Based in Milton Keynes, White Event Production Ltd is a white label event production and content creation agency. We speak to Producer, Ben Carter in order to learn more about the industry and the firm as it celebrates success in being named Best B2B Event Production Company 2023 – UK.
White Event Production Ltd is a small event and video production company specialising in supporting event management professionals and working in collaboration to provide a joined-up event production solution.
The company offers a range of services and flex to suit the budgets or the requirements of its clients, such as in-house skills to support with end-to-end project design and management, and enough in-house equipment to support medium to large events.
“We support a wide spectrum of industries, including many blue chip brands, which is quite an achievement considering our company size,” explains Ben Carter, Producer at White Event Production, as he tells us more about the company’s inception. “The rationale behind ‘white’ is as in ‘white label’. That is, approximately 50% of the time we support event and production agencies with skills they do not have in-house, such as design, video/content production, and web services, acting as their silent partner or production division; and the remaining 50% of the time we service our end clients where we look to reflect their brand values and ethos.”
Just a handful of the big named brands that have used White Event Production over the years include Severn Trent, Aston Martin, Amey, Michelin, and Wren Kitchens, as well as agencies such as the Volkswagen Group, Mercedes-Benz, Motability, BP, State Street, and Bupa.
“We thrive on supporting organisations as well as agencies, however big or small,” Ben continues. “We are a full-service company with the ability to produce an event from design to delivery, or we can be brought into bridge gaps within an existing project. Our dynamic and scalable work processes make us very versatile and creates efficiencies with consistent quality assurance.”
Winning big names is a great achievement for a small firm, however Ben and the team at White Event Production cannot afford to rest on their laurels, and are constantly aware of the need to innovate and offer something a little different in order to stand out from competitors.
The firm’s clear differentiator, as Ben tells us, tends to be its honesty paired with its proactive dedication to ensure the best end result.
“We are not afraid to turn work away if we feel expectations are not aligned but this often results in our clients re-evaluating and still producing the event or creating a greater relationship with new or existing clients,” he elaborates. “Most of our work comes from referral and recommendation and so it is an organic growth. Our social media presence, especially when we were one of the first event companies to return to being kept busy during the pandemic, helps our reputation of achieving great things.”
The events industry continues to be rather turbulent post Covid-19, and White Event Production prides itself on not only surviving the pandemic, but actually growing during this period as the firm merged with an equipment supplier to increase its hire stock and, in turn, work opportunities.
Ben explains that the firm was also one of a few companies to hold an event during the pandemic, which involved a lot of close work with a wide variety of stakeholders with creative yet conscientious event design and planning. Following this, and the diverse skillset present at White Event Production (such as content creation, web and video production, and live streaming) the team were kept busy during the pandemic.
“We were one of the first companies to return with a vengeance when the time was right,” Ben continues. “Which caused many of our local competitors to stop in their tracks and view us in a different light!”
Today, the industry still has its challenges, with companies reacting to the cost-of-living crisis by cutting back accordingly or, due to sudden changes in demand for events, the requirement to work to very tight, last minute timeframes, but Ben believes that White Event Production is more than capable of riding this wave of disruption.
Of course, dedicated and loyal team members have helped the firm to grow, achieve, and survive over the years and, when recruiting, Ben looks for colleagues who are passionate, conscientious, and who are enthusiastic to learn. Even if their technical skills may not quite be up to scratch, if someone demonstrates the right qualities then he will look to support and train them on the job. Whilst hard work at White Event Production is obviously very much expected, Ben tells us that the rewards are plentiful.
“There are some mantras we work by, such as “only as good as our last event” but also internally the “one team” and “rough with the smooth”,” he enthuses. “We all chip in and do not have rigid job descriptions with an ethos of flexing to do the best for our clients. This does mean going the extra mile and pushing ourselves to deliver the best, but this looks to get rewarded with flexible working, staff outings, and Friday drinks, when all areas of the business look to catch up at the end of a usually busy or diverse week.”
Recently, as testament to the dedication and hard work of all involved in White Event Production, the firm has been recognised in the SME News – Business Elite Awards 2023 and named Best B2B Event Production Company 2023 – UK for its efforts.
Understandably delighted by this prestigious accolade, Ben is quick to ensure that his colleagues and team members also get the recognition that they deserve, stating, “Our achievement has come from a core team with a diverse and over-lapping skillset that complement each other. We very much offer a ‘one team’ approach which produces increased dynamics and cost efficiencies our clients like. We put as much pride and commitment into a small conference as we do a large multi-day event.”
Now, White Event Production is looking forward to a bright and lucrative future, with growth on the cards. There are plans which include the expansion of an additional storage and projects space to house the firm’s recent investment in video equipment, from multiple large LED display screens to LED panels, to make very large video walls which aims to supplement its growth in video production.
As well as this, there are planned investments in video and lighting hardware but, more importantly, investments in growing the team with the right people.
For further information, please contact Ben Carter or visit www.white-production.co.uk
