What makes a great events manager?  Attention to detail for sure, creativity and innovation, definitely, and someone with positive interpersonal skills? Absolutely. But In today’s virtual world, you also need somebody with the ability to pick up new platforms and technologies with ease, someone who isn’t afraid to jump right in and learn something new. 

You need that person to be flexible as things won’t always go to plan, i.e a physical event turning virtual at the last minute. The ability to stay calm, level-headed whilst seeking to solve any problems that may arise. 

Meet Jodi Newton. Since 2019 she has been our (excuse the pun) designated events manager. With over 25 years of experience and a commitment to excellence, Jodi has helped numerous clients create and execute both virtual and in-person events, achieving their goals in a smooth and seamless fashion. 

From being a key liaison during the early years of the MOBO awards while working at the New Connaught Rooms through to holding conference and banqueting manager roles at some of London’s top hotels. Jodi has likely seen it all. (If you ever speak to her in person, do ask her about the time she had to fire Santa!) 

We asked Jodi about her favourite events moments during her career, she told us: 

“One of my career highlights has to be being involved in the MOBO awards when they first started at the New Connaught Rooms. For two years in a row, I was their main contact, liaising with the organisers and ensuring that the Operations team had all the information they needed to make the event run smoothly – including dealing with celebrity performers with some very particular demands! It was thrilling watching the event grow into such a huge success over the following years, knowing that we had played an important part in helping them establish their name.

After several years working in Central London hotels and venues, I joined a construction company and organised all their events, from a client lunch for 10 people to a staff weekend away for 200. I loved the new challenges that came from working on behalf of the client instead of the venue. My highlight has to be organising our company’s 10th anniversary, a lavish dinner dance at stunning Banqueting House. For me, there is no better feeling than walking into a room and seeing that everything is in place, everything goes well, and everyone has a fantastic time, knowing how hard I’ve worked to make it happen.”

We also asked Jodi what she feels the events Industry will look like post-pandemic: 

“I’m feeling positive about the events industry for the coming year overall. Covid continues to have a varying effect in different countries, but I do believe the UK Events industry will continue to recover, both for work and leisure.

The pandemic has driven an exponential increase, and improvement, in virtual event technologies and these will still have a place in the future. However, there will always be an appetite for travel and for physically being in the same space as other people, and so hybrid events are here to stay.”

At Designated, Jodi has several, regular clients that she organises and executes events for. The fact they keep returning to work with Jodi, speaks volumes. 

Designated, a lifesaver for sure! 

When Covid 19 hit, the format of all the corporate events at WOB NexGen had to change imminently to meet the dynamic needs of our global corporate partners. The challenge was primarily to switch our in-house workshops, talks and events over to remote hybrid platforms without compromising quality and content. With the swift intervention of Designated and Jodi Newton in particular, we were able to seamlessly move from one to the next. 

Jodi stepped into the multi-faceted role with ease and the necessary professionalism we required to assure our partners that it was business as usual. She has become an integral part of our corporate team who independently manages the planning, execution, and follow-up of all our events. 

Ancia Cronje, WOB NexGen, Corporate Events Manager 

If you are planning a virtual or in-person, live event and are looking for additional events and/or marketing support, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our friendly team. michelle@designatedgroup.com 

It’s no secret that the events industry was hit hard by the pandemic. Worth £39.1 billion to the UK economy and a landscape that thrives on human interaction, making it a sizeable loss to businesses bottom line. Some tech-savvy and forward-thinking organisations leapt at the opportunity to save costs and increase event registrations by going virtual. This worked well for some while others struggled with new technologies. Phrases like ‘you’re on mute’ even made it to the 2020 New Years Eve drone show above London’s 02 arena. (How great was that by the way?!) 

One thing we know for certain is that the pandemic accelerated events industry and technology changes that would have taken a long time for many businesses to become accustomed to. Virtual events became a buzzword in 2020, with 52,000 of them happening on just one platform.

But now as we draw towards the end of 2021, what have we learnt about the events industry and what can we expect from 2022+?

Virtual events are here to stay. 

Whether you love them or loathe them, the benefits of virtual events are vast. Depending on the scale, they can be pulled together fairly quickly with the right platform and partners. Live events require everyone to be in the same place, whereas many more people have the opportunity to be part of a virtual event. Your annual event held in a conference room at a London hotel now has the opportunity to go global. Take one of the biggest technology companies on the planet. Microsoft. In 2019 their ‘ignite’ conference attracted 6,000 attendees, each paying $2,395 dollars per person. In 2020 the event was virtual and free. They attracted 197,000 people. There is a revenue question here, but many companies have adjusted their sponsorship packages and opportunities to recoup these losses. Businesses can now afford to run several events rather than just one, also offering greater incentives to their sponsors who could gain greater, more regular exposure.

But what about hybrid?

Hybrid events allow for the flexibility and reach of a virtual event, but the connection and engagement of an in-person option. We will see many events organisers create opportunities for both virtual and in-person experiences for those that want them. Ensuring that face to face networking opportunities are also on offer. Virtual is great, it gets the job done. But there is nothing quite like sharing an experience, reading body language, making eye contact and laughing over how addictive the canapes are this year. Showing up in person also demonstrates your dedication to a particular event or topic. It shows you’re serious about your job and your industry. Not everybody is ready to mix in a room full of people, and that’s why hybrid events will become both popular and petitioned for by events attendees.

Live events will be driven by experience

We now know that an event can work very well as virtual or hybrid. But what about a solely live event. Will events organisers struggle to persuade attendees to leave the comfort of the home laptops? In one sense a live event will be an easy sell, as humans we crave interaction with other people, it is one of our most basic needs and for the best part of 2 years, we’ve kept our circles small. But on the other side, if we can avoid public transport be around to meet family and personal requirements and still get all we want from the event, be it professional upskilling, CPD points or more details about a new and emerging industry trend, why not do it from home?

At Designated we have been running many virtual events for our medical clients. In most cases CPD points are available, making them incredibly practical for atendees to join us live from the comfort of their home. 

But we predict events organisers are going to have to pull out all the stops in some cases to bring back the delegates. Making it truly worth the journey, a memorable experience that goes beyond great content. That may mean increasing budgets and scrapping formats that have worked perfectly well, pre-pandemic.

Safety and Sustainability

But it isn’t only the experience organisers are going to need to consider. What about safety? Keeping delegates re-assured that you are doing everything humanly possible to make the event a safe one, will be imperative in its reputation. There will also be a renewed emphasis on sustainability. Organisers will need to be able to demonstrate how they are trying to reduce their carbon footprint. On a smaller scale it will be through things such as signage, delegate badges, events collateral and gifts but on a bigger scale – where are speakers coming from? Are they flying across the globe to be present? Events organisers will need to be answerable to their attendees, their sponsors and anybody else with a stake in the business.

The events industry is worth trillions worldwide and it isn’t expected to return fully normal until at least 2023, though we might not know when events will feel familiar again, we do know that the changes brought on by the Coronavarius, will have lasting effects.

If you’re considering setting the date on your events calendar, but aren’t sure where to start, why not reach out to one of our friendly team. Whether it’s a virtual event or a live show, our team can help with strategy, event planning and execution as well as post-event analysis. Contact Marketing Director Michelle Wheeler on michelle@designatedgroup.com