In Conversation With… Elliott Grant & Joe O’Connell on launching an agency amidst a global pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has created challenging market conditions and an uncertain business outlook for events agencies across the globe. But that hasn’t stopped inVOYAGERs Elliott Grant and Joe O’Connell from launching a boutique events agency.

Elliott is currently President of the SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence) GB Chapter and has previously held roles at agencies including Black Tomato and Top Banana, while Joe has worked for a number of well-known agencies including OrangeDoor, First Event and Reed & Mackay.

We caught up with the UK duo to find out all about their exciting new venture BLACK BOOK, which will offer a full range of event services including incentives, conferences, virtual events, venue sourcing, creative communications and production…

Why did you partner up?

Joe: “We have both always wanted to do our own thing at some point and Covid-19 has actually provided that opportunity because we were both at a point in time where it was the right path to take.”

Elliott: “A mutual industry contact introduced us because of the similarities in our objectives. We have a very similar outlook on the type of business we want to run and the way we want to do business.”

What will be the agency’s core focus?

Elliott: “Our focus is to help other businesses engage, communicate, motivate and ultimately improve their business performance through. But we don’t see ourselves as an events agency in the traditional sense and what we don’t want to do is approach clients with a pre-defined set of services. Our clients will have goals and objectives and we want to help them meet those through the best medium possible.”

Joe: “We will be agile and adapt to whatever our clients need, offering a better service than they would get elsewhere.”

How will you differentiate yourselves?

Elliott: “We want to slightly redefine the industry in terms of relationships by working with clients and suppliers who are our friends and hopefully build a better product and service as result. It will be less of a transactional business and more of a collaborative one to create outstanding event solutions.”

Joe: “When I was sounding out the idea of starting a new agency with clients, one said to me that the reason they choose to work with me personally is because of my impressive black book of contacts, so it’s thanks to that client that we found our name.

“I have always had good relationships with suppliers and stay close to my clients’ projects. Whether that’s doing the proposal, going on a site visit, and actually running the event. I am there throughout the whole process, and that’s what my clients like. We have not set up this agency to become a CEO or MD that sits back and doesn’t get involved. We want to create long-lasting partnerships with both clients and suppliers.”

Why launch now when the industry is still struggling due to the ongoing impact of Covid-19?

Joe: “The main reason we launched now is because we had clients that were ready to give us briefs for their live events. We received briefs in our first week and are already working on three proposals, for a small product launch at the end of this year, and an overseas incentive and London conference in 2021.

“It’s being a bit bold as well. We  could have sat there and waited till things get back to some sort of normality. But sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and go for it.”

Elliott: “If we’d started the business in March at the beginning of this crisis, it would have been a bit bleak, but things are starting to open up now. Borders are beginning to open up, airlines are starting to fly again, hotels are reopening, and most importantly clients are starting to put plans in place.

“We genuinely feel that we’ve launched at an exciting time for the industry. Post-pandemic, clients will need to communicate with and engage their employees in more creative and innovative ways. As people work from home more, it’ll be more important than ever to offer incredible experiences and event solutions that bring companies together and nourish culture and values.”

How do you think the industry has changed as a result of this crisis?

Joe: “It’s shaken everything up and also humanised the industry. People can’t sit back and play off their name anymore or just deal with clients in a transactional way. It’s humanised everything throughout the whole chain, from clients and agencies to DMCs, hotels and tourist boards.”

Elliott: “The silver lining from the Covid-19 situation is the way the industry has behaved for the last few months , which totally plays into our culture of collaboration. The whole industry has pulled together and people have been keeping in touch with each other, whether its suppliers, agencies or clients. There has been no selling going on and there has been no need to be in touch with everyone, but everyone has. We have built some really good relationships off the back of this period.”

What are your plans for the future?

Elliott: “Our plan is to expand through adding more people and services over the next few months. The eventual goal is to build a collective of experienced event managers with strong client relationships looking to work in a more dynamic and autonomous environment.”