Derby-based creative design agency DE22 Creative Design Solutions has been commissioned to drive forward a campaign to firmly place Derby’s iconic Roundhouse on the national and international conference and events map.
The full service design agency, based in Chestnut House on Friar Gate, will be working strategically with Roundhouse Events, the division of Derby College who run the facilities for commercial hire – hosting a wide range of prestigious corporate events there from gala dinners to conferences.
The Grade II listed Roundhouse is the centre piece of Derby College’s flagship vocational campus in Pride Park. Recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s first and oldest surviving railway roundhouse, it was originally developed in 1839 by four rival rail companies, including North Midland Railway for whom George Stephenson and his son Robert were engineers.
Having been meticulously restored as part of the £48 million campus development, the Roundhouse is the student social space with the flexibility to be transformed into a high quality venue space hosting a wide range of conferences and events at night and during weekends for up to 1000 guests.
Roundhouse Events Manager Helen Peden explained: “We have hosted many high profile events since opening in September 2009 and are keen to take the commercial offer to the next level.
“We therefore invited several design agencies to talk to us about how they could support us in these plans and were particularly impressed with DE22 Creative’s approach.
“They are very much focused on return on investment with a strategy that focuses on achieving results in a measurable way.
“We look forward to working with them strategically to proactively market the wonderful facilities here to a much wider audience.
“We see ourselves as a London-calibre venue without the capital’s prices. This is a powerful proposition in the changing conference and events market where budgets are much leaner and businesses are more savvy about the quality and value for money they can achieve.
“Therefore, the experience that we have gained with our local and regional client base will hold us in good stead to attract conferences and events on a national and international scale.
“We are also playing on the strengths of Derby as a whole. The fact that we are in the centre of the UK with fantastic road, rail and air travel links will greatly enhance our proposition nationally.
“And by bringing new business into the city, we will be supporting a wide range of local hotels and other businesses, which will in turn be a catalyst for wider growth and job creation in the city.”
Martin Griffiths, managing director at DE22 Creative Design Solutions continued: “It is a privilege to be involved in maximizing the potential of such an iconic building in Derby and to be supporting the Roundhouse Events team’s business goals.
“We initially worked with them, carrying out our Distillation Process – a well proven approach to marketing which, focuses on becoming deeply engrained with the consumer, also driving a return on investment based approach.
“Now that we have an in-depth understanding of their objectives, we are planning a strategic direct marketing campaign. This will be specifically targeted at key industry sectors to put the venue and Derby as a whole on the radar of conference and event planners and to open the door for future discussions.
“This account gain caps a fantastic year for DE22 Creative and I am delighted that our home-grown team here in Derby will be working on this campaign which will also have significant added benefits to the city’s wider economy.”
