150 attendees.
9 speakers. Â
One unforgettable day.
BITE 2018 took Carlisle Racecourse by storm on Friday the 12th of October. Business owners from across the North of England came together to learn how innovative technology could transform their business – with a firm focus on Xero.
In this blog post, we take a look back at how the event came to be, the behind-the-scenes graft, and the results of a terrific and inspiring day.
A Brief History of BITE
The initial idea for a local business event hosted by Saint & Co. came about when our partner, Andrew Liddle, attended Xerocon London in 2017. He witnessed first-hand the impact the event had on himself and his colleagues, and he knew that many of our 2500 clients would benefit greatly from using Xero.
But how could we get them excited about that prospect? How could we best demonstrate what was possible? Andrew very quickly realised that a Xerocon-style event (only smaller) would be a game-changer in Carlisle.
And with the help of Karen Reyburn of The Profitable Firm, we set about putting it in motion.
What Went Into Creating BITE 2018?
A lot of hard work!
BITE 2018 was six months in the making, from event planning, branding and marketing, to securing venue hire, sponsorship, and speakers.
- Logo & Branding – The BITE concept was originally created by Brighton-based firm MHA Carpenter Box. With their blessing, we amended the logo to include our signature Saint blue.
- Marketing – The Profitable Firm created a dedicated website for BITE 2018, with all of the important information neatly displayed across each page. This was complemented by their carefully planned content marketing campaign, complete with event invites, emails, and blog posts.
- Venue Hire – We knew we needed somewhere bright and modern to reflect the ethos of BITE, and Carlisle Racecourse more than fit the bill. The spacious main room gave us plenty of space to fit our attendees and exhibitors without feeling claustrophobic, and with 9 TV screens, everyone had a great view of our speakers’ slides.
- Sponsors – We secured a number of local and national sponsors, which allowed us to push the event to a wider audience, and also connect our attendees with important networking opportunities.
- Speakers – Finally, the most important part of any conference or event, we confirmed an impressive lineup of speakers: John Stevenson (MP), Ashleigh Lambert (Xero), Karen Reyburn (The Profitable Firm), and Andrew & Pete (content marketing duo).
The Result? See For Yourself
Watch our video summary of the day’s events below to see it all come together:
In Summary
BITE 2018 was a smashing success, but don’t take our word for it! Here’s a small sample of the incredible feedback we received:
“Possibly the best event I have been to!” – Angela Roberts
“Thank you for providing a breadth of high quality speakers for free” – Julia Cater
Our attendees were enthusiastic and ready to learn from the outset, and our speakers did not disappoint. Full of energy and knowledge, they crammed so much into such a short space of time.
Did you miss out on BITE 2018? Don’t worry – we’re already hard at work on the plan for BITE 2019! Register your interest here.
Read a comprehensive case study of BITE over on the Profitable Firm’s website.
