Bridget’s Blog: Adapting to change and putting Talk Into Action
2nd November 2022
Music Mark CEO Bridget Whyte
As we enter November, the month our Talk Into Action conference series begins, Music Mark CEO Bridget Whyte considers how adapting to change has lead us to our new annual conference format and explains the postponement of our Bristol event.
We’re all creatures of habit, aren’t we? I certainly always buy the same brand of toothpaste and ideally park in the same spot at Tesco each week. I’m not opposed to change, but I certainly feel comforted by some things staying the same.
For me, and I expect for many of you too, all the changes the pandemic, Brexit, political upheaval and economic uncertainty have brought into our work and personal lives have been unsettling. I therefore appreciate that any change we make at Music Mark may be unsettling too.
Don’t worry, we’re not changing our name, I’m not stepping down as CEO, our strapline remains ‘Supporting, Connecting and Influencing’ and it’s at the heart of everything we do. However, if you’ve been familiar with Music Mark for a while, you may be aware that we changed our conference format this year. We’ve worked hard to introduce the Talk into Action Annual Conference Series to you all and to explain why we’re running a series of events and not just one, but we do appreciate that it is a change from a format which has stood the test of time since Music Mark started in 2013!
We hope however that by putting on more dates across the country and learning from our experiences during the pandemic means we are there to provide exciting learning and networking opportunities for more of our membership.
We really hope you’ve already made plans to join us in London, Derby or Newcastle to share knowledge and exchange ideas with peers from your region, but if not, it’s not too late to book a ticket. For some of you, there’s an event almost on your doorstep – an opportunity not to be missed – and we’ve got some exciting member deals to mitigate cost being a barrier for joining us.
I am hopeful introducing our ambitious series this year is something we all embrace and will mean more of you can join us, but sadly as I write, we have had to make one change.
Our one-day event in Bristol will now take place in January 2023
The announcement that the train strike due to take place on the 3rd November is to be moved to the 9th November has really hit us hard in terms of running a conference in Bristol that day. We know how many people travel by train to our conferences and understand the impact this would have on the journeys of our delegates, speakers, and exhibitors – particularly those travelling long distances from across the South West region and South Wales. Having considered our options, we have ultimately taken the tough decision to postpone the event to 6th January 2023. We have been in touch with everyone who booked to join us there and hope lots of you will be able to join us for the rescheduled event to start off the new year.
Fortunately, anyone who booked to join us in Bristol will still be able to take part in the conference action this November through the online content on our conference website, just like those of you with tickets to our Derby, London, and Newcastle events. With a whole day of short presentations and interactive discussions broadcast from our Online conference day on 17 November and selected sessions from our Newcastle event on 24-25 November, there’ll be plenty of EDI themed sessions to enjoy from the comfort of your own desk (or sofa).
Rest assured, some things don’t change… we’re really looking forward to catching up with everyone joining us in person at our events, including our wonderful Industry Partners who will be exhibiting and the inspiring speakers who have offered to tell us about their Talk into Action journeys. We can’t wait to see you all – so book your ticket now if you’ve not yet done so!
Bridget
Tickets are open for booking, with discounts available for members, group bookings, students, jobseekers, and those otherwise unable to purchase a full price ticket. Book your tickets today.
