Seniority vs expertise: Who should attend an event?

We know that one size doesn’t fit all, so that's why event attendance requires a bespoke approach, explains Emma Robson, head of events at Ingenuity... 

When it comes to events and deciding who should be present, chief executive officers and other C-Suite leaders are often the first people that come to mind – whether that’s as a keynote speaker, meeting delegates or convincing potential clients to sign on the dotted line. But the most obvious answer isn’t always the right one: that’s why it’s important to take a holistic approach to every event. 

A flat-structure approach to your Senior Leadership Team (SLT) 

Understanding your whole SLT and the different qualities and experience of each of them will allow you to decide on event attendance on a case-by-case basis. 

Consider whether someone already has a relationship with other panel members; perhaps someone else has an area of expertise which could resonate with a particular prospect, or that might be a blind spot for your CEO? 

Emma Robson Photo Credit: LinkedIn

When we run events across social media, content marketing and PR, we see a lot of brands’ middle management attending: from social media marketing managers to content marketing managers and SEO marketing managers. 

Sometimes, when agencies see those types of titles on the attendee list, they fail to see their value: assuming they're not decision makers or persons of senior influence.

Actually, what we've learned over the years is that those people do have direct influence - if not decision-making power. Rather than dismissing them as lacking in sufficient status, it’s worth remembering that those individuals have huge influence in their domain and that they oversee that element of the brand. 

Not only that, but those currently holding such roles could well be the future CMO. 

Benefits

At Ingenuity, our flagship events are essentially commercial speed-dating sessions. 

The team pre-qualifies the briefs of up to 25 brands and matches them with agencies who we believe will be able to solve their challenges. They then meet for 20-minute sessions where the agencies showcase why they are the best fit for a particular brand and their challenge. Involving senior leaders is often necessary for business development, kudos and idea sharing.

But sometimes, brands want to meet the people they’d be working with daily, like the account managers. So, there are clear benefits to middle-management attending, as they’re more intrinsically linked to day-to-day operations. 

Sending C-suite attendees might appear to add an element of prestige, but being more detached from the day-to-day can actually hamper some networking opportunities, preventing ‘new business magic’ from happening. Staff that are experienced and senior within the agency - but aren't necessarily C-suite - are the people who'll be working on client services on a regular basis. Because of this, their attendance often translates to greater success. 

Long-term advantages

From a new-business perspective, this bespoke approach can help organisations forge better longer-term relationships, as brands and agencies are connecting from day one with the staff who will essentially become an extension of their team.

It also feeds into client retention in the same way.

Rather than an agency owner pitching to middle management, then handing over to an account manager - the client relationship gets off to a meaningful start, paving the way to a strategic partnership more likely to stand the test of time. 

A further benefit is that enabling other staff to attend events - capitalising on their unique skills and experience - frees up the C-suite to deal with the business’s macro-level issues. 

The next generation of decision makers

It’s never been more important for account managers to attend networking events to connect with brands: after all, that's what new business is all about. Since the pandemic, so much has been done through screens it’s important to ensure the next generation of talent is given these opportunities to develop their skills and contacts. 

Agencies often want to put forward their business development representatives, sales reps, and commercial reps. However, while there probably should be someone commercial present, it's just as important that there's also someone account-facing - you've got to have that mix. 

Challenger-style agencies are always conscious of putting the right combination of people in the room. They ensure they align their representatives with those from the organisation they're meeting with. For example, if there’s a very female-oriented, millennial-focused brand attending an event, the smaller agencies will make sure that they have female representation in the room, or junior talent or somebody that can relate to that brand and the person they’ll be meeting. 

When is it time to bring out the big guns?

Clearly, there are times when C-suite should be the ones to attend: when there are distinct topics or discussion points that require a certain level of experience or seniority. Certain platforms demand that calibre of speaker. Also, after we’ve matched an agency and brand together and they’ve decided to take the next step towards potentially working together, it can be beneficial to bring in the leaders, to add gravitas to the next stage of the process. 

Why it’s never one-size-fits all

Our events are supremely useful for building new connections and developing commercial opportunities for both the agency and brand community. But in order to maximise those chances, businesses need to take a consultative approach to event attendance: taking into account the skills and abilities of team members, to ensure relevance and achieve long-term gains.