WINTER | COVER FEATURE
Michael Naman
event exhibitions and roadshows . Jointly helmed by husband-andwife duo Dee and Edward Parsons , the company has demonstrated a commitment to sustainability and social responsibility . Working with
leading brands , BGP has created activations at events including Reading Festival , Wireless Festival , Royal Ascot and the Eurovision Song Contest .
BGP ’ s many brand activations during the summer event season this year included the Pepsi Max Tower , which has become a landmark at Festival Republic ’ s Reading and Wireless Festivals and was doubled in size this year to 300sqm over three floors .
Edward and Dee Parsons
In line with BGP ’ s focus on sustainability , at east 50 % of the tower ’ s construction involved previously used materials . Meanwhile , 550 trees were planted in Indonesia and the UK , while
“ We ' re on the brink of amazing developments .”
three outreach projects received a percentage of funding from Better Green ’ s bottom line from the project .
The company ’ s wider environmental commitment includes planting 30,000 trees by 2027 , and to make sure less than 5 % of all waste materials from its projects go to landfill .
While advancing technology is being embraced by brands , event operators and agencies alike , Dee says
Reading Festival 2023 there are some cases where she is seeing a move away from the high-tech to more hands-on physicality in brand activations : “ Some of our clients are going completely the other way , we were back to doing things like drawing messages on boards at some of the summer festivals this year .”
Despite an analogue approach suiting some activations , BGP ’ s directors regularly team with partners to introduce cuttingedge tech to enable immersive engagement within activations . Edward says , “ We got asked a lot last year to design things for companies that affected all six senses , not least smell , sound and vision , and because sustainability is so high on the agenda , we are seeing new tech used to reduce the carbon footprint of activations but also to involve and educate participants .
“ For projects we are working on next year we are getting asked a lot for things like pedometers and kinetic dancefloors , things that involve people in the creation of power and give back to the grid .”
Democratisation of tech Margetson says a huge shift in the availability and accessibility of tech is leading to innovation happening en masse across the industry , transforming the way projects and events are being created and managed .
“ Many of these tools have been democratised ,” he says . “ Some were previously reserved for Hollywood but now motion control is at our fingertips , we are using bulk cams and robot arms on activations , which previously wouldn ’ t have happened . Innovation is everywhere , it ’ s ubiquitous , and I think success in this area is very much about collaboration .”
Harris says the roll-out of 5G is having a transformative impact on what can be achieved in a live events environment , not least brand activations , by enabling ample connectivity with AI-driven tech : “ Going back five years , 5G was a myth and now it ’ s everywhere . The possibilities it brings are endless , we ’ re on the brink of amazing developments . I believe AI is going to transform everything .”
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