Undervaluing ideas & creativity

Director of Conference Focus, Max Turpin is sharing his insights on a range of topics with a regular column in BEN. Topics include new generation events and making events effective and valuable.

“A BAD idea executed perfectly is still a bad idea”. I love that little nugget. It’s been a favourite saying of mine for many years now. As a professional event planner or PCO – we go by a variety of labels so call us what you will – we are often asked (read instructed) by clients to execute their event plans, concepts and ideas that to them seem like a good idea but in realty aren’t so much. Give us a plan or idea to execute and we’ll do it flawlessly. However, if it’s a bad idea, executing it with absolute perfection won’t make the event any better nor give it any greater impact or effectiveness. It’s ideas that make all the difference since great ideas can change minds, change behaviour, change brands, change the world even!

In the same way, let’s talk quickly about the power of creativity in our industry….. and the lack of importance and respect it is often given. Since event budgets are under constant scrutiny and have by and large become stagnant, the amount of time and money spent on creative and creativity has become downplayed. Especially in a bidding situation, many agencies will give away their creative to win the heart of a client in return for the production or delivery of an event. This is especially true if procurement is involved in the decision making and when the main thing that matters to them is how much? From their perspective and when ideas and creativity are bundled in with all the event costs and management fees, how can they strip out and procure or evaluate creative? In these instances, the true value of the great ideas and creative development are often lost and simply not acknowledged by the client. Indeed, I’ve been told of many instances where the creative ideas of one agency have been “stolen” from them and given to another to execute (usually the incumbent PCO). And yet it’s the concept and ideas that can make all the difference, not necessarily how they are executed.

This has become an unfortunate occurrence and trend in our industry. You’d like to think that clients will not only act ethically but also consider the value of great ideas and creativity and the impact they can have on their events, their staff, their customers, their brand. But this is not always the case and it’s up to us to highlight it. After all, we’re not just ‘organising events’, we’re ‘creating experiences’ and a great experience will live long in the minds of those that attend. If you’d like to learn more about how to make your events fresh, innovative and effective, please contact Max Turpin at Conference Focus on 02 9700 7740 or visit the website at conferencefocus.com.au