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Think Tank
optimism.
So, as we head into 2020, how
does the landscape look ahead
of us? I’d say distinctly positive.
I am yet to speak to an agency
owner or a corporate events
planner who believes that the
outlook isn’t for growth and
opportunity. There is always
opportunity in any situation
anyway, however, the past
decade has seen the
introduction in our industry of
revolutionary digital solutions
such as event apps and online
registration sites, and also the way that we choose to
communicate. There is evidence to
suggest that 25% to 30% of all
marketing budgets are spent on live
events, so no matter how much we
discuss AI and VR clearly you can’t
beat the face-to-face engagement
that live events deliver.
The way we deliver and create
events will evolve, however.
Systems will change, perspectives
invariably will shift as the
technological and ‘screen’
generation will become more senior
in their roles and so will have a
greater impact on how we deliver
events. The perspectives of those
starting their careers in our sector
are very different to those of
veterans, in that they want instant
access to information, have less
patience when it comes to travelling
through the journey of their careers
and rely primarily on social media
for their information. These online
sponges will become the
decision-makers in our industry and
will have a greater impact on how it
but does this model actually
benefit their organisation?
If I was appointing an agency I
would be looking for a small- or
medium-sized dynamic company
that values my business and will
put the maximum effort in to
servicing it. One which really
cares about the account and
doesn’t view it as just another
one of many to be serviced.
Procurement, though, generally
seems to do the polar opposite,
preferring global agencies who
they argue tick more of their
boxes – and don’t procurement
love a tick box exercise! I strongly
suspect they prefer large agencies because the larger the
agency, the larger the overrides they
generate, which in turn means the
bigger the potential kick-backs
which can then be used to
demonstrate “savings” made by
procurement.
This model is fine if you believe all
agents broadly provide the same
service. However, procuring a
service is not the same as procuring
stationary. Service providers are not
all the same and actually vary
hugely. I’d argue that basing a
decision on a financial rebate while
largely ignoring the service offering
is the definition of a false saving.
What is the point of receiving a
financial sweetener if it comes at
the expense of poor service delivery
which in turn negatively impacts the
business? And yet this is exactly the
situation procurement has created.
The common issue shared by the
event teams I have met since
setting up Meet is how poor the
designated agents they are
mandated to use actually are. Often
A new way
of working
Charlotte Gentry, EVCOM
chair and Pure Events CEO,
says events will only become
more important in the 2020s
As much as it was a record year
for Pure Events, I’m not overly
sad to see the back end of 2019,
simply due to all the uncertainty
that shrouded the country.
Whichever way people voted, an
end to uncertainty has to be a
positive step in the right direction
for companies to step off the
fence when it comes to
recruitment, investments and for
the housing market. There is no
doubt that the uncertainty
brought about by the Brexit
stalemate and the elections had
an impact on the country’s
Problem with
procurement
Des Mclaughlin, MD at Meet
Events, says procurement
needs a re-think
I understand why companies
need to adopt a formal process
when appointing suppliers, but I
have long questioned how
effective procurement
departments are when choosing
them. Surely procurement’s role
should be to determine the
supplier who will deliver service
excellence for their company. In
my experience, though,
procurement’s focus is usually
based around which agent will
offer them the biggest rebate
given procurement are regularly
targeted and bonused around
the savings they deliver. Their
behaviour is understandable,
www.conference-news.co.uk
evolves.
I do believe that even with the
advancement of AI and VR and
special effects within production,
alongside video conferencing and
technology gizmos, that content will
remain king, and our need to create
more inspiring content will become
extremely important. The live event
is now part of the bigger marketing
plan, but even more so in the future,
everything will relay back to the
overall marketing and social
campaign as post event analysis
becomes imperative.
The role agencies play in
educating traditional businesses to
move their event experiences
forward will become a day-to-day
task, with it being crucial that we all
have our finger on the pulse of the
advancement of the industry.
the event bookers and organisers
have played little or no part in their
selection process and yet planners
are forced to use these agents
despite the fact they are patently
not fit for purpose.
I believe businesses now need to
review the role of procurement and
ensure that their procurement team
is operating in the company’s
interest rather than their own
self-interest to maximise their
bonus. We are increasingly seeing a
situation where the tail is now
wagging the dog, and this was
surely never the point of
procurement.