11 G7 Summit
Michael Gietzen
Above : Michael Gietzen , the Queen meets with foreign leaders at the event . Below : The G7 line-up .
determine where best to invest resources .”
There is certainly no greater stage to underline that than at the G7 .
I ask Gietzen to explain Identity ’ s philosophy for the event .
“ We are pioneers of human experience and this philosophy runs through all our events , both live and virtual ,” he says . “ Our philosophy centres on working creatively and in partnership with our clients .
“ There is no doubt about it , the best events are delivered in partnership and by listening to our clients very carefully and really understanding their objectives – then
working collaboratively to achieve this .
“ Our track record means we understand the reach and impact a major event like this can ( and should ) have and our philosophy is to maximise these opportunities , creating truly memorable , dynamic and ground-breaking events that deliver tangible , positive outcomes .”
New-age learning
Were there elements that will carry over into the so-called ‘ new-age ’ that didn ’ t exist before ? I ask Gietzen .
“ An important element of this entire project was our ability to deliver credible , impactful and long-lasting social values ,” he says . “ Of course , this was alongside everything else that is expected of an event of this calibre .”
“ We ’ d also like to add that along with social value , sustainability is definitely part of the new-age of events , especially because the industry was previously renowned for the amount of waste generated . We are working hard to change this , and sustainability is a key part of all events now .
“ As you allude to , yes , this past year has been transformative . And in this so called ‘ new-age ’, agencies ( and brands ) have had to become even more adaptable
and imaginative .
However , almost more importantly , these experiences have helped reaffirm our collective commitment to do good by our community and the environment we live in . It has forced the events industry ( clients and agencies ) to look at the successful ingredients that make up a long term client-agency-audience relationship .
“ It has shown that to thrive in a meaningful way , clients and their agencies must work together to deliver real value , not just financial value , to society . Social values must be part of the foundations for all future live events .”
Gietzen adds that unrelated to social values , but an interesting element all the same , was that they also incorporated a highly secure virtual participation infrastructure .
“ This was not a ‘ nice | to have ’, it was highly critical . Our technology team is unbeatable ,” he says .
Social values
How was it received by the Cornish locals ? I ask Gietzen . Obviously , there will always be a number of detractors to the political element , but broadly events of this magnitude can be of huge benefit to destinations . “ From our point of view , Identity invested hugely in its social-value policy around the event so as to directly benefit the local Cornish community ,” he says .
“ This included helping to upskill a new generation of event and media professionals with mentoring and paid work experience placements over the course of the delivery of G7 . This ensured that the production of such a high-profile event is also a learning point for others .
“ We also created a network of sustainable local suppliers within the local economy for the event , and some of the team were volunteer mentors to support local people , who had been adversely affected by Covid-19 , get back into work .
“ Others worked with Speakers for Schools , a career programme specifically targeted at high-need schools with poor access to work experience . Overall , I feel the local community welcomed these initiatives , along with many others .”
Gietzen is a humble guy and , on the surface at least , seems completely unfazed by the experience . Few of us will ever be in a room with the world ’ s most powerful leaders .
You would think that would be enough for most , but for Gietzen and Identity ? No . In November they will be delivering COP26 , the world ’ s largest climate summit . Water off a duck ’ s back … CN www . conference-news . co . uk