Conference & Meetings World Issue 136 | Page 34

Agency world

Agents for change recognised

MASH MEDIA’ S AGENCY CORRESPONDENT HEATHER NICHOLLS SPOKE TO A SELECTION OF THE WINNERS AT THE RECENT CN AGENCY AWARDS ABOUT THEIR SECRETS OF SUCCESS.

T he 2025 Conference News

Agency Awards( CNAA) held at the De Vere, Grand Connaught Rooms, London at the end of March, celebrated excellence, innovation and outstanding achievements from full-service event agencies operating in the UK and beyond, and there was no shortage of talent and creativity to celebrate.
The awards headline sponsors were Immersive AV Expo and MCH Group: Messe Basel | Zurich, and Immersive AV Expo ' s managing director Scott Holman said his company was“ proud to sponsor the CNAAs, bringing together the thought leaders of the industry and celebrating their creativity and desire for innovation”.
Of course new blood and new ideas can be found a plenty in the start up arena and I asked Hayley Nicholson,
A day to remember for many of the 2025 CNAA winners, nominees and supporters owner and founder of UK-based event content agency Nuff Said, winner of Start up Agency of the Year, how it felt to win that category award.
“ Winning this award validates that what I’ m doing is right and that Nuff Said is filling a gap in the industry to support better event content. This is the first milestone, there’ s so much more to come.”
‘ Say Less, Mean More’ is the Nuff Said tagline and Nicholson says it is a guiding philosophy for her.“ Impactful content doesn’ t need to be verbose. It’ s about precision, relevance, and the power of a fresh perspective.”
So, what inspired her to start her agency journey?
“ I’ m passionate about storytelling and supporting events looking to elevate their content. There’ s a big shift happening in delegate experiences,
“ There’ s a big shift happening in delegate experiences, moving from sponsor-led sessions to more editoriallydriven, purposeful programming. That inspired me to start my own business”
– Hayley Nicholson, Nuff Said
Nuff Said’ s Hayley Nicholson holds her Start Up Agency of the Year award
Evolve Events and Anna Peters( right) receiving their David & Goliath award
moving from sponsor-led sessions to more editorially-driven, purposeful programming. That inspired me to start my own business.
“ With event content, there isn’ t always the appropriate budget to support the required needs. The biggest hurdle is showcasing value and how we’ re measuring financially to clients.
Now, Nicholson says she is looking to grow the team and the client base.“ We want to branch out our offerings and look at how we position ourselves in the industry as a leader in event content.”
As to what advice she would you give to someone thinking of launching their own agency, Nicholson says:“ Surrounding yourself with a network and community of supporters, whether that’ s in industry or not. There are going to be hard days but perseverance and resilience will help you through.”
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