Here are some comments and testimonials received from clients over the years…

On Event Management & Communications

On Training…

… and more if you need them …

Extremely impressed

“Dear Mr Ison, I am writing to thank you for all that you did to make the recent ‘Britain Means Business’ Week in Durban a success.  I was extremely impressed by all the Britain Means Business displays at the workshops and the various receptions held during the week.  I believe that they got our message across to those who saw them in a clear and distinct way.  I understand from my officials that the support you gave them both before and during the week went far beyond what was required under the terms of your contract with the Department.  I am very grateful.  I wish you well in the future.”

Anthony Nelson, Minister for Trade

£175,000 first order

“Just to let you know that Mardale booked an order from Hitachi Zosen for £175,000 of Stainless Steel Pipes, etc, for a chemical tanker project. It is a “first” directly from a Japanese contractor and is as a direct result of the Key Contacts event! … Many thanks for your efforts in making this result possible for us.”

Max B. Weir, Managing Director, Mardale Pipes Plus Ltd

A considerable success

“…Clearly the Durban week was a considerable success and the presentations and general standard was very good. I have passed your letter to my colleagues who might have further use of your services.”

Roger Maybe, Managing Director, Bovis International Limited

Attentive care in details

“I enjoyed myself at the good mood with a feeling of some sort of prestige and dignity given by your preparation to the events.  At the same time, I was impressed at your attentive care in details, making me very relaxed and comfortable.  I believe these were the key factors that brought success to the ‘Key Contacts-Japan’ events.”

Mr T. Akama, Director for Purchasing, Hitachi Zosen Europe

Organisational talent

“As experienced before, your organisational talent was again outstanding.  Never did I have to think about what was next on my agenda and always your good self or one of your associates, was immediately available to provide guidance.  I experienced your presence as attentive and in control but never imperious.”

Alfred van Viersen, Manager, NKK Netherlands B.V.

BOOK REVIEWS:

‘How To Organise An Event’

(Martin Ison)

(Paperback available on Amazon.co.uk; Waterstones.com)

“Crucial guidance on filling seats”

“How To Organise An Event  is great – really extensive and will prove very useful to event organisers everywhere. Personally, it helped me reinforce the importance of objectives and messaging – I’ve also learnt more about effective marketing for attendees … crucial guidance on ‘filling seats’ by effective event promotion. A must-have for event organisers in any guise.”

Frances Umeh, Senior Corporate Communications Officer, Barnardo’s

“Years of experience cleverly condensed”

“This is a much needed guide that both the inexperienced and the experienced event organiser will find valuable. Packed full of useful tips it is very readable; Martin’s writing style is engaging and amusing, taking the reader eagerly along the path to enlightenment … Years of experience cleverly condensed into a useful step-by-step guide for successful event organising…”

Richard Jones, Managing Director, RJM Marketing

“An excellent must-have practical guide”

“How to Organise an Event” by Martin Ison is an excellent must-have practical guide for anyone in the business of events. It provides a step-by-step blueprint for event management from marketing and planning to execution and evaluation… it provides a really useful and handy aide memoire for any event organiser.”

Laura Gordon MA LLB Dip LP LLM, CEO, Corporate Connections International Ltd

“Clever and concise”

“20 years of experience wrapped in a 200-page guide – it’s a must! Step-by-step guidance from concept to completion. Clever and concise, it’s everything you need to run a great event.”

Nicola Bateman, Head of Business Development, IDTechEx

COURSE REVIEWS:

Event Organisers’ Masterclass

Extremely useful

“I found the course very interesting and extremely useful. I look forward to organising my next event on the foundations of what I have learnt! I will be introducing the course to our team here in Switzerland. So you may have a few more wanting to attend…”

Emmeline Santana, Senior Trade Officer, UKTI, British Embassy – Switzerland & Liechtenstein

Martin was an excellent speaker

“Thank you for running the course, it was really helpful. I would thoroughly recommend the Events Organisers’ Masterclass, it was a well taught, entertaining day full of helpful advice and clear teaching.  Martin was an excellent speaker, and kept the whole class interested throughout the day.”

