Events

From Gala Balls to international product launches and major conferences, we have the expertise to make your event a brilliant success.

Case Study: NI Ombudsman 40th Anniversary Event

Background

The Office of the Northern Ireland Ombudsman appointed ASITIS Consulting to look after the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Office of the Northern Ireland Ombudsman. After initial meetings a celebration conference was decided upon to be held at the Dunadry Hotel in November. It was clear that previously there was a lack of understanding of the role and remit of the Ombudsman and so we decided that this occasion provided a key opportunity to engage with stakeholders and increase awareness for what the Ombudsman does and hopes to achieve in the future.

Methodology:

Invites were commissioned detailing the venue, location and the speakers. Invite were sent to more than 400 people in Northern Ireland, Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland as well as offices of Ombudsmen across the globe. Guests were to receive delegate packs with a newly commissioned booklet – ‘Rights, Responsibilities and Redress’ to be included as well as a guest list of other attendees, branded pens, a programme for the day and biographies of the speakers and a feedback form.

The event started at 10am with a short welcome from Dr. Frawley. After a mid morning coffee break and more speakers a celebratory lunch was held in the main dining room of the hotel. The afternoon was finished off with a question and answer session chaired by Derek Alcorn (Citizen’s Advice Bureau). The Question and Answer session was filmed, as was Dr Frawley’s speech and this is to be used on the new website and in presentations.

We wanted to garner widespread awareness for the conference, and so we developed a PR brief with two objectives: to explain the role of the Ombudsman and to underline the importance of the office over the last forty years, and in the years ahead. The conference which was a significant event in itself, was not sufficiently newsworthy to gain coverage. It was, however, useful as a springboard to put forward the client’s key messages. We therefore had to create news angles which would stimulate interest during the event.

We worked with the Ombudsman’s office to prepare a detailed briefing paper, outlining interesting cases which the office had handled, key issues which it had drawn attention to and key personnel who had played a major part in the office over the years. We commissioned an opinion piece from Senator Maurice Hayes, a previous Ombudsman, to take a wry look at his time in the office, which was then placed in the Irish News. We met with, and briefed key journalists on the story, the event and the issues which the anniversary highlighted one week in advance of the conference and gave interviews to print.

Results

The conference was a huge success in itself and received widespread coverage, including five different pieces in the daily newspapers and also included very positive editorial. A full page opinion feature from Senator Maurice Hayes was published in the Irish News, and we secured an appearance by the Ombudsman on Hearts and Minds, looking back over the achievements of the office and the need for reform and the future of the office.