About the B2B Event Awards 2022 The Business Concept is proud to launch the B2B Event Awards! This inaugural awards programme is an innovative addition to the Business Concept brand, aiming to champion those involved in the B2B Event Management sector who expedite business-to-business relationships the world over. The Business Concept is a fresh digital platform. We recognise businesses from a multitude of sectors and shine a light on these industry specialists. From traditional service providers such as caterers and marketeers, to stall and stage designers at the forefront of tech-driven immersive experience, the B2B Event Awards want to showcase your achievements. The B2B Event industry is ever-expanding, encompassing many different companies and individuals, and so it falls to organisers to ensure that each national and international exhibition, tradeshow and conference is a tightly-run ship. Sofi Bajor - Senior Editor
Contents 4. Arshi Khan: Most Innovative B2B Events & Marketing Consultant (Maharashtra) 5. Scriberia: Most Innovative Design & Visual Communications Agency - UK 6. Forum Events: Leading Provider of Business Networking Events - UK 7. Paddle recognised among notable SaaS recurring billing solutions for digital business professionals 8. Playter, the Leading SME B2B Buy- Now-Pay-Later launches new product - Playter Paid
Most Innovative B2B Events & Marketing Consultant (Maharashtra): Arshi Khan The event management industry allows us to showcase our brand, meet new people, and spread our message, and the marketing industry aids us in building what we are presenting to the world – this is an invaluable, harmonious relationship which enables us to be the best that we can be. Now imagine the amalgamation of Events with Technology – what a tremendous experience! Businesses and individuals had to elevate their services and adapt to the culture of Hybrid Platforms, which enabled them to survive. This is where Arshi Khan was able to shine and rise – as she has plenty of hands-on experience with virtual platforms. No, she is not an engineer or an information technology professional, but yes, she did have the opportunity to get hands-on training during mid years of her career at UBM India Pvt Ltd (now Informa Markets). Arshi worked with the Technology Media Division and was responsible for driving marketing and brand management for two major exhibitions and many offsites, roundtables, and webinars. Arshi has also worked with Expomedia PLC, Hindustan Times Pvt Ltd and exchange4media Pvt Ltd. Her recent stint was with DelphianLogic Technologies as Associate Vice President – Customer Advocacy and Sales Marketing. For all areas of marketing, brand management, strategic management, and event management, Arshi has irreplaceable skills. These talents range from content development to website management, exhibition management, public relations, and much more. She has worked as an independent consultant as well as a full-time employee and, hence, her skills of adapting to diversified work cultures and understanding the working modules are commendable. She is able to research, and understand, any sector within the corporate landscape, and has a fantastic eye for detail when helping a business or individual with their brand development and management. Additionally, in recent years, she has successfully delivered 30+ virtual events and digital campaigns. As a digital marketer, brand strategist, and communitymanager, Arshi is a cooperative, creative, and respectful leader in the marketing industry. She has collaborated with corporates, agencies, and start-ups, giving her a rounded view of the marketing and events industries. With Arshi’s experience collaborating with people and the entirety of their brands – from the very small steps to the final hurdles – she has been able to build up an impressive portfolio. After her scholarship for a Digital Marketing and Communications post-graduate degree with MICA – the School of Ideas in India – Arshi went on to complete her certifications in Facebook Marketing and Performance Marketing. Technology plays a key role in every business in today’s era and each professional is expected to be tech savvy to overcome unprecedented situations in the workplace. The event industry is one area that was purely operating on non-technological solutions until the Covid19 pandemic swept up the industry and made it take a major setback. However, during this phase, professionals who were competent, passionate, detailed, and solution driven were able to survive in the business world – one individual able to do this is Arshi Khan. With her certifications and 14 years’ experience behind her, Arshi has become an unbreakable force within the event management and marketing industries. Consistently looking for more freelance projects, Arshi takes it upon herself to continue developing and sharpening her skills. Her innovative techniques and excellent results are unparalleled in Maharashtra. Arshi has won Most Innovative B2B Events & Marketing Consultant, Maharashtra, and her future looks bright as she plans to set up her own business in the industry. Contact: Arshi Khan Web Address: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshikhan84/ Dec22157
