evm_september-2023 - 73

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EM: WHAT ARE THE EMERGING TRENDS YOU'VE SEEN COMING OUT
OF COVID? HAS THE INDUSTRY CHANGED FOREVER?
JOHN: Facing the client side of the business, the key change has been
leaning into marketing and data as a true creative agency. For many
years, the events industry was very production focused. " Get everything
done on time! " " Make sure it looks good before the boss shows up. "
" Create buzz! " Those things remain important but what Covid forced
all of us to do was to learn marketing, learn technology and empower
data. Now, we operate in an environment where strategy, creative, and
technology all work together to deliver more for the client with less.
And the results better be measurable.
EM: HOW ARE THOSE CHANGES IMPACTING CLIENTS AND THEIR
EVENTS?
JOHN: The need to do more with less. As the pricing structure of
the industry changed and critical components have become more
expensive, it has become really important to come up with creative
ideas that scale. Our entire agency is structured as a platform for
realizing client objectives in this new normal, and our team is better
than anyone I've ever seen at delivering under these circumstances. It's
truly the future of the industry and we hope to lead the way there.
EM: ONE OF THE KEY IMPACTS OF COVID WAS THAT THE INDUSTRY
LOST A LOT OF VERY EXPERIENCED PERSONNEL, HOW HAS THIS
IMPACTED YOUR ABILITY TO FIND AND NURTURE TALENT?
NATE SIBLOCK: The experiential marketing industry, by its nature,
thrives on adaptability. We've adapted by expanding our talent search
to include a broader range of professionals from related fi elds who
bring transferable skills. This diversity has broadened our creative
horizons and helped us explore new avenues in experiential
marketing. The pandemic also enabled and allowed us to expand our
talent pool geographically; to tap into talent from diff erent regions
and backgrounds. This diversity has enabled better ideas and new
approaches to old problems.
EM: HOW HAS THAT IMPACTED YOUR ABILITY TO DELIVER FOR
CLIENTS?
NATE: John mentioned being brilliant inside the box. We understand
that budgets and timelines are the reality of our business. But we
believe, strategic thinking, innovative creativity and technical
expertise can overcome almost any challenge.
We've also found that eff ective communication with clients is even
more critical. We are very transparent with them, so they better
understand our processes and the evolving industry landscape. Because
of this enhanced collaboration, we are brought into conversations earlier
which leads to aligned expectations, increased innovation and more
successful outcomes.
EM: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY IN SERVICE OF COMMERCE MEAN?
MEG GLEASON: Our agency principles are " Make it marketing, Make
it memorable. Make it measurable. " Fun or innovative just isn't
enough!... it must align with what our clients want to achieve from
a business standpoint and demonstrate how it impacts those goals.
It's easy to come up with a big, beautiful idea from a blank page. Any
skilled creative can do that! Being brilliant inside the box of strategy,
timelines, budgets and KPIs is where we all win. That's what we mean
by creativity in the service of commerce.
EM: HOW DO YOU BALANCE EVERYTHING?
MEG: Allow me this analogy: A musician alone can sound great but an
orchestra playing together in sync really makes the moment bigger and
engages all the senses. And how do you do that? A great composer...
eventmarketer.com
Or in our industry, a beautifully orchestrated brief that hits all the
right notes that listens to client's needs with strategy, creative and
production working in harmony. That's what we're going for.
We focus on producing work that is engaging, attractive, and fresh -
and that delivers on defi ned business objectives. We love that " Aha "
moment when the light bulb goes off for all stakeholders. When they
all see what they need delivered in an idea and execution. Some of this
is how we write the brief, some of it is how our team thinks, but the
fi nal outcome derives from the hard work of making sure strategy,
creative, account service and production all work together; all provide
innovative ideas; all understand each other's roles in the process.
EM: HOW CAN AN AGENCY OF YOUR SIZE OFFER THE SAME LEVEL
OF SERVICE AND PRICING AS SOME OF THE LARGER AGENCIES IN
THE SPACE?
DONNA CANCEL:We are a full-service agency. There is nothing we
can't achieve for a client. The special sauce is in how we achieve it.
Our process ensures that production specs and details are thoroughly
developed. We've formed key partnerships with providers and suppliers
in various regions that enable us to ensure cost eff ectiveness. Rick and
John actually designed the entire business around this idea, and we can
see it working well on every project we do for clients.
Many larger agencies are bogged down by past choices, resources and
existing methodologies. They are limited in how they approach a client
challenge or what they can recommend based on their existing cost and
resource's structure, or other internal factors.
EM: HOW DOES SUSTAINABILITY DRIVE YOUR THINKING IN THIS
AREA?
DONNA: We believe there are two sides to sustainability. One is
the standard in the industry which is to try to use more sustainable
materials. This is very important but unfortunately often adds cost
to a project. We are just not there yet in sustainable materials being
less expensive than less sustainable materials. We work closely with
our partners and clients to mitigate this but it's the reality for now.
Reusability of components for multiple uses overcomes some of this.
The second way we look at sustainability is as a cost driver or saver.
First, are our processes and operations as effi cient as they can be?
Are we selecting partners that care about and understand how to
structure their businesses to be more effi cient? And where can we
apply sustainable thinking to actually reduce costs. A simple example
is around swag. Swag and giveaways can be hugely expensive and
wasteful. We work with clients to be really thoughtful on whether
swag even makes sense, does it drive business objectives or is it just
something we've always done? And secondly, if we are going to give
something away, let's be really thoughtful about what the item is,
how it will be used and reused, what it's made of, etc. In thinking
about sustainability this way, we can actually turn a potential
negative in terms of costs and environmental impact into a positive
for both.
EM: AS A FINAL QUESTION, WHAT DO YOU WANT POTENTIAL
CLIENTS TO KNOW ABOUT YOU? WHY WOULD THEY PICK YOU AS
THEIR EVENT AND EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING AGENCY?
JOHN: If you are experiential in nature, you understand the value of
events and engagement, you are open to new ideas and you really
want a partner that can help drive your business forward, I would say,
give us a chance to show you what we can do. Jump in the box with us
and let's be brilliant together. We think you'll be pretty happy with
the results.
FALL 2023 EVENT MARKETER 73
http://www.eventmarketer.com
evm_september-2023

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