From full-service to plug-in: why clients now buy specialist expertise, not agency takeover
Agencies are increasingly being hired for the expertise they bring rather than the work they take away. Brighter’s Claire Conboy and Kate Wolstenholme reflect on the shift.
Not so long ago, the ideal brief for an event agency was simple: “Here’s our conference. Take care of everything.”
Today, that brief is just as likely to sound like this: “We’ve got our own events team, our own marketing department and our own procurement process. We need help with production, content, creative or audience engagement - but only where you can genuinely add value.”
It’s a subtle but significant change that many agencies are experiencing. As many organisations invest in larger, more capable in-house events teams, the role of external partners is evolving.
For Brighter, formerly known as Clarity Events, that changing dynamic has prompted a repositioning of the business.
“Today, customers don’t necessarily want an agency who just comes in and takes over,” says director of marketing Kate Wolstenholme. “They want more of a partner that can elevate what they already do.”
Brighter director of marketing Kate Wolstenholme
Brighter director of marketing Kate Wolstenholme
Rather than acting as a traditional full-service agency, Brighter has repositioned itself as what it describes as a “plug-in partner”, offering specialist expertise that clients can call upon when they need it.
“Brighter is designed to plug into their ecosystem,” Wolstenholme explains. “Whether that’s delivering production, providing on-site support or adding creative and strategic expertise at those critical moments when clients need them.”
For director of events Claire Conboy, the repositioning wasn’t about changing what the agency does, but changing how the market understands it.
“It was driven by an opportunity to unlock some new conversations and broaden how our customers are engaging with us,” she says. “There was a legacy perception that Brighter was a full-service, all-in agency. In reality, our strength has always been the depth of our expertise, the specialisms we have within the team and our ability to flex around customer needs.”
Brighter director of events Claire Conboy
Brighter director of events Claire Conboy
That flexibility is becoming increasingly important as clients become more selective about how they spend their budgets.
“We’re seeing a big shift away from bundled, one-size-fits-all solutions,” says Conboy. “It’s going more towards intentional buying. Our customers are much more informed and more selective, and they want access to the right expertise for the right brief.”
She argues that organisations are recognising that different types of events require different skillsets.
“An event brief is a bit of a nuance. Is it a meeting? Is it an engagement programme? Or is it an incentive? Each one requires a specialist skillset and, within our team, we have those specialisms.”
That idea of “intentional buying” feels particularly relevant as in-house event teams continue to grow in both size and capability.
For many organisations, the question is no longer whether they need an agency, but where an agency can add the greatest value.
“The biggest insight for us,” says Wolstenholme, “was that customers don’t always just need extra resource. They were looking for the right expertise at the right time.”
She continues: “We saw this growing demand for specialist support, particularly from organisations with established in-house teams. Those teams are highly capable, but they need partners who can bring fresh thinking, creative depth and technical excellence in those specific areas.”
Instead of outsourcing an entire event, many organisations are now choosing to keep ownership internally while bringing in specialist partners for production, creative development, technology, content or audience experience.
“They don’t necessarily want to employ an AV production team,” Wolstenholme says. “They’ll have people who can manage registrations, build the event and select the venue, but then we can come in and do that specialist piece for them. It doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing approach.”
Conboy believes client expectations have shifted significantly over the past few years.
“Our customers now expect far more support across technology, content and audience management as standard,” she says. “Whether that’s event platforms, apps or working creatively with storytelling.”
At the same time, she adds, increasing pressure on budgets means in-house teams are being asked to do more themselves.
“We’re seeing creative agencies only being brought in for those high-impact specialist events - maybe a major rebrand or a product launch. We’ve evolved by doubling down on our specialist teams.”
So, are clients looking for integrated partners who can deliver everything under one roof, or specialist agencies with deep expertise? Conboy believes the answer is changing.
“The idea that one partner can do everything equally well is being challenged far more by customers,” she says. “They’re prioritising the depth of experience over the breadth of coverage and seeking out the best partners for specific needs.
“People aren’t choosing between being integrated or specialist,” she says. “It’s about having access to both.”
For Brighter, that’s where its relationship with parent company Clarity becomes an advantage.
“We have the flexibility,” Conboy explains. “Being part of Clarity gives us the ability to operate within an integrated model when required while maintaining our own identity.”
She believes there has sometimes been an unfair perception that agencies connected to travel management companies cannot compete with specialist event agencies.
“There can be a little bit of snobbery around that,” she says. “People have always said, ‘If I want an events agency, I want an events agency, not someone attached to a TMC.’”
However, she argues that customers are beginning to see the benefits of combining specialist event expertise with the infrastructure of a larger organisation.
“If somebody on an incentive gets a phone call at one o’clock in the morning and needs to get home, we’ve got people who are awake and ready to help. Those are benefits that come from being part of something bigger.”
While the industry often focuses on winning major pitches, both Conboy and Wolstenholme believe future growth may come from much smaller starting points.
“If we can build relationships slowly through doing bits,” says Conboy, “and become someone they know they can pick up the phone to, then hopefully that relationship develops into something more.”
What starts with providing two members of staff on a registration desk or helping solve a production challenge can eventually grow into a long-term partnership.
“From small acorns, great oaks grow,” she says.
Wolstenholme agrees that service remains the biggest differentiator.
“No matter how big or how small, that service element is massive,” she says. “That’s how the relationship develops. Customers say, ‘We really like those guys. We must use them again.’”
For Brighter then, the future is not about promising to do everything, but about being able to demonstrate exactly where it adds the greatest value.