74. Most Innovative Design & Visual Communications Agency - UK Established in 2009 by two like-minded freelance scribes, Scriberia offers a live illustration service to the B2B events industry. Since its humble beginnings, the Scriberia team has grown and the firm’s offering has expanded to include more comprehensive visual services. We find out more about the company as it is recognised in the B2B Event Awards 2023. Post-Covid, Dan and Chris have seen a real need from consumers to include their content away from the event itself, such as in emails that are sent, reports that are written, and plans that are made afterwards. They both love seeing their clients taking the work Scriberia produced ‘in the moment’ and repurposing it for years to come. They’ve also noticed a willingness amongst clients for them to reach new creative heights within the constraints of their real, virtual, or hybrid event spaces. With more pressure than ever for face-to-face events to deliver immersive, innovative experiences that are genuinely worth leaving the house for, this is an exciting time for the creatives and their team! “It’s given us the opportunity to push scribing away from pens on whiteboards (though there’s plenty of that available!), towards the great possibilities of AI, AR, and digital projection,” Dan enthuses. “It’s also true that, as a result of working more remotely, clients of ours, like Salesforce, see the value of using us in smaller remote and in-person meetings, to ensure that, when their teams do gather and connect, they do it in a really meaningful and productive way.” Recently, the company gained recognition in the B2B Event Awards 2023 and was bestowed with the prestigious title of Most Innovative Design & Visual Communications Agency – UK. Now, looking to the future, Dan and Chris have big plans which are the off-shoot of a project which was initially started to describe the firm’s internal culture. Scriberia is currently working on the Scriberia Vision Map which is, quite literally, an image that maps the firm’s future vision. In it, alongside all the processes and practicalities, Dan and Chris are capturing their people, clients, culture of collaboration, and curiosity, plus their commitment to diversity, inclusion, playfulness, and so on, in the hopes of producing something that will become a really important touchstone for the team in 2023 and beyond. “We’re looking forward to pushing our vision mapping service into the spotlight this year,” Chris states. “We know that the methodology we’ve developed over the years, helping clients to map their strategic vision, is a really powerful one and, with traditional methods of consultancy being slow and very expensive, vision mapping gives our clients a fast-track to creating a strategic vision they can align behind, talk about, and share with the rest of their stakeholders. “We know that it’s the best money our clients will ever spend, and we want to expand that area of the business.” Contact: Dan Porter and Chris Wilson Company: Scriberia Web Address: www.scriberia.com Scriberia’s founders, Dan Porter and Chris Wilson are passionate advocates for the power of visual thinking: that’s not just about using pictures to make your point, but also utilising the process of creating pictures to get your best work done. “Scribing, for us, has always meant more than passively capturing content,” Dan explains. “Scriberian scribes are trained to listen hard and interpret the content with wit and intelligence, in a way that fosters really meaningful engagement.” In the beginning, Scriberia didn’t have a lot of competition and the dynamic duo brought something fresh and exciting to the live event landscape. Since then, the creation of visual assets, and a strong visual identity for an event, has become less of an afterthought and there’s a much better understanding of the positive impact of imagery and video content on social media engagement. “In many ways, it has become much easier to sell the benefits of what we do,” continues Dan. “We’re operating in a more crowded market now than we once were. We need to remain competitive, and we are more aware than ever of the need to innovate to sustain our business and retain our clients in the long term.” As the events industry has always had an insatiable appetite for innovation, this means that Scriberia has adopted a willingness to adapt, change, and experiment. But the biggest challenges by far came with Covid, when face-to-face events simply disappeared from the calendar. “Our team responded quickly, by ensuring we had everything in place to deliver a brilliant remote, digital scribing experience to our clients,” elaborates Dan. “We had worked remotely before, but never on that scale.” Chris adds, “Far from losing clients as we’d feared, we found new ones who have stuck with us ever since. And when ‘normality’ resumed, we found the shape of our business had changed a lot. Live events are back, but remote and hybrid events are definitely here to stay, too!” Covid brought its opportunities as well as its challenges, with remote and hybrid working bringing everyone’s focus much closer to home. “It’s a bit of a cliche but challenges really are opportunities,” Chris continues. “For us, that means there is a greater appetite for services like ours that increase engagement in the moment, hold attention, and help to cut through the noise on social media.” Nov22438
