The business challenge

Continuing to provide an important resource during the pandemic

Camberwell Centre Association represents hundreds of retail, hospitality, and service businesses along Burke Road and Camberwell Junction. The association runs the Camberwell Business Forum every quarter, an event which is open to both traders and the public. The Camberwell Business Forum functions as a learning platform within the community, allowing traders to come together to share information and be educated on different topics.

In recent years, these topics have included accounting, sustainability, leadership, marketing, and more. The knowledge and expertise shared by informed speakers at the events has greatly benefitted traders, helping them to run their operations more efficiently, engage new customers, and ultimately grow their businesses.

Assemblo has worked closely with Camberwell Centre Association to plan and facilitate each Camberwell Business Forum. Prior to 2020, these events took place at a different hospitality venue in Camberwell each quarter, providing the opportunity for traders to socialise and network in person prior to and after the presentation. During the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns, however, in-person events were no longer an option and the event had to shift to an online format.

The insight

Business support was more important than ever during the lockdowns

The year 2020 was difficult for Camberwell’s traders, who were experiencing the same unprecedented challenges as other businesses across Victoria. Many traders were forced to close their doors temporarily and grew increasingly concerned about the livelihood of their businesses through the pandemic and beyond.

Camberwell Centre Association was seeking opportunities to support their traders during this period of uncertainty. With the help of Assemblo, the association shifted the Camberwell Business Forums to a virtual environment so they could continue providing guidance and assistance to Camberwell’s struggling small business community at this time.

The idea

Bring the Camberwell Business Forum to people’s homes

Assemblo repurposed the budget from the Q2 event, which would have taken place at the beginning of Victoria’s first lockdown, for the virtual Q3 and Q4 events, which were rebranded as Camberwell Business Forum Webinars. We designed a new presentation document that was highly branded and visually impactful, ensuring the content was compelling for virtual event attendees.

The topics for both of the 2020 Camberwell Business Forum Webinars were focused on supporting businesses through the hardships of the pandemic. The Q3 event featured Shane McKenna, director at Aintree Group, who spoke to traders about strategies, ideas, and tips to navigate their businesses through COVID-19 and beyond. The Q4 event featured James McInerney, director at Assemblo, who spoke about how small businesses have tackled the challenges presented by the coronavirus and the key learnings from their actions.

Assemblo promoted the Camberwell Business Forum Webinars via the Camberwell Business website and Eventbrite. We also created Facebook event pages which were boosted with amplification budget, as well as sending out eDMs to Camberwell’s trader community in the lead up to the events.

The impact

The new webinar format was well-received by the association and attendees alike. The online medium allowed viewers to engage with the speaker and ask follow-up questions after the presentation. The digital format of the event also meant that the presentation could be recorded and shared with other members to watch after the live version had concluded.

The success of the Camberwell Business Forum Webinars has led to the development of plans to introduce a digital component to future in-person events by Camberwell Centre Association, thereby providing more reach for the presentations.