beam, formerly known as HBAA, shines a spotlight on how small and medium-sized event agencies survived the pandemic and view prospects ahead.
It’s back to business for the industry. Client confidence is rising and there is a widespread feeling that recovery is underway. The business landscape has changed dramatically. As agency leaders settle into the next normal, what are the key challenges and trends in 2022 and beyond?
Changes and challenges
During the pandemic, smaller agencies shifted strategies, diversified their offering, embraced hybrid working, and developed new skills and knowledge to deliver virtual events. Their size provided an advantage – they could remain agile, flexible and adaptable, with the ability to tool up quickly when needed.
Change on such a grand scale has created a sense that the biggest hurdles are in the past and agencies can move forward with a stronger proposition.
Angie Mason, business partnerships and commercial director at Wolf & White, explains: “We have overcome the major challenges now and will move forward to continued success with new skills, new clients and a hope that budget forecasts can be more stable.”
Over the last two years, the industry has seen how fragile business confidence in events can be. Inevitably, some uncertainty will linger on. Nicky Brind, owner and director of Steel Events, admits: “We had an amazing November, which really boosted our confidence. Then the new variant Omicron appeared and put a stop to a lot of events in Spring 2022.” But as we enter 2022, there is a feeling the industry is learning to live with uncertainty.
The biggest challenge of all is planning, particularly for smaller agencies, says Guy Mason, director of Brief2Event. “Just because we invest time in placing a piece of business, does not mean it’s going to happen. We therefore cannot recruit as we would like without taking risks. To tackle these challenges, we are having to lean on employees to work quicker. I have to get involved in events rather than sales and planning the business.”
Financial support
From Guy Mason’s comments, echoed by many other agency leaders, it is clear that there hasn’t been much time to focus on business growth. Rather the attention is on event delivery and simply surviving. To help, the government has offered a range of financial assistance since 2020. However, the impact and availability of this support have been mixed.
Many agencies used – and praised – the furlough scheme. Carrie Larwood, MD of Function Fixers, says: “The furlough scheme enabled me to keep my whole team in employment, which was really helpful.”
Steel Events secured a £1,000 business grant back in February 2021 and won a £3,000 SME Restart & Recovery and Kickstarting Tourism Programme grant in November. Brind reveals: “I did defer the Steel Events VAT repayments for a year however, this wasn’t as helpful as first thought as the business still was not able to trade a year later.”
Mabrouka Events is pursuing an insurance claim for business interruption insurance, which is an “ongoing and complex process that will take time”, says account director Layla Warfield. Other event agencies used the Bounce Back Loan Scheme or secured Additional Restrictions Grant through their local authorities, while some were eligible for very little financial support. Some still managed by downsizing and keeping overheads low, but others found closure unavoidable.
Trends
Short lead times, smaller events, and tight contractual terms will continue. Incentives are likely to be more “national than international, although corporate confidence is growing,” says Angie Mason.
Agencies will continue to offer a blend of events. Houlihan predicts: “More agencies will immerse themselves in virtual events. All three options – physical, virtual, and hybrid – are in our toolkit. Event planners shouldn’t restrict themselves to offering only one solution to their clients.”
Wellness is a key event trend for 2022, with a lot of interest in coastal and countryside-located venues. Warfield explains: “Some of our clients want to avoid city centres for events. We had an event recently where the client wanted a yoga class after the business meeting with spa facilities and grounds for walking.”
Business outlook
Agency leaders paint a positive picture when asked about the next 12 months, using words such as ‘strong’, ‘healthy’, and ‘confident’. Larwood even talks of expansion.
She says: “The outlook for Function Fixers is currently looking positive, with a healthy level of contracted business in 2022 and a relatively high number of ongoing enquiries that will confirm. Current indications suggest that enquiries will continue to grow, subject to further government restrictions, which will allow Function Fixers to expand.” For many, such as Guy Mason, diversification looks like the key to success.
He concludes: “Our aim is to maintain a blend of transient accommodation, venue finding, event management, and virtual events. We will also strive to keep clients from a wide range of business sectors to avoid industry-led effects. By sticking to these principles we expect to have a ‘solid’ 2022.”
