Thursday Jan 08, 2004

To support the increase in conference bookings and interest in ExCeL London's conferencing facilities, the Marketing Team has launched a new bespoke Conference section to their website.

The new conference website allows potential new customers to view all the conference, banqueting, auditorium and meeting room facilities with a 360 degree virtual tour, gala dinner video, pictures, floor plans, details of onsite hotels and testimonials from existing customers.

Says ExCeL London Marketing & Communications Director, Sarah Horrell: "Our Conference & Special Events Sales Team have so far had a fantastic 168% increase in contracted bookings for 2004 compared to 2003. We are focusing a large part of our marketing efforts on the conferences & special events sector this year to support this increase.

Recent research shows that there is an increase in conference organisers using the Web to search for conferencing solutions. We therefore wanted to make sure that ExCeL London had a dedicated website specifically for conferences & special events that would not only reach potential new customers but also position ExCeL London as a leading conference venue, not just an exhibition centre."

ExCeL London is also working with Blue Interactive Marketing, an online marketing specialist, to help drive more organiser traffic to the website. This is being done in three ways:

1.Search Engine Marketing - ensuring that anybody who searches for conference venues sees details about ExCeL London as part of their search
2.Partner Marketing - arranging for ExCeL London to be listed with all Web Directories and Venue Finders as a possible conference booking option
3.Email Marketing and Newsletter options to ensure that ExCeL London maintains its current and future clients updated with news and special offers

Says ExCeL London's Head of Sales, Conferences & Special Events, James Rees: "The new website is proving to be an invaluable tool for the team and will also enable us to guide potential customers round the venue over the phone when discussing their requirements. We are already seeing very positive results and are confident that customers will find it extremely useful when selecting a venue to hold their conference or event."

For more information, please contact Gemma Parkhouse at ExCeL London on 020 7069 4739 or email gemmaparkhouse@ExCeL-london.co.uk