Last week we talked about the streetwear brands that would be making it big in 2018, now it’s time to turn the attention on the British event agencies that will be creating a splash this oncoming year.
The following have been listed in alphabetical order.
CaffeineGaming and WeGeek
If you have been paying attention (and I’m sure you have) then you already know that gaming events are all the rage right now. Initiatives like Gaming Utopia gather thousands of people every year to celebrate video games and they only seem to be getting bigger. Here we introduce Will and his company CaffeineGaming who are two of the key players in the UK community.
Tell us about you, what’s your name? Where are you from? What do you do?
My name is Will. I am the Founder of CaffeineGaming I am from the UK. Caffeine Gaming is a start-up and recently we partnered with WeGeek to host small community-based gaming events in London. Caffeine Gaming is working on the media coverage of the events.
What’s the name of the agency and why is it called like that?
The name Caffeine Gaming came from the stereotypical gamer that plays all night drinking energy drinks. Seemed a perfect fit! WeGeek is about letting your inner geek out with others, with a strong focus on community based gaming.
Describe the agency in three words
Fresh. Community. Exciting.
Which is your all-time favourite event that the agency has organised?
Gaming Utopia.
If you could plan an event for anyone who would it be?
I am a big F1 fan and have always wanted to put on event form them in Hyde Park. F1 in the Park!
What’s the next step for the agency?
For both Caffeine Gaming & WeGeek, we are both looking for some funding to help take our companies forward. WeGeek is looking to host an event in Saudi Arabia next year.
Note: Interesting in gaming events? Then check out our list of some of the best in the UK.
CreateLondon
You may remember CreateLondon for their Twitter vending machine on our on Coca-Cola marketing post. This time around we talk to the agency’s Managing Director (MD) Tom who tells us how they would use technology to transport guests from London into the middle of the Amazon and why the event they organised for TopShop is his favourite.
Tell us about you, what’s your name? Where are you from? What do you do?
Tom, London, I’m the MD of CreateLondon.
What’s the name of the agency and why is it called like that?
We hit upon the name whilst delivering a project abroad and then flying back to London, discussing what our name should be. We realised that London is synonymous with great design and a world-renowned creative powerhouse, so why not name the company after that fact?
Describe the agency in three words
Creative. Innovative. Passionate.
Which is your all-time favourite event that the agency has organised?
Its hard to choose one but The Topshop Playland is probably our favourite as we played a key creative role as well as full production, it was featured in The Huffington Post, Harper’s Bazaar, Trend Hunter, etc… We also won a few awards!
If you could plan an event for anyone who would it be?
We love working with agencies and brands that want to push the boundaries of what is possible technically whilst having a really clear creative vision. We would love to teleport people from an event in London to another area of the world, the centre of the Amazon perhaps or outer space via 360-degree cameras and VR headsets. We would also love to find a way to genuinely use drones to great effect, its always challenging due to H∓S but if we could figure out a way to deploy drones safely at an event and deliver people gifts, that would be awesome!
What’s the next step for the agency?
We have doubled in size year on year, it would be awesome to continue to do this. Our other main focus is to continue to grow our technical offering which is very much at the heart of what we do. We have recently upgraded our Twitter and Instagram activated vending machines to work with emotion analysis and have lots of other fun experience technologies on the cards.
Note: Check out the technology trends that are shaping the world of events.
In2events
If you like stories with humble beginnings then you should listen to what Richard from In2events has to say. What started as a nightclub promoter eventually evolved into an agency that manages international event such as the one they organised for Google DeepMind in South Korea.
Tell us about you, what’s your name? Where are you from? What do you do?
Richard Harper, Portsmouth UK – I am the brand communications and senior marketing manager for In2Events.
What’s the name of the agency and why is it called like that?
In2Events – This has been our name since our inception in 2006. The company originally started as a promotion business for nightclubs and festivals and the name carried on when the two founders merged their ideas and took the agency forward as an events business.
Describe the agency in three words
Energetic. Vibrant. Ambitious.
Which is your all-time favourite event that the agency has organised?
The agency managed and delivered a historic event in Seoul, South Korea in 2016. We created an event for Google DeepMind, an AI research company who had created an AI computer capable of beating a human world champion at the ancient Chinese game of Go, a game of profound complexity with more moves than atoms in the universe. We were part of the team that delivered an event that was broadcast worldwide, reached over 280 million people through YouTube live streaming and had over 35,000 articles published about it globally. The event was a world first, once-in-a-lifetime challenge match that will go down in history as a pivotal moment in the future of computers and their capabilities.
If you could plan an event for anyone who would it be?
Any major sporting event, the World Cup or the Olympics would be the pinnacle.
What’s the next step for the agency?
