News for BDTA Members, Manufacturers and Suppliers

BDTA Annual Conference 2009

This year the BDTA Annual Conference was held in the stunning World Heritage City of Bath on 28–29 May 2009. Over 120 people travelled to the elegantly furnished Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel for the two day event.

The main conference sessions began on Friday and BDTA President Simon Gambold kicked started the day’s programme with an update on the Association’s performance in the past 12 months…

This year the BDTA Annual Conference was held in the stunning World Heritage City of Bath on 28–29 May 2009. Over 120 people travelled to the elegantly furnished Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel for the two day event.

Thursday afternoon was dedicated to the AGM and a debate on the frequency of Showcase. The debate generated a number of new ideas which will be considered further by Council in relation to the event.

The main conference sessions began on Friday and BDTA President Simon Gambold kicked started the day’s programme with an update on the Association’s performance in the past 12 months.

This was followed by a presentation on the importance of electronic and visual communication by Malcolm Counihan and Hilton Freund from the video strategy development company FooCo Ltd.

One of the world’s leading business forecasters, Professor Richard Scase, quickly re-captured the attention of the audience after the coffee-break with his real life examples and humorous interpretations of society and the everyday social habits which are impacting on the purchasing patterns of the general public. He tailored his presentation to the dental industry superbly and highlighted the importance of reinvention in challenging business times and the benefits of segmenting by relevant lifestyle trends, experiences and identities rather than the non-representative demographic bases used in the past in order to get the most out of marketing efforts and ensure relevance and high performance.

After lunch, Peter Ward provided an update on the developments taking place in the professional sphere particularly in relation to the economic situation. He closed his presentation with a popular caption competition which was won by Janet Pickles of RA Medical.

Kevin Lewis returned to the Conference this year by popular demand and delivered another engaging presentation on the dental industry and the threats and opportunities posed by the recession. His speech generated significant audience interest and was a perfect way to end the Conference business sessions.

As the evening drew near, personalities from dental associations and institutions arrived with their partners in time for the drinks reception and black-tie gala dinner. The busy guest list included Gordon Watkins and Amarjit Gill from the BDA, Anthony Laurie from the BAAD, Pam Swain and Sue Bruckel from the BADN, Marina Harris and Sally Simpson from the BSDHT, Edward Bannatyne from the GDC, David Bowden from the BOS, Christopher Allen from the CDTA, Chris Potts from the BDHF, Anoop Maini from BACD, Mike Hughes from the ASPD, Chief Dental Officer Paul Langmaid and more.

Before dinner was served, Bridge2Aid’s Ian Wilson gave a short presentation explaining how the money raised at the 2008 BDTA Annual Conference in Ireland had helped expand their projects in Tanzania. Ian’s inspiring presentation evoked more support from the audience, resulting in donations of over £1000 on the night. After a delicious 3-course meal, the quartet Paprika Balkanicus entertained guests with an electrifying live show of traditional and gypsy music from Eastern Europe. When the music ended, the evening continued on well into the pleasant summer night.

With a fantastic hotel, an informative agenda, relaxing evenings as well as the gorgeous summer weather, it was hard to not enjoy the BDTA Annual Conference.

If you missed the BDTA Annual Conference in Bath, then come along to the Midwinter Meeting at One Great George Street on Thursday 10 December 2009. More information will be circulated in due course.