The road to event success

As the director of the Event Supplier and Services Association (ESSA) it’s my job to support and promote the work of ESSA and its members. Which brings me here, to tell you about the work we do, who we represent and the benefits of choosing an ESSA member to meet your live marketing and communications needs.
    
But first a quick word about showbusiness. Local and national government departments aren’t traditionally thought of as being in ‘showbusiness’, but if you are responsible for communicating messages then showbusiness is very much your business.
    
Although most people will think of glittering receptions and film premières when the word showbusiness is mentioned, the truth is less glamorous but arguably more important when it comes to government communications and events. There’s a place for the sparkling award ceremony, even in government business, but the truth is generally less frivolous. However, getting quality assurance, value for money and the right product or service in the first place, remains essential for government procurement,  however large or small the requirement is.

GOODS AND SERVICES
The British event industry spans an incredible range of goods and services to help you reach your audiences efficiently and effectively, and their expertise covers every aspect of live marketing, at every scale. At ESSA we represent scores of event-oriented businesses that embody the best of what the British live marketing industry has to offer. Our members deliver exhibitions for the largest conference organisers in the world, supplying and installing everything from giant projection screens and outsize graphic prints to coffee shops and digital signage. But the variety of services and goods offered by our members, though vast, is only half the story.
    
When ESSA was first instituted, from a merger of the British Exhibition Contractors Association (BECA) and the Association of Event Contractors (AEC) in 2007, we had a clear strategy to promote and support excellence, provide a badge of quality and encourage collaboration between members on industry issues.

Six years later and ESSA, together with its sister organisations the Association of Event Venues, and the Association of Event Organisers (AEV and AEO respectively), has led the way in building a common code of conduct for the whole industry, regularised its approach to health and safety and contributed at a legislative level to discussions relating to the industry as a whole. ESSA is recognised worldwide as a marque of quality and value thanks to our relentless efforts to promote the British event industry both in Europe and farther afield.
    
Our ‘Use an ESSA member’ campaign has gone from strength to strength. I believe that in the current economic climate it is important to make the right choice, to have confidence in your contractor or supplier to give satisfaction and guarantee success. ESSA aims to raise awareness of the importance of using a contractor or supplier that is a member of a recognised association, giving the end user assurances of the best possible service.
    
ESSA can help you procure the services and goods in two significant ways. Well over 90 per cent of our members are SMEs, the most agile and flexible kind of business. Secondly, ESSA’s rigorous quality assurance means you can be confident that your chosen contractor will deliver high standards both on time and on budget. Their insurance will be up to date, they will be compliant with the latest regulations governing their area of expertise, and they will comply with the ESSA code of conduct and quality service charter.

REFERENCES
All ESSA members have a proven financial record, and their membership is conditional on two references, one from an existing ESSA member and one from a customer. Both these references are fully verified by the ESSA secretariat. ESSA also maintains a bond, that can be called on in the unlikely event of an ESSA member ceasing to trade before delivering an exhibition stand design and build. To date, no-one has ever claimed the bond, but it serves to underline ESSA’s  belief in its members.
    
For our members, the value of ESSA lies not only in being a credible assurance of high quality goods and services, but in the expertise they are able to share and learn from their industry peers. This is the ESSA virtuous circle.

 By encouraging our members in every way to find common resolutions to common problems, obstacles and pitfalls, ESSA is constantly building a shared network of expertise and experience. When you use an ESSA member to deliver your live marketing requirements, you will benefit from the collective knowledge of the association as much as you do from the expertise of the firm in question.
    
When you choose an ESSA member to print your signage, install and operate your PA, design and build your pop-up stand or organise and deliver your whole international conference, you are choosing to employ the best in British skills and expertise. You are choosing quality assured, safety compliant, financially sound firms with impeccable credentials and high levels of customer service.

CASE STUDY
As an example, one of our member organisations, Aztec Event Services based in Mitcham, was recently involved in a major government show, Civil Service Live. Aztec specialises in live marketing and event AV solutions. Civil Service Live was a reasonably large show for Aztec but certainly well within their capabilities. For the show Aztec produced five complete seminar theatres, ten ‘hubs’ for auxiliary presentations, featuring set, stage and lighting plus various projections screens, plasma displays, PAs, and a digital video streaming service.
    
And it was Aztec who suggested to DODS, the show organiser, that its Digital Signage system would be ideal for the event, with its busy schedule of many speakers and venues. It proved to be a major talking point of the conference, as well as being able to easily cope with the exigencies of a complex, changing schedule of speakers and events.
    
Aztec is a typical ESSA member in many ways; its managing director sits on the ESSA board, it’s deeply involved in the ESSA working groups, establishing best practice and industry guidelines, and it has a reputation for excellence backed up by ESSA’s quality assurance and rigorous checking processes. All of our members are well equipped to meet your live marketing, event and communications requirements. By choosing an ESSA member to design and print your public signage, design and print your marketing material, build your temporary structure or organise your glittering gala dinner, you’re choosing quality, reliability, and accountability.

ABOVE AND BEYOND
It can be difficult to communicate the passion and drive our members have for their industry, but ESSA members are well known for going above and beyond the call of duty – whether its creating an overflow theatre from scratch in 15 minutes, or wrapping a building in sub-zero temperatures and high winds.
    
Take a quick look at our website at www.essa.uk.com. There you’ll find our code of conduct and quality service charter, and a lot more information about the association. Of particular interest to procurement officers will be our Member Directory at tinyurl.com/essamembers, where we list all of our current members and some details about their area of expertise.

Further information
www.essa.uk.com