Sarah Yeats, managing director at Sledge, explores why event lead times are increasing again, what’s driving the shift, and why stronger client-agency collaboration is key to making the most of longer planning cycles…
Project lead times are almost always influenced by external factors. The pandemic required us to respond at speed, and while the industry has absolutely bounced back since then, the last three years have seen timelines reduce fairly dramatically, with inflation being a key contributing factor.
What we’ve seen unfold in recent months has been quite different though – despite global unrest, the rise of AI and subsequent redundancies, and continued focus on cutting costs, lead times are actually increasing.
From a firsthand perspective, at Sledge our UK lead time averages increased from three to five months between May 2024 and June 2026. Clients are briefing us much earlier, and even making key decisions like confirming venue selections over a year in advance. This was almost unheard of last year.
Three factors driving the change
There are three key drivers we’re seeing emerge. Firstly, as they face more scrutiny from higher up, clients are changing their approach to budget allocation to justify spend. While the budgets themselves might still have little wiggle room, they are identifying priority areas and divvying them up well ahead of deadlines in response.
Also budget related and perhaps a little obvious, through ongoing guidance and education, companies are realising that the further in advance they book venues, accommodation, talent and so forth, the more competitive deals they are going to get.
The rise of AI is also proving a sticking point. A lot of clients are recognising that their audiences – and that’s across both business and consumer settings – crave real, physical experiences more than ever. There’s a sense of distrust circulating and they’re tired of AI slop, and events fill this much needed gap. In turn, companies are willing to plan ahead and spend the money to meaningfully connect with people.
The latest IPA Bellwether report, released just last week, is evidence of this continued demand, with events receiving the most budgetary marketing investment in both quarter one and two of this year.
A missing piece of the puzzle remains
While this is all positive news for events, we’re still missing something: clients sign the dotted line, and then they go quiet on us. There’s a bit of a ‘set and forget’ mentality at play, and we get it.
It’s more than likely that they’re juggling multiple competing priorities, and with the project we’re delivering a year or so away, getting into the nitty gritty detail isn’t at the top of their list just yet.
We really wish it was though, because a lack of clarity behind the brief makes it impossible for agencies to map out workflows and resource effectively. Plus, with the talent shortage alive and well in events, bringing the right people for the job together doesn’t only take time, they are booked out many, many months in advance.
Completing the lead times picture
Being financially prepared is one thing, a willingness to take a deeper dive into the event vision in the early days is a whole other, and it’s where the disconnect arises.
So, how can event agencies bridge this gap?
Reminding clients of the goals they came to us with and why they enlist our services – such as to bring skills they don’t have in-house to the table and offer a fresh perspective – and breaking project timelines down into more manageable blocks can alleviate their stress, win their attention, and build up genuine interest.
We also need to communicate with confidence and highlight the value of time overall – even those preliminary ideas that stem from initial WIP meetings can generate excitement and keep the momentum going when presented to clients.
And the big one, focusing on ways to build genuine partnerships. This is where the trust grows, and where the gatekeeping is pulled back. Additionally, knowing how a client operates, and what, for example, they like or don’t like creates more space for the ideation phase even without a robust brief.
Lead times have come a long way, and it’s the long-term versus churn and burn client-agency partnerships that will allow us to close the lead times loop.