YIBC 2015 reaches 1.5 million people thanks to Mercury

Interaction relating to this year’s Yorkshire International Business Convention (YIBC) reached record levels on Twitter.

Mercury Design & Marketing was appointed by YIBC organisers to manage the event’s Twitter account and website on the day to engage with both attending delegates and people who were not able to attend.

For the first time, a live feed featured on the website. This provided a running commentary of the day and included a Twitter feed, photos of the event and speakers and summaries of each speaker’s presentation.

The numbers below highlight the impact Twitter had throughout the day on Friday, June 5 for YIBC 2015.

The total reach (the number of people the posts could potentially have been seen by), inclusive of all mentions, retweets and favourites, was close to 1.5 million – this number would be higher if we included all coverage in the days leading up to and after Friday.

Mentions: 306

Retweets: 178

Favourites: 78

Reach: 1,467,342

More than 550 business people from across the Humber region descended on The Spa, Bridlington for the 20th anniversary of the YIBC.

Delegates were treated to a stellar line-up of speakers, including the likes Morrison’s founder of Sir Ken Morrison, former head of ceremonies for London 2012 Martin Green and Olympic hero Jessica Ennis-Hill’s coach Toni Minichiello, who was interviewed on stage by the BBC’s Tanya Arnold.

Other speakers included intrepid explorer Ken Hames, human rights activist Ziauddin Yousafzai and peace educator Mark Milton.

After bringing the curtain down on another successful YIBC, organiser Mike Firth said the day was a fitting way to celebrate the event’s 20th anniversary.

“YIBC 2015 has been another fantastic event and the sun has once again shone on Bridlington and East Yorkshire,” he said.

“I would like to thank all of our speakers, sponsors and, most importantly, delegates for all of their support. Without you, the YIBC would not be possible.”

What the speakers said

Mark Milton – ‘every time someone says no, they are saying yes to something else’

Mark Milton, founding director of Education 4 Peace and director of a suicide prevention line in Switzerland, took to the stage this morning to open YIBC 2015. During his presentation he spoke about the art and power of listening as well as the importance of communicating.

He went on to tell delegates about how he and Education 4 Peace are working with the French Football Federation and spelt out the importance of businesses to stick to their business plan but to remain susceptible to change.

Closing his presentation, Mark shared his tips to becoming a better listener and echoed a sentiment he set out from the start; ‘if we want to change our way of communicating, we can all do it’.

Martin Green – ‘I am honoured to be leading Hull: UK City of Culture 2017’

The former head of ceremonies for London 2012, Martin Green, captivated delegates at YIBC 2015 this morning with his insights into staging ‘two of the biggest shows on earth’.

The mastermind behind the opening and closing ceremonies of London 2012 and now head of Hull: UK City of Culture 2017 spoke about the challenges that faced him and his team from the outset and how those were overcome.

After wowing delegates with videos of how the ceremonies were put together, Martin closed his presentation with a line that resonated around The Spa, Bridlington – ‘and now for our next trick, we will transform a city’.

Tanya Arnold and Toni Minichiello – ‘Jess Ennis-Hill has always been uber, uber competitive’

BBC’s Tanya Arnold took to the stage to interview Olympic hero Jessica Ennis-Hill’s coach, Toni Minichiello, in front of delegates at YIBC 205 this morning.

Toni shared his experience of working with Jess as she prepared for London 2012, including the challenges of keeping the athlete focused on performance amid increased media attention after being dubbed ‘the face of London 2012’.

He spoke about Jess being ‘uber, uber competitive’ and her unwavering will to win. During the interview, Toni spoke about the deafening noise inside the Olympic Stadium as Jess’s name was announced ahead of the 110m hurdles at London 2012 as well as how she came back from injury to become World Champion in Berlin in 2009.

Delegates were also treated to a flashback to London 2012 and Jess’s ‘finest hour’.

Sir Ken Morrison – ‘You don’t look to make money, you look to do a good job and, if you do that, you will be a success’

Yorkshire businessman Sir Ken Morrison took to the stage at YIBC 2015 to share the story of Morrison’s, from market stall to supermarket giant.

Sir Ken spoke about how he worked with his two brother-in-laws to grow Morrison’s and how he drew inspiration at the time from Marks & Spencer, Kwik Save and Mothercare, saying those businesses ‘knew what they wanted to do and were good at it’.

During a humorous and intriguing presentation, Sir Ken spoke about the trials and a tribulation of running Morrison’s, including the flotation in 1967 and the acquisition of Safeway.

Before departing the stage, he shared one of his favourite jokes with delegates; ‘What’s the difference between a shopping trolley and a non-executive director? The answer; you can get more booze into a non-executive director’.

Ken Hames – ‘whether you’re in the SAS or in business, we’re all working against the clock’

Intrepid explorer Ken Hames was our first speaker after lunch to take the stage at The Spa, Bridlington.

The TV star and former SAS serviceman spoke to delegates about the need to ‘get inside’ the heads of the people you work with to understand and identify their attributes and talents. During his presentation, Ken explored the benefits of developing relations within a team and partnerships, and the importance of understanding what makes colleagues tick, saying ‘emotional capital moves us towards innovation and growth’.

Ken took delegates on a journey through some of his explorations, from Ecuador to the Kalahari, as well as speaking about his encounters with Princess Diana.

Ziauddin Yousafzai – ‘Don’t ask me what I did, ask me what I did not do. I didn’t cut her wings’

Human rights activist Ziauddin Yousafzai was this year’s final speaker and brought to a close YIBC 2015.

Ziauddin spoke passionately about the need for ‘education for all’, saying ‘if we want to bring change in this world, we must invest in education. If we invest in education, we invest in human beings’.

He shared his personal and professional struggles to promote women’s rights and education. Ziauddin also spoke openly about his daughter Malala’s own quest to ensure girls in Pakistan had access to education and the affect her shooting had on his life.

Visit www.yibc.biz to book your tickets for YIBC 2016.