Martin Fullard looks at how short lead times and short-term planning are putting strain on many agencies. But a more long-term view is that agencies must evolve to meet changing demands.
The global economic climate has felt like it has been in a state of almost ‘perma-crisis’ since the beginning of 2020. Through the pandemic, conflict, and geopolitical crises all leading to rises in inflation, spiraling costs, and strained supply chains, businesses and individuals have arguably feeling rather battered and bruised.
The knock-on effect is permeating every corner of our lives, and in a business sense, anecdotally at least, decision-makers are less able to plan strategically for the long-term than perhaps they would like. There is a sense that short-to medium-term thinking is the only way to manage the current landscape.
What this means for the conference and meetings industry is a change in habits towards forward planning. There is no doubt that demand for in-person conferences and meetings is stronger than ever, with the seemingly relative collapse of the wider, arguably inflated, virtual event platform sector suggesting as much. As organisations hold on to their ever-tighter budgets for just that little bit longer, it means that events are being booked with shorter and shorter lead times.
Indeed, according to the Events Economy Tracker Q4 by The Business of Events and Venue Performance, the average lead time for conferences and meetings in 2023 was 78 days. Generally, the lead time was closer to three weeks in the case of simple meetings. This can put a strain on agencies as well as venues, as availability and preferred locations are often harder to secure.
The knock-on effect of this, together with the increasing costs caused by inflation, is that the revenue per delegate has also gone up. According to the same report in 2023, costs peaked in Q2 at just under £140 per head, with the yearly average settling just under £120, some 12% higher than 2022.
The figures suggest that budgets have broadly stayed the same, but fewer delegates are being planned for by way of compensation. The average event size in 2023 was 59 delegates, some 37% below 2022’s average of 93.
On top of this is the familiar soundbite that clients are demanding more than ever, as perhaps they should. It takes an agile and strategic agency to be able to deliver on these demands in the face of economic pressures.
Stress levels on the rise
Claire Fennelow, executive director at industry association EVCOM, says of the key challenges faced by creative agencies: “There’s certainly more work, but client budgets are reduced. From both a time and a financial perspective, agencies are being expected to do more for less. And this has a knock-on effect on everything they do.
“At EVCOM, we have found that some of the key challenges facing agencies include short lead times, slow payments, and cancelled pitches.
“Companies are also having to navigate questions around resources; should they increase headcount or widen their freelance pool? In a new normal of hybrid working, agencies are also having to think differently about company culture, and how to build that remotely.
“With deadlines tight and clients becoming more demanding, the elements that took centre stage during the pandemic, such as sustainability and especially mental health and wellbeing, are sometimes falling off the radar. Stress levels are on the rise again.”
On what is needed to address these challenges, Fennelow adds: “We are still recovering from the pandemic, but addressing the increased pressure of client demands and timelines would allow space for a renewed focus on wellbeing, company culture and sustainability. The question lies in how we can band together to get clients to work differently, to allow the sector to be supported and sustained in the long-term.”
On the issue of stress levels, TRO’s head of talent, Kirsty Finding, reminds us that event organising is listed among the top 10 most stressful jobs (as identified in the CareersCast survey several years in a row). “There’s no getting away from it,” she says. “The need to deliver on time, to perfection, juggling multiple tasks at once and overcoming inevitable curveballs – but it’s what the events industry thrives off. However, it can also lead to burn out if we don’t take care.
“Therefore, it’s so important to understand what your stress triggers are and what helps you deal with stress. There are many great tools and partners out there to help (like the Stress Bucket Tool, Thrives Mental Wellbeing App and POINT3 Wellbeing, which offer a great selection of interactive training sessions delivered by ex-events industry experts). Employers just need to invest in them.
“Good management of stress is good for everyone, it leads to a happier, healthier and high performing workforce, that wants to deliver exceptional work, not just for themselves but for their agencies.”
Greater attraction
Julie Shorrock, chair of trade body BEAM, notes further challenges faced by venue-finding and booking agencies: “While recruitment is a major challenge, we really have an attraction issue. We need to make people starting their careers realise that this is a great industry to work in: fun, sociable, and offering fantastic prospects. We must solve this if we are to continue to deliver first-class customer service and events.”
Shorrock adds that technology is available to help agencies refine their processes to make them more efficient, as time and resource challenges have shifted to a new normal. “There is a vast range of technology available that would help agencies with arranging venues and running events and, at the same time, help overcome recruitment challenges. However, for many, particularly smaller ones, the costs are a prohibitive risk.”
She adds: “Several BEAM members have suggested that, on the topic of recruitment, we need to attract younger talent at the beginning of their careers. Building more partnerships between industry organisations and educational institutions can help to address this.
“On technology, AI can improve efficiencies in repetitive tasks in different areas of our business, with one key area being proposal writing. However, BEAM recognises the danger of appearing to be overly automated and risks around losing the identity of the agency in using it. We provided insight and advice from AI experts at our members meeting in April.”
The industry, like other sectors, is no stranger to evolution. Now is not the time for fear of change but rather to embrace a new era. There is no denying that the human touch is as important as ever but with increased demands from clients, married with shorter lead times and tighter budgets, agencies are going to have to be creative in how they navigate the new look industry. Simply doing what the industry has always done may not be enough.
This article was originally featured in the Conference News’ Summer 2024 – Agencies print magazine here.
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