NOVEMBER | SECTOR FOCUS
“A lot of
production
companies that
will always use
the traditional
sales process,
offering cheaper
rates and larger
discounts”
with clients pitching production companies
against each other in order to get the best price,
production companies do tend to feel the pinch.
Is there a demand for all elements of the
production process to invest into more training,
learning, development?
With technology becoming more and more
advanced, training is vital to make sure you’re
getting the most out of each and every piece of kit.
We work closely with equipment manufacturers and
industry bodies to ensure our staff are fully clued up.
How is the relationship between organiser,
promoter and production service working?
Working with an organiser or promoter has
always been based on trust and relationships.
Here at Hawthorn, we’re very proud to have an
excellent client retention rate. Playing testament
to this is key accounts such as Walk The Walk
using us for 18 years and BBC Worldwide, who
returned to Hawthorn for the 12th year to
help deliver it’s world-renowned Showcase.
Are you outsourcing staff more now than before?
We’ve seen an excellent level of growth
over the past 12 months and the number
of events we’re working on has increased.
This has meant that we’re employing more
freelance staff on-site. It’s not just about the workload
though. With technology becoming more advanced,
we often employ freelance specialists when an event
calls for a certain piece of equipment such as disguise
media servers or particularly advanced projection
techniques. We strongly believe in collaborating with
industry experts to create the very best solutions.
Has the process of winning business changed for
you? Are you more proactive or reactive in this
competitive market?
There are a lot of production companies that
will always use the traditional sales process,
offering cheaper rates and larger discounts, but
for me this devalues the market. Our process
has evolved and we believe that developing
relationships, trust and credibility with organisers
is key to winning new business, not price.
Most organisers or agencies have a preferred
supplier who they will have worked with for
many years so when you do get an opportunity,
you have to go about it in a proactive way. Gone
are the days of cold calling and trying to make
an appointment as the key decision makers are
generally out of the office working on events.
What willevent production look like in 10 years’
time?
I was once told that production companies
in 5 years would be dead in the water and
that the only way forward would be to
provide a complete agency type service.
Over time, I think we’ve seen that hasn’t
been the case!! Instead we’ve seen production
companies go from strength-to-strength,
providing organisers and agencies with technical
expertise in a collaborative way, becoming a
production partner rather than just a supplier.
I can only see this becoming more important
as demand increases over the next 10 years.
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