Benjamin Gardner, IT and Events Coordinator, Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB)

Gems of Information

“I really enjoyed the class and found it to be very informative. Martin is very knowledgeable about all aspects of organising an event and his approach to teaching allows the participants to fully engage in discussing their experience and how it can be improved. Gems of information were provided that would allow the organiser of an event to become more efficient and obtain better value for their dollar.”

Mr Ranvir Mahil, Trade Associate, UKTI, British Consulate General – Toronto, Canada

Intricate Dynamics

“Organizing an event can at times be a nightmare. Your analytical step-by-step explanation has assisted me to have a better understanding of these intricate dynamics. You rightly explained that you do not get a second chance to impress and I think this is what I have taken away from your workshop. The workshop has assisted me to have a better understanding of how important it is to have clear objectives and to do thorough planning beforehand.”

Mr J Munro, Minister (Administration & Consular), South African High Commission

Martin was energetic … engaging

“Martin was energetic, engaging and delivered highly pragmatic training that will have an immediate effect on the way we manage our events.  The course was attended by staff of varying levels of experience from complete beginners to seasoned experts, but I’m sure everyone came away having learnt a lot.”

Donal Bourke, Business Development Manager, Kier Construction

I recommend it highly

“The Event Masterclass was a thoroughly useful and enjoyable course.  I have learnt some invaluable tips and information on how to organise and run a successful event. I could empathise with every example and situation Martin posed and will apply his knowledge in my day to day work. This is not just a course for beginners – experienced event organisers will benefit from this course. I recommend it highly.”

Robyn Sharpe, Marketing & Events Specialist, MITIE Technical Facilities Management

Wealth of Experience

“… the training went very well, thank you very much indeed for sharing your great wealth of experience in this sector. Everybody learnt new tricks and it brought home just how much more there should be to an event, rather than just sending out invitations and monitoring replies.”

Juliana Cantin, Operations Manager, British Embassy, Paris

Learned from Martin’s marketing knowledge

“An enjoyable session with highly practical tips to help planners in their event production. The size of the group made collaborative conversations very easy.  A lot can be learned from Martin’s knowledge of marketing alone!”

Jane Edward, Director, Marketing Promotion, CIBC Mellon Bank (Canada)

Enthusiasm and Passion

“… I thought the workshop was very well delivered and presented – lots of enthusiasm, passion and Martin clearly knew what he was talking about which showed in his delivery. I was lucky enough to have an interesting group which made for a very interactive and sometimes humorous session …  This Masterclass will definitely arm you with tools to organise a successful event. Thanks for a most interesting and informative workshop!”

Martine Terrelonge, UKTI London Marketing & Events Manager, UK Trade & Investment (London)

Inspired to excel

“Thank you for leading such an informative and stimulating session. I came away with the confidence of being better equipped – and feeling inspired to excel.  I consider that an accomplishment, after my years of arranging local and international corporate events.  I will be sure to recommend your course to others!

Tina O’Brass Donahue, Marketing Executive, Shaw Media (Canada)

Workbook is my new bible!

“I just wanted to send you a note to thank you for the incredibly informative Event Organisers’ Masterclass workshop yesterday. It really inspired me to develop my event management skills and continue to produce great events! The workbook will become my new bible!!!! And I plan on sharing some of the learnings I took from your workshop with my event team back here at Veritas. Thanks again for everything – it really was a fantastic workshop.”

Nell Crichton, Account Manager, Veritas Communications (Canada)

COPY WRITING COURSE REVIEWS:

Web-Writers’ Workshop

‘Scientific’ Art of Copywriting

“…I enjoyed the course immensely; it made a refreshing change to attend a course where the subject was so interesting and lively. I came away with a host of new information and was surprised to learn that the art of copywriting was so ‘scientific’ … I would recommend this workshop to anyone who is involved with company communication, whether internal or external.”

Diane McGhie, Assistant Manager (Projects), Toyota Tsusho UK Ltd

Does more than it says on the tin!

