• June 21, 2024

Event lead times reduced by 25% over past year

Event lead times reduced by 25% over past year

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Project lead times have declined by 25% between 2023-24, according to a new report by event agency Sledge.

The report, Events And Content Must Go On: Insights and Soundbites to Overcome Lead Time and Budgetary Challenges, reveals firsthand lead time figures, based on Sledge’s own projects, analyses those factors impacting them, delves into solutions for managing them, and concludes with an exploration of the future of lead times.

In the US, Sledge found that event timelines  saw a 25% reduction between 2023 and 2024 alone, and when it comes to global film projects, turnaround times similarly saw a 25% decline

For UK-based events, three months was the average lead time from briefing to delivery for larger scale conferences between May 2023 and May 2024, while average lead times for smaller-scale projects, such as activations within wider events and exhibitions, were four to six weeks over the same period.

The report notes that several factors have led to reduced lead times including the global economy, a lack of forward planning, under resourced teams and multi-layered decision-making processes.

Multiple sign offs are typically required across all aspects of a project, which can take time, particularly among senior leaders. This puts pressure on internal teams, and results in conflicting feedback, which slows progress down further, or can lead to inaccuracies.

Becca Shanks, creative services director at Sledge says: “The key to overcoming this is championing open communication. We, for example, set a clear cadence for catch ups – whether that’s multiple times a week, weekly, fortnightly, or other – and ensure we’re using clients’ preferred modes of communication, such as phone, email and/or WhatsApp.”

Read the full report here

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