05.15.19
By Lisa Major
Experiential marketing is a powerful marketing strategy because it offers a real-life, face-to-face brand experience for consumers. Many factors go into planning a successful experiential marketing campaign, including experience design, interactive elements, and engagement tools. But there’s one more factor that plays a significant role in success, and that’s the staff representing the brand. Brand ambassadors and event staff serve on the front lines of events and activations and are responsible for creating stellar attendee experiences. For this reason, you wouldn’t want just anyone serving as the face and voice of your brand, would you?
Oftentimes, marketing agencies and companies think that they can handle everything that comes with staffing an event on their own, only to realize that it’s not as cut and dry as it seems. Most companies simply do not have the time or resources to efficiently and effectively staff their events…but an event staffing agency does.
You can rely on an experienced event staffing agency to save you a ton of time and money. With everything on your campaign to-do list, do you have the time to:
As you can see, there is much more involved than just hiring someone and adding a name to a schedule. An event staffing agency will have dedicated and experienced recruitment, account management, HR, and payroll teams that work together during each phase of the staffing process to ensure everything goes off without a hitch. As a result, you’ll have time to focus on the bigger picture of your event and other important to-do’s.
Established nationwide event staffing agencies have access to tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of qualified staff in locations coast-to-coast. Typically, agencies pre-screen and vet individuals within their databases to ensure they have the experience necessary to represent a brand. And because nationwide agencies provide staff in cities all over the country, they have the network and resources to find qualified staff in cities of all sizes.
Agencies can also provide staff with specific skills and qualifications to meet the exact needs of the brand and campaign.
Let’s face it, humans are unpredictable. You can confirm staff all day, but there will always be one who decides not to show up. Or one that’s lost or late. Event staffing agencies deal with these types of scenarios repeatedly. And while there is no guaranteed way to prevent this, experienced agencies have contingency plans in place to handle anything that is thrown at them. As you can imagine, if you’re handling all of the other elements of your event, dealing with staffing-related problems is the last thing you need.
Brand ambassadors are a mainstay in experiential marketing, and typically they will be the ones you’ll need to support your activation. However, there are many other types of staff, like costume characters or production assistants, that you might need for your event. Most event staffing agencies have seen and done it all and can provide more than brand ambassadors.
An event staffing agency will set your event up for success by providing experienced, outgoing, and engaging staff. Additionally, they will take the time to ensure that the team is excited, knowledgeable, and fully prepared to represent your brand. All these factors play a crucial role in how consumers perceive your brand. For this reason, securing staff who can engage with your consumers genuinely and heartfeltly will positively impact your bottom line.
An event staffing agency will not only hire the best staff with the skills and qualifications you expect, but they can also help out in other ways. For example, if you are unsure of how many people you need for your exhibit, they can offer suggestions. Or, if you don’t know if you need a product specialist or product demonstrator, no worries, an agency can help guide you through the specifics of each role to pinpoint your needs. They can also help with logistics such as routing (for mobile street teams), staff training, testing, reporting, and much more. Never hesitate to ask what your agency can do for you.
Imagine if you have an event taking place in multiple cities and states across the country, all with different minimum wage, break, and overtime requirements. To be compliant, you must know and understand each location’s regulations. And then there are other labor laws, W-2 vs 1099 employee classification, and payment timeframes to consider. Oh, and don’t forget the I9 form to verify employment eligibility and the federal and state tax forms (where applicable, that is). Sounds like a lot, right? It is. And it takes a lot of time and manpower to research and compile this information. Due to the nature of the industry, event staffing agencies must stay current on all state and federal labor regulations and work with professionals to ensure they are compliant. Play it safe and let the experts handle your staffing to avoid penalties, fines, and fees.
There are many things to consider when it comes to staffing an event. One wrong move could impact your bottom line in a negative way. That’s why hiring an event staffing agency is one of the best investments you can make. They can provide you with the right staff to meet your expectations, needs, and wants while ensuring you are taken care of and protected.
Since 2002, ATN has provided best-in-class custom event staffing solutions for brands and marketing agencies. We work closely with our clients through every step of the process, bringing our passion, energy, and commitment to ensure event goals are met.
Contact ATN to learn more about our event staffing services and how we can help you reach your goals.
Get the latest and greatest in experiential marketing news delivered to your inbox once a month!
