SWUG Conference Gets Perfect Endorsement

SWUG Conference Gets Perfect Endorsement

Delegates at the SWUG “Printfinity” Conference in Wellington last month have given a thumbs-up to the organisation of the event, with survey results showing every response being at least “good” and a resounding 71% saying the conference was “very good”.

Among the positive feedback received from delegates were the comments “always a well-run, professional outing and a chance to mingle with our important clients,” “this is a valuable conference for getting all the NZ web printers together in one place at one time”, “best conference I have been to”, “great chance for socialising”, “very interesting for someone who was going for the first time”, and “programme and networking valuable and worth the trip”.

The opinions on the speakers were also positive, with the majority of respondents rating the overall speaker value as “good”. The decision to include some non-print speakers, such as on men’s health, was well-received with one delegate suggesting this could be spread further to include high-performance companies such Fisher & Paykel and Icebreaker, talking about how they achieve.

The Fairfax Petone team were thanked for the site visit and the talk on the huge task to upgrade the site. The Gallipoli exhibition at Te Papa was a great hit with delegates, many of whom were moved by the display. One delegate said: “I would have loved to stay longer at the Gallipoli tour and will visit again on my next trip to Wellington.”

Casino night was also deemed a great option and artist Brad Blaze was the most popular entertainer at Awards Night.

The conference catering got good ratings although on Awards night some tables which were served last found some items had run out.

Overall, the opinions on the venue were positive. There were points made regarding the conferencing room being a bit too small and the screen not being high enough, but on a whole, people were happy with the accommodation provided by Copthorne and the location in Oriental Bay was excellent.

Several delegates praised the work put in by SWUG chairperson Dan Blackbourn, the SWUG committee and Promote Ltd (the event organisers), who with the backing of the sponsors made the conference tick over.

Mr Blackbourn said the intention was to learn from each event, so the next conference was better still.

“We had some very constructive suggestions that the committee will consider for next year. One delegate felt it was better to have the networking dinner on the first night, then the second day conclude with the plant tour and Awards night. That would balance the speakers out better and make the Awards the pinnacle of the conference.

“Another suggested we need awards for the technical staff also working on the machines and making it possible to print a daily paper.

“Someone suggested it would be great to have a list of participants and contact details in the conference satchels.

“All of these suggestions will be studied in depth by the committee to ensure SWUG 2017 is better than ever.”

A decision on the 2017 venue and timing will be made later in the year.

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