The Extraordinary Journey in the Events Industry!
“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” In today’s fast-paced world, characterized by fleeting attention spans and momentary social media snapshots, the events industry faces a vital challenge: creating profound connections amidst constant distraction. Tim Jacobs, an Australian visionary, is rising to meet this challenge, revolutionizing global event management.
Tim’s journey from a DJ in Gippsland to the COO of HQ Worldwide Shows showcases the power of observation and adaptability. His early days behind the turntables were more than just about music; they were about connecting with audiences and understanding human emotions. This formative experience created a platform which Tim used to propel himself to the forefront of the events industry, allowing him to orchestrate unforgettable experiences for renowned clients.
Innovation and insight have been critical tools Tim has used in positioning HQ Worldwide Shows as a global premier player. Under his leadership, the company has curated remarkable events for a diverse array of clients, including royal families, sovereign brands and international summits. Each event embodies a delicate balance of logistics, creativity, and emotional resonance, transforming gatherings into memorable occasions.
Let’s know more about his journey:
A Journey of Growth
A career spanning close to three decades has seen Tim’s experience rooted in evolution. As he transitioned into various roles within the events sector, he honed his unique approach to the event industry, eventually focusing on the Middle East, where he became COO for HQWS. His efforts led to soaring success, navigating monumental events like Pope Francis’s visit to Abu Dhabi and adapting to the challenges posed by the pandemic.
A chameleon-like ability to rapidly respond to change proved to be an invaluable catalyst for growth, both in Tim’s personal development as well as for HQWS. His leadership of the companies rebrand, restructure and reposition both during and post pandemic resulted in growth for HQWS that would see a doubling of staff and a multiple factor increase in both revenue and bottom line for the business. This of course is no mean feat in a market that saw several event companies close their doors as the event industry was badly wounded by a lack of live events during 2020 and 2021.
Leadership & Results
Leadership styles vary widely but can usually be pinned down according to an individuals persona and their own learnings when ascending their career ladder. Whether they be coercive, coaching, affirmative or sometimes perhaps authoritative. In this arena however, Tim is often unpredictable which serves to be an unusual advantage. A non-conformist and adaptable approach allows Tim to rally teams and clients within the particular windows of operation using which ever style of leadership best suits the scenario for a given moment.
There is of course an emphasis on best practice. Encouraging proactiveness, innovation, and a general positivity within his day-to-day approach, however these given coaching factors are simply a baseline rather than all encompassing. Within the confines of specific projects and teams, Tim adapts his leadership style to ensure the best results. Where some teams respond to encouragement, others produce better results when directly challenged.
Throughout the internal direction however, Tim does place a high value on aligning with clients’ visions, seeing each event as a narrative that demands immersive engagement. In this manner, a “results first” approach reinforces the culture of embracing change that Tim permeates in every employee and project that HQWS fosters under its banner.
Crafting Experiences & Value
A key aspect of Tim’s philosophy is the importance of detail. He strives to create connections and experiences that transcend the event itself. To the casual observer, this may not always be evident, but an example of this would be his consistent “always think in 16:9” observation. Where the memories generated are at the heart of an experience, for his client roster, there is often more value in the perception of the event outside of the immediate audience who actually attend it.
Part of Tims reposition of HQWS involved providing specific solutions to sovereign brands that assist in the not just the experience and engagement, but perhaps more critically the shift of perception around that brand. In todays world, where the capture of a viral moment within an event environment can either make or break a brand, Tim has formulated a secret sauce which makes both the perfect and imperfect moments in an event work towards advancing a clients vision for their own identity and strategic objectives.
This intangible asset of always considering both the orchestrated and un-orchestrated moments as tools for use resonates not just within events, but crosses channels into media, PR and several other verticals that 99% of other event companies can only dream of touching.
Teams and Communication
Tim champions teamwork and communication as essentials for successful event execution. That said, he actively engages in two main project management philosophies that when blended can be seen to be paradoxical – Agility and Silo Management.
A significant portion of his success in building HQWS to become the powerhouse it has become has been through the combination of these methodologies. Fast reactions and change management combined with siloed teams and information management have proven to be a formidable technique in which day to day operations can function. From pitching and creative, through to live execution and post event analysis and reconciliation, the ethos applies exceptionally well across multiple business functions, assisting in everything from resource allocation to business development and more.
When combined with his driven and affable persona, these tools provide a significant additional advantage – a highly loyal team. Staff turnover in HQWS is in the low single digit percentage rate with multiple employees having stuck with the business for well over a decade due to internal respect, autonomy and actual enjoyment of the process. Given the growth of freelancers in the event game and the transient nature of employment in both the region and industry, this is quite unique.
