There’s little doubt we now
live in an age of instant expectation. With
the rise of social media, it seems people’s thirst to ’get the information
first’ – at both the personal and corporate level – is unquenchable.
This urge for immediacy is
now also prevalent in the events industry. Production lead times tend to be far shorter as companies seek to act
quicker, be more current and control their own news as it flows into public
arena.
At the same time, the
uncertain economy is contributing to this ’need for speed’, with event budgets
being released later and later in the planning process.
But it’s vital to remember
that when it comes to events, ’faster’ is not necessarily ’better’. There’s a crucial gap to bridge between quick
communication and creating compelling experiences.
It’s certainly true that employees
and customers today expect organisations to respond much faster to market
pressures, both locally and internationally.
They also expect companies to be more transparent with their
standpoints. No-one likes being kept in the dark, and not communicating can
actually be more damaging to a company’s reputation than communicating a
changing strategy.
But there’s absolutely no
point in turning around an event in a short space of time if the quality
of the communication is poor. At best,
the experience will be forgettable. At
worst, it could be highly damaging in a social world where the knock-on effects
of poor communication can be devastating.
At Line Up we relish working
in a fast-paced world. There is
something magic about pulling a team together and delivering a well executed
on-brand experience in a short space of time.
But whether we’re working on
short lead times or on long-term strategies, we never lose sight of the fact
that it’s what you say and how you say it that really matters, not how fast you
can talk.
– Kate Gunn, Line Up’s Head of Logistics. Any comments? Email conferencenews@mashmedia.net