The agency continues to move forward, with new employees starting in 2017 and more recruitment planned for 2018. We are moving into new areas, focussing on our strengths in our core services events, exhibitions and experiential activity. We are working more closely with our existing clients, forging strong relationships as we become more of an extension to their teams than an outsourced agency. We continue to grow and stay on trend, ensuring the agency is open to change to stay current in the ever-changing events landscape. We are proud of our achievements in the past 10 years and will look to continue as aim to achieve our ambitious business plans over the next 10 years and beyond.
Penguins
The first time we collaborated with Penguins, they were telling us about the benefits of hiring an event planning agency. Now we get the pleasure of talking to Mark, Penguins’ MD, about the history of their company. Read about how they ended up with the name Penguins and who they would love to throw a leaving party for.
Tell us about you, what’s your name? Where are you from? What do you do?
Hi, I’m Mark Buist, MD at Penguins. My job is varied and vastly changeable but my ultimate goal is to grow and develop the Penguins team in an environment that fosters creativity and passion within events. Outside of work I spend my time with my family and other animals!
What’s the name of the agency and why is it called like that?
We are called Penguins. When the business was started 30 years ago we provided entertainment and AV for gala dinners and black tie balls. Our team were always dressed in black tie, which is commonly nicknamed penguin suits. We adopted this name for our business, obviously, our business has developed from the early days, but the name has stuck.
Describe the agency in three words
Passionate. Creative. Dedicated.
Which is your all-time favourite event that the agency has organised?
My favourite event of all time has to be a conference and gala dinner that we put on many years back for our client at the time Nortel held at Cliveden House. The day went off without a hitch with various different interactive break out areas. The gala dinner was a magnificent affair but the highlight had to be the wine tasting which was hosted by Lloyd Grossman. It was one of the most knowledgeable wine tastings I have ever experienced. Needless to say, the attendees loved every moment and Lloyds humour proved a roaring success.
We would love to throw Trump’s leaving party at the White House…
If you could plan an event for anyone who would it be?
We would love to throw Trump’s leaving party at the White House, we are available next week!
What’s the next step for the agency?
To achieve 100% growth in the next three years by delivering true value to our clients through cutting edge events and demonstrating ROI.
SomeBrightSpark
With clients such as Jaguar, Virgin and TNT, under their belt, SomeBrightSpark’s team has proven that they can organise top-of-the-notch events. Learn about what motivates their work and how they took on the challenge of organising the prestigious D&AD Awards.
Tell us about you, what’s your name? Where are you from? What do you do?
We are SomeBrightSpark. We’re a multi-disciplinary creative communications agency enhancing brands through exceptional experiences and creative content. We work on all aspects of brand communications, from major product launches to internal employee communication campaigns.
Based in Leicester we work with local businesses and global brands to transform passive audiences into loyal brand ambassadors. As engineers of live events, including award ceremonies, conferences & exhibitions, product launches and experiential marketing events, we focus on developing creative and highly immersive experiences that utilise the latest digital technology and have worked with Bentley Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Virgin Media, Elavon, TNT and Tesco to deliver engaging and memorable communications.
As well as event production, our design team creates compelling animations, films, digital designs, web and app development.
What’s the name of the agency and why is it called like that?
We do not take ownership of creative ideas. Instead, we believe that creativity is born out of discussions. We therefore constantly encourage a dialogue that will continue to ignite creative thinking and spark creative ideas, hence the name SomeBrightSpark.
Describe the agency in three words
Pragmatic. Consultative. Creative.
Which is your all-time favourite event that the agency has organised?
We’ve been lucky enough to work with some really impressive brands and delivered a great product launch event for the Jaguar F-Type a few years ago. However, I think our favourite event so far has to be the D&AD Awards which took place in April. The prestigious D&AD professional awards are celebrated and attended by the best creatives from around the world. The awards recognise creative achievements and excellence in advertising, media, design and commercial campaigns.
Working with partners to deliver the event, SomeBrightSpark were commissioned to design and deliver creative content and other visual aspects for the event experience, which included stage design, screen configurations, screen content, video production, video editing, and other digital aspects across the event.
We loved this event because it pushed our creativity to the limit. We also had the additional challenge of editing more than 700 profile stings for each nominee in under 72 hours after the nominees were announced.
If you could plan an event for anyone who would it be?
We’d love to work with Lego because they’re a fun brand and we’re big kids at heart. However, there are so many great businesses located in our thriving city of Leicester, so I guess we’d like to be involved with Joules Clothing, Barratt Developments or Sytner.
What’s the next step for the agency?
As a multi-disciplinary agency, we will continue to deliver solutions that enhance brand communications. However, we aim to become recognized for our abilities to push the boundaries of immersive digital interactive experiences.
We’re also working with some great luxury car manufacturing brands to deliver experiential shopping experiences so keep your eyes peeled as these will be popping up across the UK.
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