Experiential expectations
LOUISA DALEY TALKS TO ADAM SLOYER , CEO , SEQUENCE EVENTS , ABOUT THE STRATEGY BEHIND THE AGENCY AND THE CURRENT TRENDS IT IS SEEING
A gencies are often at the heart of creative events and experiences . After all , creativity is the very thing they are known for . Considering this , how are agencies coping with the return of in-person events – which are not only coming back bigger and better – but with higher client expectations than ever before ?
Based in the US , and headquartered in New York , Sequence Events is an agency that specialises in production , strategic planning and design for both national and global events .
“ We have clients whose events are production driven and others who are more creative driven . But because we have a range of departments including creative , production , technical , graphic and multimedia , we can achieve either outcome ,” explains its CEO , Adam Sloyer .
“ We also work with a mix of corporate and non-profit clients on a variety of B2B , B2C and internal projects ,” he adds .
For example , since its launch in 2011 , Sequence Events has worked with social media companies like TikTok for its Virtual Creator Meetup and music streaming services like Spotify for its Inclusion Summit .
The agency has also worked with longstanding clients including The Fund Finance Association , where it delivered the association ’ s conference in the UK , the US , and Asia – as well as other clients such as LinkedIn for its Employee Engagement Events and Footlocker Foundation for its On Our Feet Galas – to name just a few .
Agency trends Since emerging from the pandemic and the lifting of restrictions , the agency has seen its clients pushing for more in-person projects – “ in-person has been a clear winner this year .
Adam Sloyer
Clients have been waiting a long time to renew in-person connections ,” Sloyer says .
While this is good news for the US event buying market and the wider events industry , it has caused some challenges for the agency . “ Like everyone else , we are continuing to see short planning windows . We are also seeing the impact of inflation , both in terms of labour and materials . Translating this narrative to clients and explaining why their event costs significantly more than it did the last time they hosted it , is a challenging but necessary conversation ,” Sloyer adds .
Due to the rise of in-person events , the demand for virtual has decreased for Sequence . “ We have seen quite a decline of virtual requests over the past six months ,” says Sloyer . However , hybrid seems to remain as an option for some clients .
Sloyer believes this is because “ organisations and clients are looking to amplify their reach and others are still concerned about in-person events due to Covid-19 . So , by adding a hybrid element – it reduces the number of people needed in-person .”
ISSUE 120 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 17