Become an OBM Event Partner
October Business Month (OBM) is a month-long program of inspirational and educational events designed to support, inspire and grow small to medium Territory businesses.
OBM Partner Events are independent events delivered by business and industry that form part of the broader calendar of events. Local businesses and organisations are encouraged to get involved to showcase their skills, knowledge and experience to motivate business owners and their employees to connect, learn and be inspired.
Territory business and industry are invited to host an OBM Partner Event as part of the 2025 program. Registered training organisations, associations, businesses and non-government organisations can participate in the program by hosting an OBM Partner Event.
Get involved
Hosting an OBM Partner Event gives you the opportunity to:
- Raise your organisation’s profile by aligning your brand with OBM
- Create relationships with potential clients and customers
- Demonstrate your support for the Territory business community
The most successful OBM Partner Events in recent years have been:
- Hands on, workshop style events
- Practical events that include tangible takeaways (PowerPoint slides, handouts)
- Inclusive of networking opportunities
- Short sharp events of 1-2 hours duration
- Events held during lunch or after business hours / evening sessions
- Held at convenient easy to find locations with easy and free parking available
To become an OBM Event Partner you must be a Territory Enterprise* and have a current ABN. Your event must not be a sales pitch or contain someone else’s intellectual property.
Territory Enterprises must satisfy all three elements of the definition:
Operate in the NT
The enterprise is currently engaged in productive activities (i.e. production of goods or delivery of services) within the NT.
Significant permanent presence
The enterprise maintains an office, manufacturing facilities or other permanent base within the NT.
Employing NT residents
The enterprise employs Territorians. An enterprise which relies exclusively on transient, interstate international labour or a fly-in, fly-out workforce will not satisfy this element.
Audience and marketing
Audience
With an emphasis on attracting small to medium business owners and employees, attendees of OBM will be busy Territorians who want to use their time efficiently to up-skill and learn something new to assist their own professional development or help grow their business.
Of the 2024 attendees surveyed:
- 80% attended an OBM Partner Event
- 90% learned something new during OBM
- 94% found the OBM presentations engaging and relevant
Of those Event Partners surveyed:
- 46% were participating in OBM for the first time
- 71% indicated that being an Event Partner added value to their business
- 88% rated the overall experience with OBM as excellent or very good
Marketing
A targeted marketing campaign designed to raise awareness of the program and encourage attendance will be delivered by the department. The focus of the campaign is to direct people to the OBM website where they can browse the full program and register for individual events.
The marketing campaign encompasses a variety of mediums including TV, radio, online, print, digital and social media advertising. While the overall campaign provides the opportunity to maximise exposure of OBM Partner Events on the OBM website, we encourage OBM Event Partners to actively market and promote their events through their own networks to maximise participation.
Benefits
OBM provides a platform to showcase your professional services to the Territory business community.
The benefits of hosting a Partner Event include:
- Being a part of the NT’s largest business event giving you the opportunity to market your business, collaborate with other businesses and network with business owners and employees.
- Access to a platform that enables you to showcase your professional services and expertise to a targeted business audience.
- Your event(s) advertised on the online calendar of events linked to obm.nt.gov.au and promoted in an electronic mail out to the department's database of subscribers.
- Inclusion in the overall OBM marketing campaign.
- Brand awareness to a Territory wide business audience, including the use of the OBM Partner Event email signature.
Plan your event
Aligned with the Northern Territory’s Economic Strategy, this years key theme is to:
PLAY TO OUR STRENGTHS.
OBM Partner Events must align with this theme, in the context of small business, with a focus on one or more of the following support themes:
Digitalisation – embracing AI and smart technologies to drive productivity and innovation (including: integration of technology, artificial intelligence, cyber security, digital marketing, rewiring and agility in business)
Workforce – attracting, retaining and developing talent for long-term success (including: teamwork, high performance, worker shortage, attraction of talent, training, the modern workplace, flexibility and employee wellbeing)
Resilience – building agile businesses that respond to changing consumer behaviours and market shifts (including: immediately applicable tools, innovation, inspiration, motivation, working in/on the business)
Event planning tips
Tailor your event to potential attendees who are looking for professional development, business improvement strategies and tools that they can implement immediately. You can consider collaborating with other Event Partners and/or industry associations to deliver a more powerful or thought-provoking event. Potential event formats could include:
- Presentations by well-known or well-regarded speakers
- Workshops that include discussion and activities to maximise learnings
- Panel discussions with audience Q&A
Ensure you tell potential attendees exactly what to expect from your event and why they need to sign up for your session straight away! Think about the duration of the event and time of day to hold it - feedback suggests that events are best attended when held after-hours or during lunch time periods.
