Being right in the centre of Tonbridge, easy walking distance to the town centre and British Rail station, but also easily accessible from the M25. We also have a large car park on site accommodating 94 vehicles. This accessible location and convenience of our on site parking, made it a great venue for Nissan to gather their people from all over the region.

Not only was it convenient for the delegates to get to the venue but Nissan was also able to test drive the cars on surrounding quiet roads, only minutes away from the high street. This allowed them to become familiar with the vehicle and to get to grips with the car’s capabilities on the road.

The River Centre at the heart of South East England

Tonbridge is at the heart of South East England, which makes it the ideal location to gather clients and colleagues from all over the region. Because the River Centre is one of a kind, a modern and versatile conferencing facility, we are fully capable of adapting our venue to meet most client requirements. This was confirmed by the Nissan team, who organise these events on a regular basis, in their feedback to us.

They valued the fact that the staff at the River Centre were all professional and easy to work with and flexible to the customers requirements. As a venue, we do our best to make our clients feel welcome and to meet the needs that can arise during the event. Needless to say with a professional, flexible team who love hosting our clients in our state of the art conferencing venue, guarantees your event will be a great success.

Prospective delegates were booking right up to the last minute on line and those who missed the deadline registered on Friday morning. We were hoping Paul Carter, (Leader of Kent County Council) might be able to attend but at the last moment this wasn’t possible, however we were pleased to welcome Greg Clark MP back to The River Centre.

Fast Broadband Connections Essential for Growth

Following a brief BBC Radio Kent interview, the morning kicked off at a fast pace with Kevin Lynes, who highlighted the importance of fast internet connection which has left some individuals without a speedy broadband connection feeling isolated. It is felt the lack of fast broadband connection can lead to a two tier society, particularly in schools, where online teaching tools are now so vital to the education of children and teenagers.

During the morning all delegates met in our Grand Meeting Room, during lunch, this room had been swiftly subdivided such that delegates could meet in two separate rooms. This fulfilled the requirement of the Roadshow perfectly as workshops met the needs for business delegates to discuss how their companies are able to get involved in rolling out the next generation of internet access. While the other half of the group was consumer-based, identifying the ways in which local people might be able to benefit from the technological developments.

Intensive Q and A Panel Session

The last session of the day, the whole group was brought back together again by sliding the centre partition into the recess bringing the room to the initial footprint of the day, this enabled the speakers to bring the day to a close with a Q & A panel session – some rather intense grilling took place by the audience to the panel.

It was a pleasure to partner with Andrew and Marit working with them in developing the plans for the day and also on the day to see expectations for the roadshow completely fulfilled and seamlessly executed. We recommend that you attend one of the other dates local to you on the roadshow, and we look forward to seeing them again next year for another fantastic day.

For more information on the Next Gen Events go to: www.nextgenevents.co.uk

How do you entice visitors to attend your Product Launch in Kent?

Unfortunately, the whole world is not on the edge of their seats waiting for you to tell them about your new product. However, there are some people who will find your product of great interest and value. These people will become fans of your product and help you to spread the word. So, how can you create fans of your new product? One way is to invite the right people to a Product Launch.

Who are the right people?

That is a difficult question. Before we address that question, let’s get down to basics. You are holding a product launch, because you want sales. Get this into focus. Do you expect to make sales at the event? Is your aim to get media coverage to help spread the word about your new product, or are you looking to impress retailers who may want to sell your product? Get clear about your Product Launch purpose. Invite the right type of people for that purpose.

Kent – Product Launch Motivation

Once you have established the purpose of your product launch and the type of people you want to invite, you need to give them a compelling reason to attend. A celebrity may catch the attention of the media. If you are targeting consumers, you may want to offer a reduced rate if they purchase the product at the event. Get creative and consider a compelling reason for guests to attend your Product Launch.

Post-Product Launch Follow Up

Get the most out of your contacts from the product launch. Be sure to capture their contact details and permission to add them to your email marketing list. Connect with them on Social Media. Send them a survey to get feedback on the product. Keep communicating with them. Think of reasons to remind them about your product. For example, you can follow up the initial Product Launch with a mini-launch of a Facebook Fan page. The day you launch the Facebook Fan page, you can have a member of staff available to answer questions about the product posted on the page.