Anticipating Trends
At HQWS, the commitment to staying ahead of trends is strong. Tim fosters a culture of curiosity, seeking inspiration beyond the events space, including technology, art and culture. The company embraces calculated risks, investing in emerging technologies that enhance event experiences and foster innovation. Collaboration with a global network of suppliers fuels this approach, ensuring all partners keep pace with the latest trends, indeed several of the business employees can find themselves in unique scenarios with the supply partners devising mechanisms to deliver something that is a “one off”.
The other side of this coin though is progress for the sake of progress alone is not put on a pedestal. The event industry and indeed the clients who engage it often seek the “wow factor” or “the next big thing”. Regionally, government leaders have sought to out-do each other with Guinness World Records serving as attractors to international tourist markets and the like. On this subject, Tim is more philosophical than might be expected:
“The challenge with creating a single hook through a trend is it just creates a bar someone will try to break. Ultimately that might just be a passing fad. Our directives drive us towards what brings value to both the client and audience through narrative and strategy to achieve project KPI’s rather than focusing on trends alone. The hook has its place and if you want a big bang or a world record, we can (and often do) do it, but we see our position as guardians for our clients brand and objectives as primary, with the tools we use to deliver being exactly that – tools.”
Tailored Approaches for Unique Clients
The diversity of HQWS’s clients presents a unique opportunity for crafting tailored experiences. Their operational strategies meld seamlessly to meet clients’ specific needs. A standout example is the historic visit of Pope Francis to Abu Dhabi. Despite a tight four-week timeline, the event was crafted with respect for its cultural significance. Understanding that significance and its long-term impact underlies a lot of what drives Tim and in turn HQWS.
“His Holiness’s visit to the UAE was interesting. We turned around the stadium and its grounds to accommodate 187’000 people in a compressed timeframe, but even with that scale of operation, my primary focus lay on what some in the industry may have given secondary consideration – the media teams.
Whilst we had an audience that was in the hundreds of thousands, the media teams reach showcasing the event live around the world was to an audience of over a billion viewers. In effect, whilst they were highly considered, the attending audience within the stadium became props to the wider audience around the world. When you are responsible for the presentation of a nation, you must consider the big picture.”
This layered thought process that has come to define Tim’s approach to event strategy and one that has filtered through to his team leads. Each event always carries the idea of visibility and reach as one of its central tenets, with the creative narrative answering to each layer as they are peeled back like an onion.
Measuring Success
For Tim, measuring success is certainly more of a qualitative assessment than quantitative. The numbers, while impressive, only convey a small part of the story. Client satisfaction is the guiding metric, and with a client roster that keeps returning this obviously works. However, these successes come in various forms.
Externally and for public facing events, this can be found within the event experience itself, consumer & client engagement levels and on ground assessment of on-site reaction is one aspect that forms the body of success. For other event types and objectives, success can be more nuanced. Media reach, data capture and analytics, perceptional shift, the laying of foundations for follow up projects that further develop client KPI’s all contribute to the success of the business.
But it doesn’t end there, internal progress is also seen as embodying success. HQWS diversity in its teams offers another path to success through talent development. Over the years, several young teams have seen their careers flourish as a direct result of opportunity and promotion within the business. These developed talents further contribute toward project delivery and nurture other new talents that join the company thereby creating a cycle of growth.
Ultimately, whilst the adage “you cant argue with results” does hold significant sway within HQWS, Tim’s measurement of success is better viewed as the consistent propagation of both progress and direction, in whatever form that might take. Perhaps ironically, it is this ethos that also serves clients best interest and keeps them coming back.
The Future
Tim is already gearing up HQWS for the next step in its evolution, when questioned on it, he remains somewhat elusive to specifics, but does offer some insight into the direction:
“The last couple of years with the sort of projects we have delivered, and the results garnered have laid the foundation for the next stage of the company’s development, particularly internationally. HQWS has created a reputation for a commitment to excellence through crafting experiences that put our clients’ objectives and strategy front and centre, whether they be government, corporate or any other entity.
Recently HQWS were partially acquired by the global media conglomerate Banijay Group creating access to a whole new set of tools and opportunity. We see a future where we can increase our offering with partnerships in several verticals that would create strategic solutions that are bespoke, unique, at any scale and in multiple channels simultaneously. How we plan to do that? You will have to wait and see!”
Whatever the future holds for Tim and HQWS, if the last two years are anything to go by, this will be one individual and company to keep a discerning eye upon.
