The Producer’ s Room
Visprom is Dead. Long Live Visprom v2.0
Con Bridgeman, CEO Event Producer Pro, says most exhibition sales teams fly blind because they don’ t have a production function and that agentic production can change the playbook and give sales super powers
he AI hype in events is
T loud, but it’ s misdirected. Everyone’ s talking about Sales & Marketing or Customer Experience. Meanwhile, the production function( the one that actually shapes the product experience for the visitors) is often treated like an afterthought. That’ s a strategic error.
I was at the AEO( the UK’ s Association of Event Organisers) annual shindig in Manchester in September. Great people, great sessions( thank you Anna Golden and team), but not a single panel addressed the role of the producer in driving exhibitor conversion.
In exhibitions, the visitor is the product. If we agree on that, then ignoring the production layer, the team that deep dives into visitor needs and designs the experience, is like ignoring the engine while obsessing over the rims and leather steering wheel.
This is what I can see is quietly happening behind the scenes:
Some producers are building AI agents bottom up using their own initiative and money. They’ re automating agenda design, speaker research, sponsor research, visitor research, session matchmaking, content QA. These agents aren’ t just saving time, they’ re improving targeting, increasing relevance for buyers and sellers, and shortening the sales cycle.
Above: Con Bridgeman
“ Agentic producers are turning production from a cost centre into a growth engine”
When producers use agents to identify white space, align content with buyer intent, and personalise formats, they’ re increasing conversion. And because these agents are often built by producers themselves, they’ re embedded into workflows that actually scale.
Let’ s talk CAC( customer acquisition cost).
When production teams optimise session relevance for visitors( rather than to drive sponsorship), they reduce the cost of exhibitor acquisition. When they design agendas that speak directly to delegate pain points, they increase deal velocity.
Running agents in production isn’ t separate from S & M or CX, it’ s upstream. Because the attendee is the product, every improvement in production has a compounding effect on downstream functions: marketing efficiency, sales velocity, sponsor ROI.
So here’ s a reality check for event directors:
If your producers aren’ t agentic, your CAC is bloated.
If your content isn’ t optimised by production intelligence, your sales team is flying blind.
If your workflows aren’ t designed for conversion, you’ re selling a Lada with a Lambo price tag.
And let’ s not pretend this is a tech problem. It’ s a mindset shift.
Agentic producers aren’ t waiting for permission. They’ re building tools that act like interns. Literal, logical, consistent, and fast. They’ re redesigning workflows to be modular, scalable, and conversion-driven. They’ re turning production from a cost centre into a growth engine.
If you want a guide on the costs, opportunities, and metrics of agentic production( including how to measure its impact on sales and CAC) join us at The Producers Room on Linkedin( it’ s free).
Let’ s stop treating production as an afterthought and start recognising it as strategic infrastructure. EW www. exhibitionworld. co. uk Issue 5 2025 65