Keep in mind that the target audience don’t generally have large funds available to spend on professional development, so keep the price reasonable. The price should include GST (if applicable), any booking fees and explain inclusions clearly to avoid confusion.
All OBM Partner Events will be assessed to ensure they align with the intent and key themes of OBM to provide a variety of events across the entire month of October. Get in early to secure your preferred date and avoid calendar clashes with potential competing events.
To assist in date selection an up-to-date calendar of events will be available for you to view when submitting your EOI.
Effective event planning is crucial for a successful and positive experience for all involved. Key elements include defining clear objectives, setting a realistic budget, assembling the right team, and staying on a timeline.
Click here to download our tips on running a successful event.
Key dates
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Event Partner Expressions of Interest open | June 2025 |
| Event Partner Expressions of Interest close | 31 July 2025 |
| Notification of acceptance of Expression of Interest | 5 business days of submitting an EOI |
| Final event details due | 17 August 2025 |
Supporting OBM
By becoming a valued OBM Event Partner we ask that you and your business support the program of events by:
- Displaying OBM material supplied to you by the Department of Trade, Business and Asian Relations at your event i.e. displaying an OBM branded PowerPoint slide.
- Co-brand marketing and promotional material associated with your event(s) in line with official OBM brand guidelines (to be provided to all approved Event Partners).
- Promoting OBM keynote speaker events and the overall program of events to your audience and networks.
- Providing your event registration and/or attendance numbers to the Department of Trade, Business and Asian Relations to help inform the OBM evaluation report.
Terms and conditions
There is no fee to host an OBM Partner Event.
It is the responsibility of each Event Partner (host) to manage attendee registration and ticketing for their event/s via a professional and capable event registration platform. There are many reputable platforms available in the market, that offer free event registration options. If you don’t already use a platform we recommend doing your research to find the best option for your event/s. Some suggestions include:
Ensure you set a cancellation policy, especially for ticketed events, communicate with attendees in the lead up to the event, and provide attendees with contact details for any questions. Event SMS reminders are also a great tool to use if your selected platform offers this.
Think about post event reporting needs and obtaining feedback from attendees to help in future planning.
If you need to cancel or make changes to your partner event(s) you must notify OBM in writing as soon as possible. The OBM team will make the required changes and/or remove the event from the online calendar within 3-5 business days of receiving the advice.
As an OBM Event Partner:
- You must have an active Australian Business Number (ABN).
- You must be a Territory Enterprise
- You agree to hold the event(s) as described in the expression of interest as an OBM Event Partner.
- You agree that your event(s) will not be aimed at selling your, or any, products or services to attendees.
- You agree to fund and manage all the administrative tasks involved with your event(s).
- All costs associated with running the OBM Partner Event remain the Event Partner's responsibility.
- You are aware and accept that it is your responsibility to set up and manage your attendee registrations and ticket sales via a reputable event registration platform of your choice.
- Your event(s) will be included in the OBM online calendar of events, hosted on the OBM website, subject to approval by the Department of Trade, Business and Asian Relations and event details being received.
- You agree that your event(s) will be listed in the OBM online calendar of events, hosted on the OBM website, where attendees will be redirected to your event registration platform to register and/or purchase tickets.
- You agree that it is your responsibility to ensure consent for the collection, use and sharing of personal information collected at your event(s) and during the registration process for your event(s).
- The opportunity to host an event is provided on a non-exclusive basis, therefore competitors and other related businesses may also host events that are similar and it is not the responsibility of the department to monitor or manage this.
- The Department of Trade, Business and Asian Relations, apart from promoting the event as relevant, is in no way responsible for your event and will not become involved in disputes related to your event content.
- The Department of Trade, Business and Asian Relations may decline your event in its absolute discretion.
- Event Partners must seek written approval from the OBM team prior to securing sponsors for an OBM Partner Event.
Express your interest
Register your interest to host an OBM Partner Event via the link below. All expressions of interest for OBM Partner Events will be considered and assessed by the OBM team. Once your expression of interest has been accepted, your event will be approved and added to the calendar of events.
In the event that your expression of interest isn't accepted, we will notify you to discuss the opportunity to re-apply if appropriate.
As an OBM Event Partner, you can use the OBM logo to market your event and benefit from the overarching marketing campaign.
When developing your event, please follow the below guidelines:
- Align your event with the key themes of OBM
- Ensure your event is comparable in cost to similar events and represents value for money
- Engage an event registration platform to manage event registration and ticketing.
- Consider collaborating with another business or association if you are unable to host an event independently
Contact
For further information about the OBM Event Partner program contact the OBM team on 8935 7731 or obm@nt.gov.au
For support in your region, please contact your local Small Business Champion:
Central Australia 8951 8492
Top End 1800 193 111
Big Rivers 8973 8103
East Arnhem 8987 0563
Barkly 8962 4472
