Event Industry News Podcast

Unbridled agency on the fast track

Working out of Denver, Colorado, Tim Woodring is chief solutions officer at event management, production and creative agency, Unbridled.

Launched at the turn of the century, initially focused on event logistics, Unbridled acquired a travel agency in 2002, going on to add registration to the mix in 2004, creative services in 2007 and production 2008, since when the company has enjoyed a “wild ride” in growth.

Currently, Unbridled produces about 400 events a year, with a mix of services and industries, from 50 capacity to 10,000.

In this episode, Tim Woodring highlights the value in connecting employees with their employer and how working from home has changed the map in terms of what job people feel they can apply for.

Woodring also discusses Unbridled staff’s sprint to adopt/adapt to the virtual world in spring 2020, the metamorphosis from ‘webinar’ to virtual event, how professional sport has the ultimate hybrid show for years, Thomas Kuhn’s book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions and more besides.

Introducing EMMC - made to measure

Launched in March, the Experiential Marketing Measurement Coalition (EMMC) is out to standardise core metrics and assessment methodologies and promote them, alongside aggregating and sharing anonymous benchmarks.

In this episode, EMMC founders Dax Callner, strategy director at Smyle, Katie Streten, head of experiential strategy for VMLY&R Commerce and Matt Sincaglia, VP of strategy & analytics at RedPeg Marketing, talk about the inspiration they drew from the lack of certified approaches to measurement in “our space” and the subsequent thinking and planning behind the coalition.

They discuss measuring what matters, bypassing the competitive instinct to deliver telling detail for the whole membership, which includes the likes of Astound, DRP, Explori, George P Johnson, Impact and Velocity, presenting understandable core metrics and the ‘So What’ test.

Powering up next generation events with Brandfuel

David Ball is founder & CEO of Brandfuel, a creative agency specialising in the sustainable design, planning and delivery of virtual events.

In this episode, David Ball discusses the race and pace of change over the last 12 months and the resulting new efficiency. How to balance the live and virtual equation, the impact of talent leaving the live events world and helping freelancers to get ‘match fit’ again through the company’s Plus One programme.

Host James Dickson also asks about sustainability and David details dealing with the ISO process and setting a target to make Brandfuel a net zero emissions business by June 2022.

Behind the TRO white paper treasure TROve

Conceived as an event management and production agency nearly 40 years ago, around the automotive sector, TRO joined Omnicom in 2008 focused on designing and delivering live experiences for clients including Adidas, Volvo, Nike, Molson Coors and Under Armour.   

In this episode, Michael Wyrley-Birch, the company’s chief executive, and client partner Lucy Knill discuss TRO’s ‘How to thrive in a post-pandemic experience economy’ white paper.

Adding individual perspectives to the document, Michael and Lucy look at the value of direct interaction, then and now, how everything from holidays to a walk with friends has a new worth, being/staying aligned with an audience, the demand for new content, defining culture in 2021, how to stay relevant and the new experiential universe.

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On brand, on message with TBA

Guy Horner is CEO at brand experience specialist TBA Group, which operates three divisions: Sports, Brands, Entertainment, and provides for a stellar set of clients including Red Bull Racing, Diageo, Dr Martens, Carlsberg, World Rugby, The FA, F1 and Formula 1.

In this episode, Guy Horner discusses the changing landscape for brand experiences, virtual launches, unpacking the power of the pivot, platforms and tech, extending the footprint for exhibitions, storytelling in 2021 and TBA’s recent acquisition of marketing agency Top Banana.

Turning the tide with Undercurrent

Damian Clarke founded brand experience agency Undercurrent in 1991, providing for an illustrious set of clients including Google, Samsung, Live Nation, TK Maxx across 30 years and counting.  

Set for a bumper time 12 months ago, with huge B2B and B2C plans in place, 90 per cent of them live, Clarke’s commitment to a digital edge on everything meant Undercurrent was able to pivot quickly and effectively in the first lockdown, keeping all staff gainfully employed.

In this episode, Damian Clarke discussed how the brand experience hasn’t changed it’s just moved online, how Undercurrent gets into the minds of customers beyond the bots, how integration is the buzz word and how ‘experiential’ has changed over the last 20 years – with everyone being able to access everything all of the time.

Clarke also does the detail on The Current Collective, which he launched three years ago. An umbrella over staff, stunts and a video content agencies, and how each feeds the other.

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Ally Wolf on Clapham Grand designs

Ally Wolf is manager, producer and programmer at “variety club” the Clapham Grand. He’s also co-founder/festival director of Mighty Hoopla.

 

In this episode, Ally Wolf looks back at the Grand’s origins and history, going on to talk about, hosting successful test events post-lockdown 1, working with the Music Venues Trust and with DCMS, representing the venue model and the greater industry, reduced capacity events, costing Covid test protocols and where we go next - before and after June 2021.

 

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Looking at the spoils of Play.Fund.Win

Dan Schofield studied event management in Leeds. He went on to work for Salford City Council before moving to the Middle East with QMDI.

Dan came back to the UK for a job as advance project manager with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic torch relays. Then, chronologically, he was head of event delivery and finishes manager at the Tour de France 2014, head of ops with Manchester City and head of venue operations across town at Manchester Utd.

That weight of experience led Dan Schofield to launch digital charity initiative Play. Fund. Win last October, a timely cash free business designed to play for events of all sizes and their fans.

In this episode, Dan discusses the ambition behind the idea, the benefits it brings to both sides of the digital ticket – every pot is split 50/50 between event and winners – and, crucially, how the system works.

Looking forward with We Are The Fair

With more than 23 years in the industry, Nick Morgan is CEO of large-scale event/festival production company We Are The Fair and We Are Placemaking.

Nick sits on the NOEA Council, is a vice chair of the AIF and BVEP, a member of the NTIA and has recently joined the Festival DCMS/Public Health England workforce

In this episode Nick Morgan discusses lockdown and using it to develop solutions across an event timetable that typically leaves little time for experimentation, how supply chains have suffered, competition for kit as lockdown lifts and demand for tickets booms and where next for the live event model.

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TLC boss faces the future

Liz Taylor, CEO of the Taylor Lynn Corporation (TLC), designs, produces and delivers events for the corporate and private sectors and has done for more than 30 years. 

Alongside a number of high-net-worth individuals, her clients include Manchester Utd and Coronation Street. 

In light of Boris Johnson’s lifting lockdown announcement, this episode focuses on restarting the event industry safely, Liz Taylor talking vaccine passports and the value of compromise, insurance restrictions, moral responsibility and looking after the next generation of event professionals.