By Jack Saward, Founder, Saward Marketing and Events
The North has superb venues and exceptional suppliers and – perhaps most importantly – a business community that understands what events are actually for.
At Saward Marketing & Events, much of our work has been rooted in the North East, and what I see consistently is that regional businesses are focused on outcomes.
They want to know what an event will do for them commercially, not just how it will look on social media. That’s exactly the right question to be asking.
One of the most common misconceptions we come across is that working with local suppliers means compromising on quality. That most definitely isn’t the case.
From production companies and AV specialists to caterers, photographers and venue teams, the North has talent that rivals anything available elsewhere in the country.
For Saward Marketing & Events, working locally has had practical advantages that go beyond cost. Relationships matter in events. When something needs to change at short notice, having suppliers who know you and vice versa makes all the difference.
Some of our North East client relationships go as far back as 20 years. That isn’t accidental, it comes from consistently showing up and understanding a client’s business well enough to know when an event is the right solution and when something else entirely is what’s needed.
In some cases, we’ve helped to create full event experiences. In others, it’s been videography, photography or simply helping a business think more clearly about the event strategy before committing.
Cost-effective doesn’t mean cutting corners
Events budgets are under pressure across the board, and northern businesses are often working with tighter parameters than they’d like. But cost-effective event delivery isn’t about doing less, it’s about being smarter with every decision.
That means being rigorous about what the event needs to achieve before a venue is approached or a supplier is briefed.
I tell all of our clients that there is no one-size fits-all approach. We look at where a company’s strengths and resources currently sit and identify where we can genuinely add value, rather than arriving with a templated solution that doesn’t fit the brief.
The proof, as ever, is in the work. Over the years we have been associated with the Newcastle Eagles, the professional British basketball team. Working with organisations of that calibre in the North East demonstrates what’s possible when regional ambition is matched with the right event expertise.
Snorkel Lifts, a Tyne & Wear-based company that provides powered access equipment, is now one of our most regular North East clients for event activity. We’ve delivered multiple events this year alone with another on the horizon in Europe this month. That’s a relationship that began locally and has grown into something with genuine international reach, a reminder that starting close to home doesn’t mean staying there.
Supporting local means investing in your own ecosystem
There’s a bigger argument here too. When northern businesses choose northern suppliers, the benefits compound. Talent stays in the region. Smaller agencies and suppliers grow. The ecosystem strengthens. And the next business looking for world-class event support finds it on their doorstep rather than having to look elsewhere.
Many of our strongest client relationships began with a conversation at a show, someone seeing work we’d delivered, striking up a dialogue and deciding to explore what a first project together might look like. Those first conversations have a habit of becoming long-term partnerships, and long-term partnerships have a habit of going places neither party initially expected.
For any northern business considering its next event, the answer to “where do we start?” should begin closer to home than they might think.
saward-me.com