21
Cover Story
Johnny Palmer,
SXS Events
“At the moment, you either
go there or you don’t, there’s
no other options. I’ve been
really interested in that
middle ground, and the
situation we’re in now has
really accelerated what that
middle ground can look like.”
Do you think we’re going to
lose agencies and suppliers
because they’re not
adapting, I ask Palmer. He
responds by pointing to the
Business Visits and Events
Partnership survey in which
60% of suppliers said they
worried they would not last
until the summer.
“I tend to agree,” he says.
“I look at the reasons that
might be and I think, if I’m
honest, during my career I
have been unimpressed with
the people I have worked for
who produce events: they
have done what they’ve
always done.
“People talk about
loyalties in our industry, but I
think it is often just laziness.
People just stick to what they
have always done, they
hoard their relationships and
knowledge to exclude
anything that might be a
threat. The things they
percieve to be threats are
mainly advancements in
technology and new people.
“I think that attitude will get
washed away in a few months.
It will pave a way for events to
show what they can be.”
The need for change, then,
is crucial, and Palmer is
excited to tell me about his
new offering: the virtual
venue. For whatever reason,
post-Covid-19, there will be
some who still want to
engage with events away
from a physical venue.
“Maybe people want to
produce an event like a TV
show,” says Palmer.
“Organsiers can produce a
digital experience to a high
quality for a low cost and can
target both a studio audience
and an audience at home.
“We need to go back to
what we do as an industry,
which is share messages
and create experiences. I
believe we are not
necessarily in the events
industry, but the experience
industry, and events are just
the way have always done
that. We have to reframe
what the business is. Having
a professional studio to
deliver those messages and
experiences is key.”
That is what the bank
wanted to hear. Palmer says
he has the impression banks
don’t like events companies,
but the fact he was able to
demonstrate he was
adapting for the future made
it a more appealing
application. “I think they
were enthusiastic about that
[the virtual venue],” he says.
“Banks, broadly speaking,
don’t like events companies.
They like events companies
the same as restaurants,
which is not at all. If they are
going to invest money in
these businesses, they need
to know it is going
somewhere, or whether you
are going to be a victim of
the marketplace.
“The events industry is in
trouble right now, that could
be three months or that
could be 36 months, no one
knows, they’re looking at
this as a bad sector.” But
that’s not to say they won’t
lend. Palmer adds: “They
are looking at the business
behind it, what kind of
people are running it, at
what point is this business
going to pivot and do new
things and be one of the
businesses that comes out
on top of all of this.”
I ask Palmer how long his
business can survive with no
events taking place. His
response challenges me:
“We can survive for two
years without me needing to
put in any of my personal
money. But survival isn’t
what I want to achieve here.
“I want the business to
diversify, and when events
return I want my company to
be top dog: the most visible,
most desirable company that
delivers the best service and
events to clients.”
You can’t take away from
Palmer’s enthusiasm, but he
has raised an interesting
point, and one that sealed
that this would be this
month’s cover story. Yes, it is
heart-breaking to hear of
businesses going to the wall,
but we don’t know how many
of them realised that the
Covid-19 pandemic would
change the face of events
forever, and that new
business models, in line with
new client objectives, are
needed now, not later. The
banks, for all their faults,
have forced many a hand.
Palmer has realised that,
have you?
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