-group of the UK Marketing Lounge, which is home to 17,000 UK marketing professionals. Why not join the Twitter conversation, too.
View photos of the evening and join the Facebook community.
Thank to our magnificent event sponsors…
Hand-picked sponsors delivering you utmost relevance and benefit from their involvement:
And our wonderful event partners…
An integral part of the OMJ event entourage:
Did you attend the Bristol Link-up II? We’d love your feedback on the event. Please comment below.
Simon Lewis | Editor | Only Marketing Jobs
Related posts:
- No outciders when South West goes social
- The Bristol Link-up | Networking for Marketers | 3rd February 2010
- First South West Freelancer of the Year Awards proves a hit
- Review of the Bristol Link-up networking event
- The Bristol Link-up II | Networking for marketers | 4th August 2010
- Review of the Cambridge Link-up 2: networking event for marketers
- Social networking for UK marketers | the 2010 regional diary
- The Leeds Link-up: networking event for marketers
- The Birmingham Link-up | Networking for Marketers | 30th June 2010
- The Guildford Link-up: networking event for marketers
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I would like to thank OMJ for these awesome (do I use that word too much?) events. Not only are they great fun but can be an incredibly targeted way to do business. Work the room right and the room will work for you! Lloyd is there to help motivate and instigate your networking but the effort and ‘networking awareness’ has to come from you.
I have already, today, had a business meeting with the lovely Lloyda and Phil Hall from @elzware – who create the most Artificial Intelligence integration for websites. Our businesses and target audience are compatible and complementary and so onwards and upwards.
I have two other meetings lined up which should prove fruitful as well.
If you haven’t yet, make sure you attend these events… you so won’t regret it.
Thanks for your input, Carol.
I agree that what you put into networking, you get out. It amazes me sometimes that people have all the intention of networking; they arrive at the event on time, sink a glass of wine, eat some food, then at the first site of a bit of effort, head for the door. These are the same people who then protest the following day that the event didn’t work for them.
Networking is about getting involved on the pitch, not sitting in the stands.
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