Special Committee of Council
Minutes 11
November 2019
6 reports
from officers
6.1 Whitehorse
Business Week 2019
Presenters: Deborah
Shambrook, Assistant Manager Investment & Economic Development
Jacqueline
Sgro, Business Marketing Communications Officer
6.1.1 Whitehorse Business Week 2019
SUMMARY
Whitehorse Business Week (WBW)
2019 was launched Thursday 8 August and concluded on Friday 16 August.
The annual program was refreshed
providing networking opportunities, an opportunity for the business community
to expand their knowledge and gain information on the latest trends.
The program catered for both
emerging and established businesses and managers and included collaboration via
sponsorship and co - event hosting.
This report presents a summary
and the outcomes of Whitehorse Business Week (WBW) 2019.
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Special Committee of Council Resolution
Moved by Cr Liu, Seconded
by Cr Cutts
That Council:
1. Acknowledges the success of Whitehorse
Business Week 2019.
2. Acknowledges and thanks attendees, sponsors, speakers, venues,
businesses and organisers
of Whitehorse Business Week 2019.
Carried Unanimously
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background
Considered as a leading business program in
the eastern region of Melbourne, the 2019 Whitehorse Business Week (WBW)
was the 19th staging of this annual program. Since its establishment
in 2001, WBW has now attracted more than 14,100 participants and has become
well recognised as a feature on the annual program of events for business in
Victoria.
The purpose of WBW is to provide
local and regional businesses with the opportunity to access
information and new ways to improve and grow their business, provide
information on the future direction of national and international business
trends and to take part in networking events.
DISCUSSION
Program
The 19th
staging of Whitehorse Business Week (WBW) saw a refreshed program consisting of
six events, including collaborations with a number of organisations.
Thursday 8 August - Whitehorse Business Week Launch and Networking
Local business
representatives, Councillors, and sponsors were
entertained by the energetic Asanti Dance Theatre. The performance encouraged
audience participation and engagement resulting in much networking occurring
throughout the evening. The Mayor officially launched the new Box Hill Logo
that followed with a presentation to the local resident who designed the logo.
2019 was the first year in which the event was open to members of this wider
business community, it had previously been invite only.
Monday 12 August – China Insights with Tom Parker
The week commenced with the business lunch; China
Insights with Tom Parker. Tom Parker, Partner of Bastion China, shared
insights on the importance of WeChat, the rise of sports diplomacy and business
relations with China. This business lunch was jointly run with the Australia
China Business Council.
Tuesday 13 August – Mainstreet Australia Victorian
Conference
The 2019 Victorian conference had a key theme of Localism
and social commentator Bernard Salt and leading Placemaker Kylie Legg.
Attendees were invited to a walking tour of Box Hill with the Box Hill Activity
Centre Manager. With a placemaking and retail focus, the conference added a
different perspective to WBW.
Wednesday 14 August – Women in Business Luncheon
The celebration commenced with stand up networking with
champagne service. Emma Welsh from “Emma and Tom’s” was the
keynote presenter at the luncheon and captivated the audience sharing many
stories and gave attendees some great insights into how she has achieved
success in business and the obstacles which Emma and Tom’s has and
continue to overcome.
Thursday 15 August – Biz Day
The inaugural staging of Biz Day had a number of
offerings for small to medium size businesses. The program included small
business mentoring sessions from the Small Business Mentoring Service, a single
touch payroll session facilitated by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and a
government information expo consisting of a range of government organisations.
Biz Day was created to cater for the smaller sized and less established
businesses in the Whitehorse business community.
Friday 16 August– Digital Strategy and Customer
Experience for Business
The final event
for WBW19, was a business lunch with keynote speaker Mark Cameron. Mark
presented information relevant for small to medium sized businesses and
highlighted the importance of doing one thing exceptionally well in the digital
space. The lunch also included a brief sponsor presentation that acknowledged
Whitehorse Business Week sponsors.
Promotion
WBW 2019 was promoted widely in the lead up to the program
of events. Promotional channels and platforms that were used in 2018 were
reviewed to ensure best spend of the marketing dollar. 2019 marketing and
promotion included:
Digital
· Whitehorse
City Council’s Investment and Economic Development Unit’s website
www.wbiz.com.au
· Promotional
video from 2018 footage highlighting WBW and used on several digital platforms.
· A
series of e-bulletins sent to the Wbiz website database – over 1000 local
businesses.
· Promotion
through the Victorian Government’s Business Victoria Local Events program’s
social media platforms.
· Radio
advertising on 89.9 Light FM.
· A
series of paid Facebook advertisements on Whitehorse Business Page.
· Promotion
through business groups in conjunction with contra sponsorship (Whitehorse
Business Group, Working Mumma, and LightFM).
