Blog 15.08.19

Interview with Tiffany Broome, Operations Director and Head of Live Events at Bright Partnerships.

This month we spoke to Tiffany Broome, to gain her insights into the role of security at large events. Tiffany is Head of Live Experiences at Bright Partnerships, a marketing communications agency specialising in partnerships in sports and lifestyle. She has twenty-years of experience in the Global sports events industry, and has worked on four Rugby World Cups, numerous Football World Cups, Commonwealth Games, ATP Grand Slams and five Olympic Games. 

What is Bright Partnerships and what’s your role? 

We primarily specialise in sports and lifestyle partnerships and experiences for brands, working with them to engage their audiences through pioneering stories and partnership propositions to create amazing experiences. As Head of Live Experiences, I lead on bringing brand campaigns to life through live events such as VIP customer hospitality, brand product launches, fan experiences and brand activations at big sporting events, which means finding first to market and innovative ways of getting spectators to engage with the sponsor’s brand. At the moment I’m working with a client to manage their ATP partnership activations worldwide, which is really exciting, alongside delivering a range of events in Japan for Rugby World Cup 2019.

Was there an event recently which was a highlight? 

One of our clients has recently partnered with the Australian Open and Roland Garros grand slam tennis tournaments. So we have created a really cool innovation pod showcasing all their technological capabilities through Virtual Reality and AI technology in a way that tennis fans could experience hands-on. 

What makes a successful event?

I would say that planning is key. Seamless execution is just a given; you have to be able to deliver flawlessly, and that’s what our clients expect. That involves a huge amount of planning and collaboration to represent the interests of the brand, making sure they get a return on their investment, and that their objectives are being met. Our people, our suppliers and partners are also critical to delivery; we put a lot of faith and trust in them, and our clients put a lot of faith and trust in us. So it passes down the chain. For me, having reliable partners that we know can perform flawlessly under pressure is really important. 

For me, having reliable partners that we know can perform flawlessly under pressure is really important.

How important is security at these events? 

It’s one of the first things we think about at the planning stage. We’re often responsible for a huge amount of very valuable assets, such as technology, as well as working with VIPs, such as top CEOs and world-famous athletes. If something goes wrong, it’s our reputation on the line. So I need to make sure that we, our suppliers and our clients have thought everything through and put the right measures in place. 

These days, at big public events like the Olympic Games, security is top of mind for everyone. It needs to be visible, to give spectators peace of mind. Everyone gets frustrated by security checks, queuing and security scanning, yet if it didn’t happen people would be concerned about the risks. I’ve seen security guards at many events that are temporary staff that have clearly had minimal training; they don’t want to be there, they don’t care, they look bored, they’re probably not paying attention. Such people generally don’t have the experience to read a situation and respond appropriately. Staff at firms like Vigilance with military experience, and a developed security mindset will be keener to adapt to each situation, and humanise the whole process while responding if needed. Security teams that have experience and that can communicate is obviously a really important thing to have. A lot of security companies just supply numbers, and the service suffers.

Getting a successful team with very diverse skills and experience together to deliver an event is no doubt critical. What’s most important to Bright Partnerships when choosing third party partners to supply services?

We’re lucky we have some really trusted partners, like Vigilance, that we can rely on. What’s important is having a shared vision. We don’t always go for the mainstream suppliers, we go for companies that are similar to us, smaller companies that are more innovative and more creative and that can have influence and make decisions quickly. Maybe not always the most cost efficient but someone that adds value in the right areas and where we can see a true partnership and a real collaboration that they will invest in. 

We’re lucky we have some really trusted partners, like Vigilance, that we can rely on. What’s important is having a shared vision. We don’t always go for the mainstream suppliers, we go for companies that are similar to us, smaller companies that are more innovative and more creative and that can have influence and make decisions quickly.

Trust and reliability are also so important. We outsource a lot of our event delivery to partners that we work with, which reflects massively on us as an agency. And I think having high standards goes without saying. Relationships are really important, but professionalism is as well. I need to be able to put these people in front of clients and not fear that they’re not suitable to be in that environment, or not able to communicate on that level.

I like to work with people that are continually trying to improve. For some multi-week events, people can become complacent and bored. You see standards slip so quickly, so I think it’s really important that we work with suppliers that want to maintain that service, checking in regularly with us but with their teams, making sure that the standards are met. Mixing up staff to keep them engaged. I really appreciate when suppliers are proactive and that’s why we tend to work with them at repeat events, year on year to build on the experiences we learn and share.

Vigilance would like to thank Tiffany for sharing her valuable insights and time. 

Find out more about Bright Partnerships.

Vigilance works across public, private and commercial sectors. Please get in contact regarding your security requirements and we can create a bespoke security package based on individual assessments of your needs. Call us now: +44 (0) 203 416 5340.