Product Launch Venue in Kent, South East England

We welcome interested parties to book a visit to inspect our technologically advanced Product Launch venue and facilities here in Tonbridge, Kent in South East England.

Impressive Technology at the River Centre in Kent

At The River Centre we have some impressive technology!! For example, you can welcome your guests with our large LCD screen in the Foyer. We have a portable PA system that will allow you to build a sense of excitement around your event or exhibition. Our auditorium has an amazing mixing desk and twin projectors, so you can stage an impressive audio visual display that your attendees will be sure to remember.

WiFi FREE for all at the River Centre Events Venue

We offer Wi-Fi throughout the building, so your exhibitors and guests will be able to use their computers, ipads and smartphones to capture those leads direct in their CRM database or email marketing system.

3 Innovative ways exhibitors can use technology

1. Use QR Codes
QR codes are square codes (think barcodes) that smartphones with a QR code reader can scan. Scanning the QR code will pass information onto their mobile device. You can use your QR code to direct customers to a specific page of your website or your contact details. It’s useful to print a QR code on your roller banner. If you are busy speaking to someone on your stand, an interested delegate can just scan the code of your roller banner and still get information about your business without speaking to you or taking any printed material.

2. Make the most of mobile devices
Send one of your exhibitors to walk around with an ipad to show off your website to delegates. You can also then capture email addresses and sign them up to your email marketing mailing list or enter them in a prize draw. By inputting email addresses on the ipad at the event, you save yourself on administrative tasks after the event, making follow up communications fast and efficient.

3. Love LCD
Using LCD monitors at your stand adds visual interest and draws delegates in. You can use your LCD screen to show presentations, video clips or even your website.

At The River Centre, we have the Wi-Fi, conveniently located power points and state of the art Audio Visual equipment. We have everything you, your exhibitors and delegates need to have an exciting exhibition that makes the most of today’s technology.

Technologically Advanced Exhibition Centre in Kent, South East England

You really do have to see it to believe it, The River Centre is a new modern building strategically located near all major arterial roads in Kent, South East England. We welcome visitors who may be interested in using our Exhibitions and Conference or Meetings facilities in the future, simply call us or fill out the form to book a visit and we will give you the VIP guided tour of the River Centre.

Regardless of the size or your event, from six people in a closed meeting to an High-Profile Exhibition for hundreds of delegates we can cater for your needs with a technologically advance venue.

1. Decide

The success of your event hinges on the initial decisions you make. Clear decisions about the purpose of your event and the roles and responsibilities of your event team will help your event planning process run smoothly.

You need to decide
Who:
Who will be on your events team and what will be each person’s role?
Who will you invite to the event?
Who will be invited to the event from your organisation?
Who will be VIP guests or speakers?

What:
What do you want your guests to gain by attending?
What will your guests do on arrival?
What content will you provide your guests?
What food and drinks will you serve?

When:
When is the best time of year to host the event?
When is the most convenient time of day to host the event?
When are all of your key attendees available?
When will the event start and finish?

Where:
Where will you hold your event? (That’s easy. The River Centre is conveniently located in Tonbridge, Kent.)
Where will your guests park? (That’s also easy. The River Centre has ample parking spaces.)
Where will your guests be travelling from?
Where will your guests need to sit, listen, network, view displays, etc within the venue?

Why:
Why will your invited guests attend?
Why are you hosting the event?

Once you have made decisions about your event, you are ready to start event planning.

2. Schedule

Schedule a convenient date and hire The River Centre as far in advance as possible. This leaves you plenty of time to schedule every detail. Once you have the date decided, you should create an event plan that details every last details from how you will market the event to what time refreshments will be served.

3. Implement

Use your detailed schedule to start implementing you event action plan. A details schedule will make it easy to implement the right actions to make your event happen.

4. Monitor

During the event, monitor the satisfaction of your guests. Your Events Team should monitor that speakers and guests have everything they need to enjoy the evening.

