15 Interview
CREATING HUMAN , LASTING CONNECTIONS WITH A CHARGE
Kristyna O ’ Connell visits the Portsmouth HQ of event agency asembl . and talks to CEO Gavin Farley about his career and the issues facing a typical agency like his
Can you explain your business and what you do ? asembl . is predominantly a brand experience agency that builds connections with impact for brands , people and places . The agency was born in Portsmouth but grown to have roots in London and has delivered projects globally . We mainly plan and execute live and digital events and work with some of the world ’ s biggest brands such as Oracle , Autodesk , TalkTalk , Adobe , Softcat , EPSON , and Google . Staffing wise , there are 30 of us here at asembl . and we also have a venue-finding business and a logistics company within the group .
How did you get into your role ? The world of incentive travel was introduced to me at Southdowns College in Portsmouth . They told me you could organise events for corporates and travel the world for free , whilst getting paid for it . My first job at 18 was flying to Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town in Business Class , looking after 200 people , drinking wine , staying in a five-star hotel , taking a helicopter , and playing drums on Table
Gavin Farley
Mountain . And I thought , if this is work , then I ’ m in . A few years later , I ’ m still here .
What would you say is your company ’ s ethos ? We ’ re here to build something great ! Our ethos is to facilitate connections . Ninety-five percent of what we do , from an event management point of view , is the same as 20,000 other companies out there in event management , but the point of difference is that extra 5 %. We want to be a valueadded partner and not just another supplier . We want to know whether you like a Chinese takeaway or an Indian takeaway , what your favourite drink is , or maybe what your dream destination is , because it ’ s that personal understanding and connection which is the extra 5 % and is what asembl . does well .
When was asembl founded ? Although asembl . is only two years old , we have years of experience within the agency and in 2025 we will be celebrating our 20th anniversary . In 2022 we rebranded from In2Events to assembl .
How do you explain your vision to the rest of the team ? I use the analogy of Selfridges – we want to be a one-stop shop , offering an easy solution where everything is in one place . We can make everything simple , wrapped up in a lovely package and the client gets an unforgettable experience .
Tell us about trends in terms of demand from your clients and in the wider industry ? We ’ ve picked four trends that we feel will be key contenders for the year ahead . They are AI Uber Personalisation , Connected Communities , Neurodiversity and Keeping it Playful . We will dive into these topics across the year and use them as discussion points . Our clients are asking us for more value for money because that ’ s not easy now . So , we ’ re creatively coming up with ideas on how we can support them on that . They are looking to us for advice because that ’ s our job . They are also asking if they can come to Portsmouth and get away from London , so we have started to do things locally . Every year we have a series of events in the summer called asembl . socials , and we partner with a good friend of mine who owns a boat company ; we take our guests out on the Solent , and we go for lunch on the Isle of www . conference-news . co . uk