News & Events

Think laterally for braver events

RLC MD Rachel Ley was recently introduced by the CEO of a client company as “our fearless event manager” – which begs the question, what exactly had we achieved, or even conquered, to earn such an accolade?

As an external agency, we have one advantage over our clients, in that we can approach a brief with a completely open mind.  Not being bound by the strictures of previous formats, we explore unorthodox ideas and our endless curiosity gives us the freedom to indulge in a bit of lateral thinking.

Poetry and plays

Coming out of the theatre recently, Rachel saw two men in suits, sitting on two small stools, behind two small wooden tables. They were tapping away on two old-fashioned typewriters, behind a sign that read: ‘Poetry While You Wait’.   How’s that for an ideas factory!   And back at the office, we’ve discovered that the more ideas we can generate, the greater the chance of producing a game-changing event.

In fact, Rachel’s passion for plays – which blend make-believe, dramatic irony, suspense and surprise – has provided the foundation for many of our event successes.  By taking audiences on adventures that challenged existing mindsets, we’ve sparked the optimism and imagination that enabled them to push their own boundaries at work.

Making the impossible possible

It’s all too easy for the logistics and scheduling demands of an event to dominate the planning process.  And with time constraints and other pressing business priorities, the safe approach for any event manager is to follow past formats. But in continuing to do what you’ve always done, you can lose sight of your event’s key objectives. If you need to inspire your people to embrace new organisational values, support change management, or share innovative ideas, your event concept should be brave – showing the very people you need to engage with, that the seemingly impossible can become reality.

If you serve-up what people are expecting, how can you hope to create a transformative experience?  The alternative is to tear up the rule book and start afresh with a blank page.  More than one client has said to us: “I’ve got an idea, but you’d never be able to do it”.  This is just the kind of challenge we love, and we’ve proved them wrong time and again.

So, are you ready to explore the ideas factory? There’s no need to be afraid – help is a phone call away.  We can be bold on your behalf.  Let’s start with “Imagine if …” and see where it takes us.

After all, if you don’t ask the question, you’ll never know…