Do you know who is delivering on your objectives?
04 October 2023
It’s very rare nowadays for an event to simply include a stage, some seating, tea, coffee, food, and a PowerPoint or two. We’ve moved on, the very best events are striving evermore to seek new ways to better engage with attendees and allow brands to do so too.
Creating an experience that offers not just learning, but also networking and engagement, challenges event and exhibition organisers to think far beyond the plenary. From exhibition spaces and inviting entrances, to sponsored bars and lounges, there is no end to the opportunities for expanding the brief and extending your brand’s reach. We’re reaching for a ‘festivalised’ event, of increased complexity, opportunity, interest, and engagement. Delegates are masters of their own experiences, we’re hyper personalised and we serve delegates with a smorgasbord of options, in and out of the event.
But it’s not just about enriching content, the addition of an exhibition or sponsored bar, lounge or interactive feature, also offers organisers new revenue streams too. In the UK, sponsorship is a multi-billion-pound industry in its own right, and when it comes to events it offers brands access to the holy grail of a captive, engaged and vetted audience.
Of course, creating such extensions to your project does not come without its challenges, so it’s important to know what you need and partner with the right people to make it work.
It’s likely a company such as GES may be creating some of your most popular and profitable spaces, and yet you may have no knowledge of who they are, what they do or what they stand for. This may have been OK in the past, but modern-day event organisers are increasingly interested in getting to know everyone across their supply chain. They want to get involved and work hand-in-hand with such suppliers in order to get the best from them, and to use their own intelligence and experience to support the event team.
Annually, GES manages more than 4,000 live experiences and works with 140,000 exhibitors. Its range of products ensures that the team can help realise even the most challenging of visions, but first they need to understand what you want to achieve.
“We often work closely with both venues and agencies, but there is huge value in the client taking some time to engage with our team too. We’re focused on delivering on the brand’s vision and the closer we can partner with them – the better,” says Leanne Griffiths, Director, New Business Development, GES.
Being close to these hidden companies is not just a matter of creative idea-sharing. Most brands consider sustainability a crucial consideration when designing an event and the venue makes up around 80% of an event’s carbon footprint. But it’s all too easy to take this at face value. If you were to break that 80% down, how much of that figure is from the venue’s direct emissions and how much is from its own partners?
“Don’t be afraid to ask. Find out about all the suppliers in your supply chain and check that they all meet with your objectives too,” continues Leanne. “We really welcome the conversation and the more you ask the more you’ll find out. Especially around sustainability, infrastructure within the build is a consuming area, you need to know that the people building it share your values, the more you know the more you’re reassured, and you can share some of the positive action with the event delegation. It makes them feel involved and purposeful.”
GES has spent years developing its sustainable products and the most recent addition, Show Ready Exhibition Stand Packages, ensures that no part of its product goes into landfill. All the elements are either reused or recycled helping you and your team to address just a few of your sustainable responsibilities without even trying. It’s this kind of innovation that is worth knowing, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
It’s worth the conversation, you’ll rarely be disappointed with what you find.
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