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INSIGHTS

Experience beyond the ordinary

Having helped to bring thousands of events around the world to fruition, it’s fair to say Stephen Horsley knows a thing or two about meetings and events. As an event producer for some 20 years, Stephen now brings his diverse background to his creative business development role at FCM Meetings & Events. It’s this unique mix of business development and event production experience, that makes Stephen the perfect person to work closely with clients across a range of industries, to deliver a range of creatively-led event experiences. We ask Stephen why experience is everything.

So what are creatively-led events?

Today successfully launching a new product, brand or new business direction involves so much more than simply holding a ‘show and tell’ type event. With so many things competing for our attention these days, people expect more, and may want an event to be a walk-in immersive experience, that’s high end, unique and memorable. So creatively led events are opportunities to elevate an event with the emphasis on ‘the experience’.  

How are you transforming the event experience?

 

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Beyond memorable meetings, we’re passionate about getting the word out that our capacity to create, manage and deliver ‘events’ of all sorts is only limited by our imagination. Our bespoke event experiences are as diverse as arranging a customer drive day for an automotive manufacturer, to managing a sponsor’s event at a sporting world cup. Some other examples include -

  • Product, Brand or Client experiences, which could include a brand activation event, through to a sponsorship reveal or a client experience day.
  • VIP and C-Suite events that impress this ‘hard to impress’ audience type.
  • AGMs, Corporate Strategy events, Senior Leadership conferences.
  • Sales and dealer meetings, reseller events or sales incentives.
  • Sports sponsorship events, including international championships and Olympic sponsor events.

Plus, with the breadth of our services we can add curated content through to curated travel, because FCM Meetings & Events has the exclusive ability to effortlessly embed the travel component of an event or experience into the mix. So our clients can enjoy the advantages of both the continuity and value that come from only engaging one agency to compile the entire event experience, from creative beginning to tactical end.

How do you and a client approach a project?

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We’re the experts, so we don’t expect clients to come knowing decisively how it will all unfold. For us it’s a collaborative process that ideally starts with us leading a face-to-face creative workshop with the client to help define and shape their creative vision. Together we will pull their brief apart to see what’s driving it and to challenge perspectives. Then we create a reverse brief to share with the client, demonstrating our understanding of their project and the insights we’ve gathered, before starting work to bring their experience to life.

For us, the key is to develop a client relationship that enables the flow of information between us to ensure expectations are being met. Meeting with the client multiple times in the early stages also ensures a smooth sign-off process too.

What does a client need to bring to the process?

 

An open mindset. For the best results a client needs to come ready to engage, to be open to the process, realistic and committed to working collaboratively. There are insights that you can only gain from meeting the people involved to help to unlock ‘the brief behind the brief’. Developing this deeper understanding of what a client wants at the very beginning of the process mitigates the risk of wasting both time and money, and it helps to set the process up for the delivery of a highly successful event.

 

Does every event share a common vision?

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Every brief, client and event is unique – so we start from the ground up to build something bespoke. But our goal isn’t always to ‘wow’ a client with a one-off event, it’s to deliver results that build a long-term partnership. Our objective is to leverage our knowledge and understanding of a client over time to build a long-term strategy, that’s ultimately going to deliver the client a better return on their event investment.

For example we might create a successful inaugural industry event that attracts a few hundred people, and then in a few years’ time, the same event may have grown to become a ‘must attend’ event that attracts double or triple the number of attendees.

 

Hands-on from start to finish

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Having delivered so many different types of events, we know that hitting all the touch points along the way is critical, while ensuring that the key messages and audience insights are not lost in the creative process. The unique thing about my role at FCM Meetings & Events is that though it involves ‘business development’ I’m actually a member of the creative team because of my background in production and finding creatively-led solutions. When helping to design a bespoke experience for a client event, it’s a real benefit to understand the intricacies that motivate audiences and how to deliver the right tone of voice. It can help create an event experience that deeply defines who a client is and what they represent - making them and the audience proud to be part of the event.

At FCM Meetings & Events, creativity is not just the domain of producers and designers. Every element of an event is driven by a creative mindset from event management, to group travel and beyond. From the first meeting, to the flight home, our team of experts are weaving their insights and magic into every detail.

Lets connect and plan your next event together.

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