Paraplanners’ AssemblyHow a one-off event became a movement around which UK paraplanners could gather
What was the problem?
There’s a feature of events for advice professionals in the UK that. Organisers gather people with expertise and practical experience in one place, and then insist they sit down and keep quiet for much of the day.
So with a population of professionals who love to explore, we wondered if there was a way of flipping the traditional format in a way that creates a richer and rewarding experience for participants, speakers and sponsors.
Our approach
To convince paraplanners to take part, we wanted to use every possible means to signal that this gathering would be unlike any financial services event that they had ever attended.
So instead of presentation-led theatre-style sessions held in a hotel conference suite, we created a tipi camp and a field kitchen on farmland in rural Northampton.
We adopted meeting formats that allowed for topic exploration, discussion and collaboration, handing control of the event’s content and agenda to participants by applying ‘unconference’ principles.
A small number of brands sponsored the event and agreed to forfeit traditional rights such as presentations and exhibition stands. Instead they recognised the gathering’s value as a source of insights from an influential group of customers and users.
The result
66 paraplanners took part in the first gathering (called the ‘Paraplanners Powwow’). The experience inspired participants to organise local meetups closer to home - Powwow Up North, Powwow Down South, Powwow North of the Border - plus another annual event in 2014 and 2015 and 2016 and on and on.
Today, more than 4,000 people subscribe to the Paraplanners’ Assembly’s monthly newsletter. It hosts events online and in person, run the UK’s only free to access forum for paraplanners and bring together smaller groups with shared special interests to build trust and community around the topics that matter to them.
“I love attending the Big Day Out because it’s not a bland conference and it’s more than just CPD—it’s a chance to connect with people who truly get what paraplanning’s all about.”
Sam Tonks
SENIOR PARAPLANNER
Canaccord Wealth