“…Excellent! I think the name of the course undersells what it actually does … but it really does MORE than it says on the tin! It was very interesting to discuss the structure of copy and how to grab the reader’s attention.”

Kerrie Illsley, Marketing Assistant, Balfour Beatty plc.

Martin is engaging course trainer

“Martin is a very engaging course trainer with an inclusive leadership style that puts delegates at their ease. He has an energetic and enthusiastic style which really helps in making the course material interesting and informative. I would certainly recommend his courses to others”.

James Rollin, Marketing Manager, Interfleet Technology

Engaging Readers

“Making readers engage with your content is key – this course highlights some vital techniques that we all should know, but perhaps don’t! A good atmosphere and informative day – thank you!”

Hannah Apps, Web Content Manager, Travis Perkins Plc

Worth the fee

“…I attended the course on Thursday, by Monday afternoon I had re-written a lot of the content on the site and everyone agreed it was a lot better. The section on structuring your copy alone was worth the fee …”

Richard Bradley, Marketing Manager, Photomart Ltd

Really useful techniques

“I thoroughly enjoyed the course and took some really useful techniques away with me. I have consequently started implementing changes to our copy update project.”

Paul Budd, Marketing Executive, Allianz

Plenty of hints and tips

“The workshop was well structured and engaging, plenty of hints and tips that I will be incorporating into my future copywriting and website.  The small group size was ideal for personal attention and ‘bouncing’ ideas around.”

Suzy Wardle, Marketing Manager, The Arch London

For writing any marketing copy

“…The Web-Writers’ Workshop was a superb training event which truly exceeded expectations and objectives. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who has any input, direct or indirect, into the marketing copy of their organisation.”

Giles Hall, Marketing Manager, BKSB

COURSE REVIEWS:

Video-making for Social Media  (training workshop)

As good as an agency

“We definitely left the workshop with the skills we needed to create our own videos that, not only look as good as something you’d pay an agency to create, but also cost nothing more than just our own time.”

Carly Rands, internal communications business partner, British Gas plc

Equipment we already have

“This course has not only cost us less than to commission a professional video, but it’s also shown us that we can create our own videos equally well with the equipment we already have.”

Mark Mallison, Sales & Marketing Manager, Clifford Thames Ltd

Everything you need

“It’s absolutely amazing that in just one day you can learn everything you need to put a video together to sell your business better — an excellent course!”

Lucy Edwick, Marketing Director, Lucy Locket Products

I would recommend this course

“How often is it that you attend a one-day training course and come away with a smile on your face? Well I’ve just attended the Micomms training for ‘Video Making for Social Media’ – and all I can say is: it was great! Not only do you get comprehensive hands-on experience, the action itself of making your first video with a voice-over and some music to go with it is very satisfying indeed. Martin Ison takes you effortlessly step-by-step through the process so, by the end of the day, you know you have the skills to make your first compelling video. I would recommend this course to anyone who has the need or the desire to make cost-effective but professional looking video material.”

Robert Johnson. Director, ZOK International Ltd

I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending it

“Thank you again for the workshop – I found it very interesting and have already used what I’ve learn with some in-house voiceovers! I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending the course to others looking for a cost-effective way to make their own professional videos.”

Laura Donoghue, Online Marketing Manager, Walk Grove Learning Solutions

An AWESOME course!

“Thank you for this AWESOME course [it was] very practical and a perfect way to get started using and creating your own video material with your smartphone. Martin was a great presenter with a wonderful sense of humour; a genuine teacher who cared about every delegate in the room.”

Paul Proctor, Marketing Manager, Simply Horses Equine Vet Services

ON CONFERENCE SPEAKING

Best of the whole day

“Your seminar on Monday was the best of the whole day and although it was late in the afternoon, it was really insightful … I will be sure to keep your details on file in case your courses or speaker facilities are required.”

Amy O’Donovan, Events & Commercial Manager, UKinbound

Great feedback from members

“Good to meet you – thank you so much for presenting at our event. We have had some great feedback from members. We’d love to have you speak at one of our future events and will certainly be in touch…”

Deirdre Wells OBE, CEO, UKinbound