Event Industry News Podcast

Josh Hotsenpiller launched ‘hybrid events and 365 engagement software’ business JUNO Live in March 2020, at the top of the Covid-19 storm, responding to demand from clients of his other businesses, CrowdHub and Wisdom Capture. In this episode, Josh Hotsenpiller discusses, among other things, the thinking behind JUNO publication ‘All events are hybrid: a planning workbook’. Rife with sporting analogy and self-help missives the conversation touches on variables, the power of empathy, making challenges smaller, the benefits of a pen and paper approach, user generated content and how removing boundaries is the future of the world…   To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.

Jack Shannon is CEO and co-founder at California-based experiential growth marketing platform Recess. Launched in 2010, Recess is tech designed to marry brands with perfect match live events and venues efficiently – without all the searching/emailing and calling. Crucially, there are 100s of brands and agencies signed up, so Recess is a balanced equation. Jack Shannon explains the switch he and his business partner made 11 years ago, from event organisers to facilitators, and the attendant value in truly understanding the challenge prior to rolling out Recess. This episode goes on to look at the difference between ‘unfair advantage’ and seizing opportunities, the behemoth of the US collegiate system, the pandemic impact, creative thinking and, because Shannon thinks and talks quickly, much, much more…. To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.

Pedro Góes is CEO at InEvent, an integrated end-to-end events platform which has customers in 67 countries and the likes of Facebook, Coca Cola, KPMG, Bosch, Santander among its users. The July 2021 launch of subsidiary platform EventMarket is at the core of this episode, Góes detailing its capacity to hook clients up with proven local agencies around the world, giving InEvent a new level of global reach. Host James Dickson asks about the impact, the spoils, of joining the Y Combinator seed accelerator program in 2019, just ahead of the Covid 19 crush, and how much it helped InEvent adapt and deliver through the pandemic. Pedro Góes also highlights how consumer tech companies are waking up to the value in event tech and much more besides. To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.

Dodge Woodall and Craig Mathie, owner/founder and managing director respectively, design and deliver Bournemouth 7s, a sport and music festival that’s established itself as a sell-out fixture attracting 30,000 fans over a May weekend, typically, and 400 teams playing a variety of competitive/social sports. In this episode, Woodall and Mathie discuss the impact of the government’s stop, start, stop again approach to live events – or most of them. They highlight the lack of understanding, the myriad flaws in Westminster’s approach to financial support for the sector, how Dodge Woodall has dug deep to keep the Bournemouth 7s team together, the value of relationships through the festival’s 14 years and much more besides.  

Mike Seaman, CEO at Raccoon Events and chair of the AEO UK Organiser Group, wrote a passionate response to the Prime Minister extending restrictions through to July 19. Published on www.raccoonevents.com – under the News tab – Seaman asks ‘Why are exhibitions being discriminated against?’ In this episode, referencing his post, Mike Seamon talks about the value of the sector, coping with moving shows, getting freelancers and the rest of the supply chain back to work, the built in ‘track and trace’ at live events, why big businesses/big personalities have stayed quiet and whole lot more. To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.

Christopher Bo Shields, co-founder of Totem, started out in theatre, as a lighting and sound technician, before going on to launch Lock On Productions at the turn of the century. Lock On slowly became more of a media comms agency, ultimately developing tech solutions and Bo Shields co-founded Totem Hybrid in June 2020. In this episode, Christopher Bo Shields talks about the past, his thoughts on the event industry model through the pandemic, changing strategy as the goalposts moved, the new values of virtual, data, capacity to test events online and accessibility over broadcast ‘quality’ before focusing on Totem’s own hybrid platform. To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.

Mike Wroe, the new non exec chairman at JL Lighting (JLL), was CFO at Just Eat from 2008 to 2016, a period which saw the business move from “a couple of million” in turnover to nearly half a billion. Mike steered Just Eat into the FTSE 250 where it was the fastest growing company for a good while, leaving the business to seek new adventure in 2016 after that huge growth phase. In this episode, Mike Wroe talks about meeting JLL founder/MD Jack Linaker and making the move into the events industry, opportunities in a changing world, the benefits of being ‘fiercely competitive’, digital acceptance and how hybrid might be the hardest step. Mike also mentions the Brexit word…

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.

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.

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.

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. To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.

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.

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. If you would like to take part in a podcast,

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.   #eventprofs #getreadytorestart #eventprofsuk #eventnews #eventindustrynews #virtualevents #hybridevents #eventplanning #eventproduction #events #event #eventblog #eventplanners #evento #eventmarketing #experiential #activations #eventtech #eventmanager #eventmanagement #corporateevents #brandevent #meetings #exhibitions #marketing #greenevents #sustainability

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.

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. To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.

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.

Richard Twamley joined Top Banana as creative director in October 2019 from a similar position at RP Group, A creative comms agency with a weight of global clients, Top Banana was in a practised position for the streaming revolution, which started in March last year. In this episode, Richard Twamley talks to host James Dickson about the changing landscape in terms of culture and people, event timelines, flexibility of response, hybridisation and the cost saving for clients through the pivot. To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.

Event Industry News’ podcast episode 223 is a welcome back for host James Dickson, interviewed by founder Adam Parry who managed the series in his absence. James, who has put the questions across some 200 EIN podcast editions, and counting, contracted Covid-19 ahead of the pandemic’s first peak, in March 2020. Taken to hospital by ambulance, James was put on a ventilator for two weeks before starting his recovery programme. In this episode, Adam asks about that experience, and James’ key learnings from it, before moving on to his plans for the podcasts now he’s back behind the microphone – including the two James has already recorded. To keep up to date with all the news, subscribe for free here. If you would like to take part in a podcast, then please complete our submission form.

Harlan Davis is vice president of Product and Innovation at US-based GDS Group. In business for nearly 30 years, GDS started as a publisher, producing B2B journals for select markets including retail and healthcare, before moving across to events in 2005. Running between 50 and 100 executive summits every year pre-pandemic, for clients as illustrious as IBM and Dell, the GDS model already incorporated the virtual world so was a few steps ahead come the travel restrictions and lockdowns. In this episode, among other things, Harlan Davis talks through the company background before focusing on the pivot, the advantage in experience, understanding the value in digital and its benefits in terms of accelerated learning.