NEC Group Conventions – home to ICC Birmingham, NEC Birmingham, and the Vox Conference Venue – has identified three clear trends shaping agency activity in 2025.
In June, the business unveiled a newly restructured, all-female sales leadership team, following strategic investment into its sales operations. The newly created Agencies division, led by 20-year NEC Group veteran Kelly Moore, manages relationships with more than 110 agencies, venue finders, and production companies. Moore and her nine-strong team, based across all three venues, are on the front line of changing agency demands and the pressures they face.
The three key trends Moore is seeing among agencies:
- Longer decision-making cycles: Clients are taking more time to commit to events, creating uncertainty and requiring flexibility from both agencies and venues.
- Tighter budgets, higher expectations: Agencies are tasked with delivering maximum impact with fewer resources, making value-for-money solutions essential.
- Increased demand for turnkey support: Agencies want venue partners who can deliver event-ready packages, from catering to AV, freeing them to focus on client relationships.
“Our role is to get under the skin of what agents need,” says Moore. “We know they’re juggling high expectations, shorter lead times, and tighter budgets. We want to take some of that pressure away by acting as an extension of their team.”
Moore’s team invests in relationship-building through on-the-road visits, tailored familiarisation trips, and by treating the agency as the primary account, rather than the end client. Long-term partnerships, such as a decade-long relationship with Pandora Events, show the value of this approach.
“Pandora Events is a great
example of how nurturing a long-term relationship can lead to brilliant event
outcomes,” said Moore. “We’ve worked with one of their clients for over a decade,
accommodating events from 500 to 4,000 attendees. It was also one of the first
events hosted at the Vox Conference Venue when it opened nearly 10 years ago.
“We love working with Pandora,
and we know they value the partnership too. The support we offer each other
goes both ways.”
Other agencies working with NEC Group include DRPG, Premier Events, Inntel, BCD Meetings & Events and A&I Events.
The new agency-focused division is part of a broader restructure at NEC Group Conventions, which also includes the Corporates division, led by Helen Wheatley, and Account Management, led by Becky Bohemia.
With agencies now accounting for more than 30 per cent of NEC Group Conventions’ revenue, Moore believes that recognising and responding to these trends will be key to strengthening relationships and driving growth in a competitive events market.
