Agency world
Brands at Work and Simon Boniface( second right) pick up their Creative Team of the Year award
David and Goliath London-based Evolve Events picked up the David and Goliath Award and Anna Peters, creative director at the agency, says:“ It’ s a celebration of what we’ ve always believed, being small doesn’ t mean thinking small. It affirms our passion for purpose-led events, our commitment to sustainability and our client-first approach in an industry full of giants.”
Was there a standout project that helped secure the award win?
Peters says growing the sustainable travel movement was a real turning point for the agency.“ Our Eurostar partnership and Go Sustainable project with Switzerland Convention and Incentives Bureau( SCIB) are just the beginning.”
Peters adds that when you don’ t have the same resources as the big players, you have to think differently.“ We see constraints as creative opportunities. Our size means we can move quickly and personalise projects in a way that’ s often harder for larger agencies.”
As for advice for other small agencies trying to stand out, she says:“ Don’ t try to be a mini version of a big agency; instead, focus on the unique value you bring. Build strong relationships, be fearless in your creativity and don’ t be afraid to champion a cause. Your size lets you pivot faster and experiment more.”
And future evolution for Evolve, according to Peters, means growing sustainable travel partnerships, expanding dual-use venues, and supporting low-carbon client incentives.
Creativity at work Brands at Work took the CNNA Creative Team of the Year award and Simon Boniface, the agency’ s head of creative, says the team considers themselves still a‘ challenger agency’.
Asked to pick out a piece of work that maybe caught the judges’ eye, Boniface says their work with Kyowa Kirin is a great example of storytelling at events.“ It showed how we take business content and turn it into something very human and tactile. Everything we do with our clients has the goal of getting attention and making messages stick. Telling stories and creating experiences that make our audience feel something will always be the most effective way of achieving that.”
Boniface adds:“ Good ideas come from anywhere … The experiences and ideas of event managers, technical directors and producers are all thrown into the mix and we draw from anything that excites us. The spark could be from the unusual shape of a room, a quote from a CEO or even a joke from a movie. If it sparks, it sparks!”
“ Don’ t try to be a mini version of a big agency; instead, focus on the unique value you bring. Your size lets you pivot faster, experiment more and really connect with your clients.”
– Anna Peters, Evolve Events
How are emerging technologies influencing how the team thinks about creativity?
“ They’ re not. AR & VR provide a fun toolbox with which to deliver ideas to audiences, but they don ' t provide the ideas themselves. Tech as a tool is wonderful but it must never get in the way of a good central idea that resonates with people. The best ideas should land whether they are scrawled on a piece of paper or delivered in multi-dimensions through a headset.
“ In the case of AI – we’ re experiencing real benefit in the creative process in that it’ s allowing us to think faster and realise an idea without losing momentum. I ' d like to see a future where there’ s no lag between the mind and the hand so you can realise something as soon as you think of it.”
Producing the goods Kat Saha-Sen at Stagestruck, won Event Producer of the Year at the CNAAs and says her superpower is an ability to remain completely calm.“ I don’ t flap, I just get to work on calm resolution of whatever the challenge may be.”
The biggest lesson she says she has learned in her career is to be confident but make sure to listen to the experts around.“ If you have a clear design vision but your talented creative director is telling you something else, make sure you listen and have a conversation, don’ t bulldoze just because you are the project lead.”
She also now thinks more holistically.“ Every little detail matters but it doesn’ t mean a thing if all those elements won’ t work together.”
Saha-Sen is also supporting new talent.“ I’ ve brought in a number of freelancers who had never worked in events in order to expose them to the opportunities available. We need to keep building our talent pools.”
With projects in the Middle East and Africa, she says 2025 is set to be a busy year. n
ISSUE 136 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 35