Dee Parsons, CEO of the Better Green Group, a leading creative design and build production agency specialising in experiential marketing, is keen to share the part they play in successful project delivery, something that is often prevented by contractual obligations.
In the crazy beautiful world of festival and brand activation, every player in the supply chain contributes significantly to the final result. We all stand side by side in those final moments just before opening, after an emotional journey of hundreds of calls, meetings, and months of build-up – then we end, as a solid team, together, proud.
So why does it stop there? What about beyond that moment? Post-event communication can be just as important, this is where we want and need to share valuable content to propel growth. Unfortunately, due to where we sit on the supply chain as a production company, we are more often than not unable to share any post-event images or information about what has been achieved. We want to open up an industry dialogue, to hear from both sides as to why key suppliers are blocked from promoting post-event and offer some solutions.
Better Green Productions has humble roots and has grown to a multi-million-pound company now with three divisions; Better Green Living, Overlay & Productions. We have weathered Brexit, COVID-19, recession, and political and legislative changes. If you look us up on our socials we appear to produce just a few projects per year. Like many other production companies, despite our pivotal role in the design, build, and sustainability foundation of these projects, we often find ourselves prevented from sharing our contributions. This is often due to the conditions of brands/agencies who are asked to protect and control the activation narrative.
The Importance of Acknowledging All Contributors
This practice, while perhaps well-intentioned, and at times unavoidable, can inadvertently stifle the recognition and growth of suppliers who are integral to the process to create these activations. These concepts are created as a collective, acted on with joint mastery, and then when possible, shared post-event, together, just as we ended the successful project. Months of work is put in, months of work that cannot be shared, leaving large open gaps in marketing strategies, directly affecting optics and growth.
Often event sites are not unlike a battlefield, emotionally and physically, we go through a lot on an event site together – it bonds us. All of this is to ensure that the end client has a product that not only looks like the render, but is also on budget, delivered on time, and goes beyond expectation. So, let’s share the fruits of that labour as well as the journey.
The Concern of Public Transparency
Being transparent about your supply chain doesn’t mean that production houses will bypass you to contact your clients directly. Most production houses that want to function as agencies already do so. Involving us in sales meetings, creative discussions, and collaborations with internal design teams can save you time, reduce costs, greatly reduce errors, and eliminate unnecessary communication. The result is a final product that always surpasses expectations. When clients embrace this collaborative approach, it enhances the relationship between the agency and the end client, whilst also strengthening the bond between the agency and the production house.
When we share our collaborative work on social media or online platforms, our intention is not to undermine the contributions of the agency involved. This can be safeguarded by having the production house share the proposed content for agency approval beforehand, ensuring that everything aligns with the brand’s identity. We are also open to not tagging the brand or agency if preferred; our main objective is to showcase our involvement in these projects. The ultimate goal is to build valuable connections, expand our networks, and secure our future opportunities. Without the ability to discuss these projects, the potential benefits they offer are significantly limited.
Changing the Perspective & Removing the Fear of Competition
By encouraging brands and agencies to recognise and promote the work of production companies, we can create a more inclusive and supportive industry. This isn’t about diminishing the achievements of agencies; we cannot provide the services they can, however, neither can the agency provide what we do.
Six Practical Ways to Support the Supply Chain
- Start Right: Bring your trusted production company into early meetings, have regular meetings, and get the design budget and renders you are selling in more accurate and early, they will be realistic, safe, creative, and within the budget right from the start. At Better Green, we promote this and do not charge for this time.
- Enhanced Communication: Work on open lines of communication between all parties involved in a project from the start. What does each party need or want at the end of the project for marketing purposes? Agree beforehand on the post-event expectations regarding the use of images or copy and agree on a sign-off process.
- Shared Recognition: Encourage brands and agencies to share / tag production companies in social media posts, marketing materials, and on your websites. A simple tag or mention can go a long way in acknowledging the hard work of each layer. If this is not possible, allow the main supplier to share their work without tagging.
- Partnership Approach: Treat relationships with production companies as partnerships rather than transactional engagements. This can lead to more innovative solutions and a stronger, more cohesive, and more often creative and original outcome.
Conclusion
Start right at the beginning, use the production houses as an extension of your team, a partner, a resource that will enhance your pitch and budgeting process, and agree post-event comms at the start. Let us help you win the work and deliver beyond expectations. Errors are diminished if you embrace this strategy.
Post-event do not be afraid of us, we are not here to take your clients, we are here to collectively work together on the event and collectively grow. Everyone wins, no one loses.
When working with Better Green we are here to ensure that our skills are your skills, that our sustainability and outreach commitments are also yours. A problem shared is a problem halved, a success shared, doubles the reach of the success.
