Olivia: You’ve been with CloserStill for 12 years. Can you talk to me a bit about your personal evolution over your time with us?

Lotty: I joined CloserStill in October 2012, straight out of university. My first role was in delegate sales for the London Vet Show, and I quickly found myself spending a lot of time building and managing online communities, which really helped drive event registrations. I realised I was naturally blending sales with marketing tactics and that’s where my passions truly lay. I transitioned into marketing, which was an exciting shift for me. Since then, I’ve worked across various portfolios, and I’ve been fortunate to help launch many of our events. A career highlight was spending nearly three years in New York, from 2017 to 2020, where I helped set up our office and build the local team. Today, I work across marketing and content, focussing on bridging the gap between teams and working closely with our fantastic portfolios and colleagues.

Olivia: As you mentioned, you spent considerable time in the US during CloserStill’s expansion. What did you take away and learn from that experience?

Lotty: It was a real eye-opener to see that there’s no one-size-fits-all model. Each location requires its own approach. Even audience profiles differ significantly, which means how you communicate and encourage people to commit to attending events has to be tailored. While the foundation can stay the same, the execution must be adapted to fit the local culture. This applies to places such as Singapore and Germany too, not just the US. Of course, the US is a huge market – the scale is completely different. For example, there are around 140,000 vets in the US compared to 25,000 in the UK. That’s why we’re so fortunate to have a strong team, including specialists with deep knowledge of specific regions. Their expertise ensures we’re hitting the right marks in the right places.

Olivia: Now that you lead a global team, what’s been the biggest challenge and the biggest reward of managing people across different countries?

Lotty: The biggest reward, without a doubt, is the people. Everyone puts so much into what they do and watching their success and growth is incredibly fulfilling. Of course, sometimes things don’t go to plan because trade shows aren’t always a linear process, but I’m lucky to have a team with endless creativity and energy. As for challenges, sharing knowledge effectively across regions is definitely one of the biggest. Finding the right way to share and adapt across teams and markets is something we’re continually working on. We're getting better at it, but there’s always more we can do.

Olivia: What do you think is the most important factor in getting marketing and content to work as one unified strategy?

Lotty: For all my shows, content is both the starting point and the end goal. Without strong content, we don’t drive attendance, and without attendance, the whole show suffers. I always describe it like a pyramid because content is the foundation that supports everything else. So, the entire marketing campaign structure is built around content. It’s not always about flashy bells and whistles. Sometimes, it’s simply about having engaging, knowledgeable speakers - I often compare it to school or university because we all remember the teachers who made a lasting impact on us. For me, it’s always about finding the best teachers who’re not necessarily the loudest in the room, but ones who make people want to reflect or take action.

Olivia: The Vet Show is known for staying ahead of the curve. How do you keep your finger on the pulse of what’s new in the veterinary industry?

Lotty: We’re always actively in the field, listening and learning. I spend a lot of time travelling to build relationships within the community, which may be a more intangible value but it’s an extremely important one. We also meet heads of marketing and policy leads who give us insight into recruitment pipelines, industry shifts and emerging challenges. I’m not a vet and never intended to be one, but I work alongside some of the best in the world, and that’s incredibly humbling and inspiring. Last year, I met the first ever boarded veterinarian in Indonesia, a woman pioneering clinical practice in her country. Meeting someone like that was incredibly powerful and sparked so many ideas. It reinforced the idea that that’s the kind of voice we need to platform.

Olivia: You’ve clearly built strong relationships within the veterinary sector. Do you think this is because you’ve earned a place within the community?

Lotty: I’m part of the community because they let me be, because they’ve chosen to include me. A community only exists when people want to be part of it. You can’t just slap a label on something and declare it a community. It’s about like-minded people coming together, finding common ground, and sharing values. The London Vet Show is a community event, but only because there’s a real, living veterinary community that already exists and they’ve chosen to make our Vet Show one of their homes. Our job isn’t to create a community from scratch, but to make sure that London Vet Show, and all our events, genuinely feel like a home for that community. It’s a privilege to be part of their journey and I’ve never taken that for granted.

Olivia: You talk a lot about creating meaningful experiences at your shows. How do you decide what formats - like wet labs and other hands-on features - will genuinely work for your audience?

Lotty: For me, it always starts with listening. I don’t assume to know what people want. Instead, I ask them. Why guess when you can just have a conversation? We also benefit from having full-time delegate salespeople who are in constant contact with our audience and feeding that insight back to us. Almost every initiative we roll out is either something someone directly asked for or an idea we’ve tested based on real feedback. We don’t make decisions in a vacuum – we listen well and are honest about what adds real value.

Olivia: How do you balance trying new things with sticking to what you know works?

Lotty: Throughout each campaign, we keep track of ideas, whether they come from the team, partners, or delegates. At the start of each year, we review that list. We look at what worked previously, what didn’t, and where we have genuine gaps or opportunities. I think finding a balance also relies a lot on not being precious about keeping things that don’t work. If an idea doesn’t serve the audience, it goes. The show is strong, but it’s only as strong as the next bad idea that could distract from what actually matters.

Olivia: You’re always looking for growth and expansion. Where do you see the Vet Show heading in the next few years?

Lotty: I’d love to see the show reach 10,000 delegates. Right now, we also have around 15% of our audience coming from international markets, and it would be amazing to see that grow. But it’s not just about numbers. It’s about continuing to lead while never taking that leadership for granted. The biggest failure in trade shows is complacency - becoming too comfortable and thinking what you have will always be enough. Yes, we’re market leaders in many of our verticals, but that only matters if we keep investing, keep evolving, and keep striving for excellence. We push because we care and that’s what makes what we do so special.

Olivia: It seems that the key to success is always keeping that energy up - how do you stay so motivated and innovative after 12 years in the industry?

Lotty: I thrive on variety, and in this role, every day brings something different. I also love how entrepreneurial the environment is. I have the freedom to shape my time and focus on new ideas. If I decide I want to figure out how to introduce a new feature at a show, I can go off on a tangent, explore it fully, and I’m trusted to make it work. That kind of space to think and create is so important to me. Also, I know it might sound like a cliché, but honestly, the people are what keep me here. They are 100% the best part of my day. Everything else is great too, the work, the growth, the impact, but without this team, none of it would be as meaningful or as fun. We fight like siblings sometimes, but we celebrate together, we lift each other up when things go wrong, and we keep moving forward as one unit.

 

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