Print
· Front
cover and double-page spread in the Down to Business newsletter, 2nd edition
2019 - distributed to over 4000 businesses in Whitehorse.
· 2
x Media Releases distributed to local news outlets.
· Double
page feature spread in the August edition of the Whitehorse News, editorials in
the June and July editions, distributed to 60 000 households in the City of
Whitehorse.
· Program
distribution to Council customer service centres.
· Program
distribution to special rates shopping centres.
Additional Promotion
· Collaboration
with Manningham City Council as their Women in Business Event was at a similar
time. Special ticket offers were created to include both of the events and
allowed for greater cross promotion with competitors in collaboration.
Registrations
|
Date
|
Event
|
Attendance
|
|
Thursday 8 August
|
Whitehorse
Business Week Launch and Networking Event
|
67
|
|
Monday 12 August
|
China
Insights with Tom Parker (Australia China Business Council)
|
65
|
|
Tuesday 13 August
|
Localism.
Mainstreet Australia Victorian Conference
|
220
|
|
Wednesday 14 August
|
Women in Business Luncheon
|
194
|
|
Thursday 15 August
|
Biz Day
2019
· Single
Touch Payroll (ATO)
· Small
Business Mentoring (one-on-one)
· Government
information Expo
|
53
8
6
|
|
Friday 16 August
|
Digital Strategy and Customer
Experience for your Business
|
58
|
|
TOTAL
ATTENDANCE
|
671
|
Registration Source
At the conclusion of the registration process, attendees
were prompted with the question, “How did you hear about the
event?”
In relation to single source platforms, the WBIZ website was
the most selected promotional platform with Down to Business, Whitehorse Leader
and Whitehorse News and Whitehorse Business Facebook selected on a similar
number of occasions.
The “other” category was the most selected overall
category and included responses such as sponsor guests, word of mouth, Small
Business Victoria and Whitehorse staff.
NB:
Information displayed represents events where Whitehorse took bookings
Sponsors
The 2019 sponsorship offering evolved
from previous years. Feedback from former years indicated that networking was a
priority for sponsors. Therefore facilitated networking was introduced as an
element of the sponsorship opportunities available to premium sponsors.
Sponsor logos were placed onto a
WBW sponsor banners to increase consistency at events and reduce the OH & S
risks regarding the transportation of individual sponsor banners.
Future Considerations
Some items to be considered for forward planning include:
· Review the format of WBW to ensure that it allows for
business representatives to attend.
· Continue to offer events/workshops/seminars that cater
for all different stages of business
· Continue to build partnerships and encourage a larger
involvement from businesses, including opportunities to partner with key
stakeholders in hosting events.
· Continue to review promotional channels to ensure best
spend of marketing dollar.
· Continue to discuss with regional council’s
about conducting collaborative regional events.
FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS
Sponsorship
The high
profile nature of Whitehorse Business Week provides opportunities for
businesses to align with the program of events in a sponsorship capacity.
Sponsorship
packages available this year were:
· Premium $2500
ex GST
· Support $500
ex GST
|
Premium Sponsors
|
Support Sponsors
|
|
Art Series -The Chen
Australia China Business Council
Australian Tax Office
Box Hill Golf Club
Deakin Business School
Light FM
Mainstreet Australia
Quest Burwood East
Saward Dawson Chartered
Accountants
Small Business Victoria through
Local Events
|
Aqualink Leisure
Centres
Crown Coaches
LDB
Robinson Gill
Lawyers
Whitehorse
Business Group
Whitehorse Centre
Working Mumma
|
Sponsorship Summary
|
Cash Sponsorship
|
$12,500
|
|
In- Kind Sponsorship
|
$23,500
|
|
Small Business Victoria Local Events - Funding
|
$10,000
|
|
Sponsorship Total
|
$46,000
|
Cash sponsorship
contributed to 51% of the total sponsorship value.
Tailored
sponsorship packages were taken up by several sponsors, offering use of their
goods and services as ‘in-kind’ support to assist in the overall
delivery of WBW. Examples include:
· Working Mumma (new sponsor), in-kind sponsorship included the promotion
and live content creation through Instagram and LinkedIn platforms.
· Australian China Business Council, in-kind sponsorship arrangement
event host/ partnership, marketing of events and provision of speaker.
· Light FM, a tailored in-kind sponsorship package including a series
of 30 second radio advertisements that were broadcast in the lead up to the
program. Additional tickets were negotiated for promotion through digital
marketing platforms to increase exposure and reach of the program.
· Quest Burwood East’s support sponsorship was elevated to
premium sponsorship level due to the use of their facility for the Whitehorse
Business Week Launch and Networking Event.
Whitehorse
City Council received funding from the Victorian Government’s Local
Events program that contributed towards Whitehorse Business Week. As a result
WBW gained additional and broader promotion via the Local Events Facebook page
in addition to the Women in Business Luncheon featuring in their electronic
newsletter for July.