Leading Provider of Business Networking Events - UK The Forum Events experience connects the corporate business world across multiple sectors, with a goal of creating lasting business relationships via forums and summits which focus on a series of prearranged meetings. Delegates today are fast moving and engaged procurement professionals, who want to meet, network, and discuss business projects and contracts with innovative suppliers. On the supplier side, these companies are looking to expand their portfolio of clients and Forum Events can facilitate this by arranging face-to-face introductions to the procurement professionals in an elegant and mutually beneficial way. “Our proven formula has a unique advantage over our competitors,” says Business Development Manager, Charlotte Russell, speaking about what differentiates Forum Events from the rest. “Each delegate is personally invited and evaluated, to ensure that those attending our events are there to create business relationships. We are meticulous in our process of who attends our events, and our team works in partnership with each attendee to identify industry buying trends, to ensure we source relevant suppliers of products and services.” Forum Events prioritises decision-makers’ requests for meetings, to ensure their itineraries are full of appropriate supplier meetings that can fulfil their requirements. The firm is also able to facilitate meetings between live and virtual attendees, synchronising peer-to-peer introductions across the globe. In early 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit with disastrous effects and overnight, quite literally, the hospitality industry ground to a complete standstill with events disappearing from the calendar! Pivoting to virtual events by necessity during the restrictions placed ForumEvents in a good position coming out of the pandemic and has added a new revenue stream for the firm to continue with virtual events or virtual options for those who are unable – or unwilling – to travel in person. Also, the company’s propriety and bespokematchmaking software was developed during the pandemic to accommodate the needs of its audience. “Now, these virtual delegates can enjoy the same benefits as physical attendees, even if they are unable to join in person,” states Charlotte. In 2021, during the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic, each event took place as a hybrid affair, with a large percentage of attendees still opting to attend virtually. In 2022 however, Charlotte and the team have noticed a shift in live attendance, with more than 80% opting to attend in person again. “Moving into 2023, our events are all looking to be in-person, showing great recovery for the events industry,” she enthuses. “Having adapted swiftly during the tougher times, we have the platform to continue offering a virtual option to those overseas who may not want to travel. The events industry is incredibly flexible, and forever changing and we all have the ability and desire to adapt to changing requirements.” Ever-evolving, ever-innovative, and always looking to the future, Forum Events is focused on growth for 2023, but also at the forefront of its With more than 21 years’ worth of experience, Forum Events excels in providing high calibre business connections via focused, tailored events and media platforms in order to bring companies together to create strong corporate partnerships. We speak to Business Development Manager, Charlotte Russell to find out how the company successfully weathered the Covid storm as it celebrates success in the B2B Events Awards 2022. Nov22798 plans is the development of its staff. Charlotte is proud that so many employees have been with the firm for a decade or more, however it is also a relatively ‘young’ company with many individuals that are just starting out in their careers joining the team. The firm is dedicated to ensuring that all new starters see a career path within Forum Events and the wider events industry, and therefore places a great emphasis on training and development. “At the same time, the wealth of experience of our more senior employees means that we can provide mentorship across our teams,” Charlotte explains. “This allows that experience to be shared, and for our more junior, developing members of staff to understand the challenges and opportunities of the wider events industry, as well – of course – as the strategy and goals of the Forum Experience.” This staff-centred approach, as well as its unwavering loyalty and service to customers during the harshest of times, has gained Forum Events recognition in the B2B Events Awards 2022, naming the firm Leading Provider of Business Networking Events – UK. Further expending on its future plans, Charlotte tells us that 2023 will also see a business development department which will be dedicated to focusing on strengthening the existing events, whilst also exploring new sectors which may benefit from the bringing together of procurement professionals and suppliers via the Forum Experience. Contact: Charlotte Russell Company: Forum Events Web Address: www.forumevents.co.uk