5. Evaluate

Be sure to get feedback and testimonials from your guests. Use this feedback and your own assessment of the event to evaluate the effectiveness of the event against the aims you set out in the decision making process.

These 5 event planning tips will help ensure you host a successful event. The River Centre will be happy to assist the smooth running of your event.

So, what’s the secret to running a successful Roadshow?

Let’s look at one of the most widely recognised Roadshow in the UK for help. The Antiques Roadshow first hit our television screens in 1977 and is probably one of the most well known Roadshows. So, how has it managed to keep guests interest for more than three decades? The answer is simple.

The purpose of the Antiques Roadshow is clear.
Roadshow attendees can get advice and a valuation from antique specialists.

The target audience of the Antiques Roadshow is clear.
The target audience is people who are interested in antiques.

In the television programme, they also include a video clip about the history of the venue they are visiting, but they keep this segment relevant to their overall purpose by discussing some of the antique historical objects. Consistently ensuring all of the content of the Roadshow meets the audiences’ expectations and interests is the secret to the show’s success.

Applying a bit of Antiques Roadshow magic to your Roadshow

Before planning the content of your Roadshow, answer the following questions.
1. Who will attend your Roadshow? (Who is your target audience?)
2. What is the purpose of the Roadshow?
3. Will your purpose for holding the Roadshow meet the expectations of your visitors?

People planning Roadshows often fall into the trap of focussing too much on their purpose instead of thinking of the expectations and of their visitors. The Antiques Roadshow works, because the Roadshow fills a need by providing antique experts to people who want the chance to have their antiques valued. If your purpose is to raise more awareness of your brand or gain new customers, your purpose might be out of alignment with the expectations of your visitors. If that is the case, you must get creative when you plan the content of your Roadshow, but don’t get too carried away. Keep your content relevant and focussed. Clearly define the purpose and target audience for your Roadshow.

Roadshow Venues in Kent, South East England

The River Centre in Tonbridge, Kent really is a first rate Roadshow venue. If your organisation is seeking a modern, high profile, technologically advanced Roadshow venue we invite you to visit us and inspect our facilities and to discuss your requirements. We believe, as do our clients that the River Centre can help you to stage your Roadshow in style with no fuss at a bufget that makes sense!

Build a buzz about your Awards Ceremony in the South East

Each year people start talking about the Oscars long before the event. Part of what creates the buzz surrounding the Academy Awards Ceremony is the anticipation of what guests are going to wear, who will be nominated for awards and how special the awards ceremony will be. The media help build the excitement by giving information about the presenters and awards nominees before the show.

Your Awards Ceremony might not be worthy of a spread in OK magazine, however here are a few tips to create the Oscar Treatment buzz for your Awards Ceremony.

The River Centre’s 10 Oscar Treatment Tips

1. Print high quality formal invitations.
To really give the Oscar Treatment, choose gold metallic envelopes.
2. Dress code – Black Tie.
By setting the dress code as black tie, your guests will feel that your Awards Ceremony is truly a special occasion.
3. Arrange some local PR.
Invite the industry specific magazines and local newspapers to come along to the event.
4. Hire a local photographer.
Tell your guests that a photographer will be available to photograph them on arrival. Guests can get an electronic copy of the photograph for a small donation to charity. They can also purchase prints direct from the photographer. Having your photo snapped on arrival is an essential component of the Oscar Treatment.
5. Update guests with email news
Reduce no shows by sending email updates prior to the event. Give information about your key note speaker and tell the stories of key award nominees. Build a pre-awards ceremony buzz, just like the Oscars.

VIP Treatment for guests at your Awards Ceremony

6. Cocktail Reception
Welcome guests with a Cocktail reception including The River Centre’s finest canapés.
7. Goody Bags
Have goody bags for your guests. We can provide a bag of branded sweets for that special touch. You may not be able to afford the exclusive gifts in the Oscar goody bags, but you can still make your guests feel special with a small token gift.
8. Lights, Camera, Action
Our Main Auditorium comes equipped with state of the art Audio Visual equipment. Our LCD projectors and lighting will create visual impact.
9. Music
To truly give your guests the Oscar Treatment, our Audio Visual Team can play music as those you honour make their way to the stage to accept their awards.
10. Record your Awards Ceremony on Video
We can professionally record your Awards Ceremony, making it a night to remember.