Budget Summary (ex GST)
|
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
|
Total Income*
|
$86,175
|
$97,010
|
$79,423
|
|
Total Expenditure
|
$78,059
|
$82,025
|
$52,635
|
|
PROFIT/LOSS
|
$8,116
|
$14,984
|
$26,788
|
* Total income excludes
in-kind sponsorship figures.
The total income in 2019 decreased due to a
greater amount of sponsors electing to contribute via in-kind sponsorship
arrangements. In-turn, this resulted in a reduction in the total expenditure as
the goods and services of the sponsor were utilised (i.e.: marketing/ promotion
and catering discounts).
Both the China Insights lunch and
Mainstreet Conference did not result in any ticketing income for Whitehorse as
it was retained by the partnering organisations. These events were both
fabulous opportunities to strengthen relationships with these organisations and
showcase Whitehorse as a municipality. Mainstreet Conference was a once off
opportunity for Whitehorse and allowed for over 200 attendees to experience the
region.
The review of marketing and promotional
channels in addition to collaboration with other organisations and entities
contributed to the reduced expenditure and therefore increase in overall
profit.
It is envisaged that the funds resulting
from Whitehorse Business Week will be used to secure a high caliber of keynote
speakers for future events.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
The Whitehorse
Economic Development Strategy (EDS) 2014-2019 expands on the City of
Whitehorse Council Plan 2017-2021 and in particular, Strategic Objective 5:
“Support a Healthy Local Economy”.
EDS 2014-2019 states core areas of activity that Council has
a clear mandate to act within to facilitate economic opportunities and advocate
for local business communities to ensure positive economic development
outcomes. These four areas include:
· helping
business grow and prosper;
· responsible
leadership and advocacy;
· facilitating
connections;
· promoting
sustainable development.
WBW is designed to act on these areas and in turn make a
contribution to the economic sustainability and employment growth within the
City of Whitehorse.
WBW Key
Objectives:
· provide key information to assist business growth and investment;
· to build on Council’s database of local businesses;
· provide access to current knowledge and business trends through a
high calibre of speakers and events;
· provide access to services for more personalised business and investment information;
· to connect businesses through networking opportunities.
CONCLUSION
The benefits of WBW to the business community continue to be
significant. Sponsors of WBW are promoted throughout scheduled advertising and
have the opportunity to facilitate connections with businesses and representatives.
WBW offers an avenue for businesses to grow through the
access to business information and an opportunity to expand knowledge for local
businesses to grow and prosper.
WBW assists to raise the profile and services of
Council’s Investment and Economic Development (I & ED) Unit and
further builds on partnerships and working relationships between Council,
government organisations/ departments and the business community.
Attendees have the opportunity to connect with
Council’s I & ED staff and learn more about the support and services
available, discuss matters of interest, express any concerns and provide
feedback.
APPENDIX
2019 Sponsorship Summary
Sponsorship (Cash) Note
– amount not including GST
|
Type
|
Company
|
Investment
|
|
Premium
|
Art Series – The Chen
|
$2500
|
|
Premium
|
Australian Taxation Office
|
$2500
|
|
Premium
|
Deakin Business School
|
$2500
|
|
Premium
|
Quest Burwood East
|
$500
|
|
Premium
|
Saward Dawson Chartered
Accountants
|
$2500
|
|
Premium
|
Small Business Victoria Local
Events
|
$10000
|
|
Support
|
Crown Coaches
|
$500
|
|
Support
|
LDB
|
$500
|
|
Support
|
Robinson Gill Lawyers
|
$500
|
|
Support
|
Whitehorse Business Group
|
$500
|
|
CASH SPONSORSHIP TOTAL
|
$22,500
|
Sponsorship (In kind)
|
Type
|
Company and In-Kind details
|
$ Amount
|
|
|
Premium
|
Australia China Business
Council- event host/ partnership, marketing and provision of speaker
|
$2500
|
|
|
Premium
|
Box Hill Golf Club-
discounted catering cost
|
$2500
|
|
|
Premium
|
89.9 LightFM- 10 sec
advertisements
|
$5000
|
|
|
Premium
|
Mainstreet Australia
– event partnership, marketing and provision of speaker
|
$10000
|
|
|
Premium
|
Quest Burwood East
– use of venue for event
|
$2000
|
|
|
Support
|
Aqualink Leisure Centres
– 5 x Multipass Swim vouchers and 1 x 12mth total fitness membership
|
$500
|
|
|
|
|
Support
|
Whitehorse Centre-
theatre subscription package voucher
|
$500
|
|
|
Support
|
Working Mumma –
promotion and marketing of Whitehorse Business Week , in particular Women in
Business
|
$500
|
|
|
IN-KIND SPONSORSHIP TOTAL
|
$23,500
|
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