Paddle recognised among notable SaaS recurring billing solutions for digital business professionals Paddle, the payments infrastructure provider for B2B SaaS companies, has been listed by Forrester as one of 42 notable SaaS recurring billing vendors. According to the Forrester report, The SaaS Recurring Billing Solutions Landscape, Q1 2023, SaaS recurring billing solutions can help businesses better manage their billing models and deliver insights into recurring customers and revenue. In the report, Forrester defines SaaS recurring billing solutions as: “SaaS software that determines the value a customer owes a merchant and at which frequency. It also determines billing-related consequences of any changes to the customer relationship and/or account, e.g., renewal or upgrade.” Paddle was included alongside 41 other vendors in Forrester’s overview to help businesses understand the value they can expect from a SaaS recurring billing vendor, learn how they differ, and select one based on size and market focus. The report noted that Paddle, has between $25M and $50M in product revenue for its SaaS in public cloud offering, and that Paddle’s three self-reported use cases for its customers are: optimising recurring payments, improving revenue recognition and subledger reporting, and self-service or CSR/sales order entry portals. Christian Owens, CEO and co-founder of Paddle, said: “Paddle’s platform is designed to ‘do it for you’, so our customers can focus on what really matters -- building great products -- rather than getting tripped up by operational and financial hurdles. We are delighted to be included in this report and acknowledged by Forrester as a notable vendor among SaaS recurring billing solutions. It squares with our mission to drive software sellers’ revenue, supply excellent customer insights and empower them to expand their businesses globally.” Paddle brings value to thousands of software businesses every year by removing their barriers to global growth and helping them sell into new markets faster and with fewer distractions. Instead of customers assembling, maintaining, securing, and constantly updating a complex payments and billing stack made of dozens of tools and technologies, Paddle does it all – from payments and invoicing to tax collection and fraud protection. Last year, Paddle raised $200 million and acquired US company ProfitWell to continue its mission of supercharging SaaS companies’ global growth. Jan22194
8. Playter, the Leading SME B2B Buy-Now-Pay-Later launches new product - Playter Paid CEO of Playter, Jamie Beaumont, states - “The introduction of Playter Paid gives SME’s the option to not only split any bill they owe, but also to offer flexible payment terms alongside any invoice they issue. By combining this with our ‘Pay’ product, we can now offer a 360 degree funding service which means that SME’s can use clever credit to both increase revenues through customer acquisition whilst decreasing cash outflow by never having to pay an invoice up front ever again, removing many cashflow worries for business owners in a tough economic market.” A welcome addition to its original product Playter Pay, which allows bills owed to be split, Playter Paid turns the tables and puts suppliers in the driver’s seat by allowing them to offer out BNPL terms. This ensures they get paid the full amount of their invoice on day one, whilst Playter sets up an easy payment plan that spreads the cost of the invoice for their customer over 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. Paid provides a sure-fire way to help businesses make their cash go further and give back invaluable time spent chasing invoices. Playter, the UK’s leading provider of B2B Buy-Now-Pay-Later for SMEs, is once again shaking things up in the world of alternative lending, with its newest credit offering, “Paid”. Playter’s mission to help SMEs release cash flow for growth and investment by offering flexible financing, continues apace with the addition of Paid. Playter’s clients can now offer their own customers extended BNPL payment terms of up to 12 months, in a win-win scenario helping drive sales representatives to close deals by allowing customers to settle invoices in manageable monthly installments, whilst getting paid in full and on time, creating liquidity and opportunity for growth. The launch of Paid is a key part of Playter’s plan to create the comprehensive credit platformwhich already allows SMEs to access up to £1,000,000 of funding to drive growth and success. As the newest string to its bow, Paid enables users to combine both Playter Pay and Playter Paid as part of a 360 degree financing toolkit, spreading outgoing bills, whilst being paid for their receivables instantly. May21215
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