And the award goes to. . .
You for choosing to host your Awards Ceremony at The River Centre.

Our Commitment

Before your meeting we will liaise with you to ensure that we fully understand your requirements. We will set up the room as you require. If you require any refreshments or Audio Visual equipment, like a projector, we will ensure that it is set up and ready for you before your arrival. Our meeting rooms are soundproofed, so you won’t be distracted by any external noises.

If you require refreshments throughout the day, our staff will discreetly and efficiently provide refreshments with minimal disruption to your meeting. We pride ourselves on our organisation, and we will do all we can to ensure that on arrival, you can get straight down to business.

We understand that having a productive meeting is important to you. We will do our best to make sure that your meeting room is perfect.

5 tips to ensure that your meeting runs smoothly

1. Send all attendees a map to The River Centre
Make sure that all of your attendees know where to find us to avoid late arrivals.
2. Ask attendees to arrive 15 minutes early for refreshments.
Asking attendees to arrive early for refreshments, allows for late arrivals due to traffic. It also gives everyone the chance to catch up before the meeting starts.
3. Circulate an agenda before the meeting and ask for amendments
By circulating the agenda well in advance of the meeting, you are ensuring that everyone is clear on the purpose of your meeting. Asking for amendments also is the opportunity for people to add a topic that is not included. If the Chair feels the topic is not appropriate for the meeting, this can be dealt with prior to the meeting instead of allowing it to become a distraction on the day.
4. Schedule how much time will be spent on each agenda item.
Having allotted time slots helps the Chair to keep the meeting focussed and productive. If not enough time was allocated for a particular agenda item, the group can agree to discuss further in a future meeting or quickly agree some action points to make progress on the agenda item.
5. Time keeping
The minute taker can monitor the time spent on each agenda item and signal the Chair when it’s time to move to the next agenda item.

The River Centre Meetings Venue is the place to get down to business in Kent.

The River Centre team in Tonbridge, Kent can help you plan the perfect meeting of any size from small informal groups to large AGM’s or Boardroom style meetings. We think that we are the premier meetings venue in Kent. Let us show you why.

We know that we have the right spaces, equipment, catering and beautifully lit temperature controlled venue for your Conference in the South East. That leaves you with the hard work of agreeing the speakers, content and securing delegates to attend.

Make use of Surveys before the Conference

Conference organisers often plan to get feedback from delegates after the event, but why not gain some feedback from potential delegates before the event? Circulating a survey prior to planning the programme for the Conference will help you to adapt the detail of your Conference to the wants of your delegates. This will help you to increase delegate numbers and delegate satisfaction. Why guess what your delegates want to learn or experience when you can ask them?

Simple Surveys

You may be thinking that you have far too many details to organise to add a survey to the list, however think how disappointed you will feel if you misjudge the content your delegates want to hear. Not only can you discover the hot topics to cover, you can also ask delegates directly what they liked or disliked about other conferences they have attended.

Gathering feedback from surveys doesn’t need to be difficult. You can easily create a free survey with a website called Survey Monkey. Survey Monkey will allow you to create and publish online surveys. Results are gathered in real time, and it collates results for you, making is simple to use surveys to better target the content of your Conference at The River Centre.

Call the Kent Conference Venue Team

Click any of the tabs at the top of the page to request a brochure or contact the team at The River Centre, Kent Conference Centre.

Businesses from throughout Kent gathered once again at The River Centre for the 4th consecutive Creaseys Chartered Accountant’s Budget Breakfast. Armed with a full English breakfast, delegates gained expert opinion on George Osborne’s Emergency Budget from a specialist panel assembled by the Tunbridge Wells firm.

Special guest David Philpott, chairman of The Institute of Directors Kent was also in attendance, contributing his experience and advice in a rapidly changing financial climate.