Thibault Daniel (BBA 10): ‘The Communication Sector Needs a Systemic Change’

Thibault Daniel (BBA 10) is Deputy Managing Director of the digital and event communication firm, Halloween Agency, which employs some thirty people in Toulouse and Paris, and serves fifty clients including Heineken, Canon, RayBan and Moët Hennessy Diageo. He decodes sector trends since the turning point of COVID-19 and offers his outlook on the future of the field.

ESSEC Alumni: Has the events sector fully recovered from COVID-19? 

Thibault Daniel: COVID-19 hit us hard. That said, the pandemic was followed by both an upswing and a carry-over effect. This resulted in the organisation of major projects in 2022. I think the market has returned to its pre-COVID level, with a multitude of calls for tender. However, customers have changed and new skills have become essential, in livestream, audio-visual in general, scenography, 3D vision and motion design, etc. These major developments have contributed to a concentration of players in the communication agency field, with various mergers and acquisitions.

EA: What are the current key trends and developments in the event sector? 

T. Daniel: A growing number of brands are now placing events at the heart of their strategy, rather than considering them as a simple communication channel among others. This has led to a genuine scaling-up in skills: agencies need to boost their creativity and thus recruit increasingly specialised profiles to design and produce their events. Another trend is the deepening intimacy with social media. Events are not only widely publicised upstream on the networks, but also through posts produced by the participants themselves. Influence is also shaking things up, with its lower contact costs and real ability to move crowds, thanks to a certain number of popular content producers on Instagram or TikTok. Not to mention developments in artificial intelligence, particularly in the scenography field; there’s some crazy ‘prompt art’ springing up, along with fake pop-up stores or ‘collaborations’ between brands. This all raises some issues. It’s becoming easy for an agency or brand to organise fake events; in other words, to create the impression they are producing some kind of incredible publicity on the other side of the world, which is totally untrue!

EA: How are communication agencies dealing with these developments?  

T. Daniel: For our part, we moved from an agency providing host staff for events to an events communication agency and then into social media and content production. At present, we almost systematically recommend a phygital approach. On one side, event organisation in all its forms, with pop-up stores, ephemeral venues, corporate events, product launches, PR events and brand stands, etc. On the other side, strategy, content production, influence and so on in the digital sphere, and more especially social networks. 

EA: The event world is often criticised for its environmental impact. How do you address these issues? 

T. Daniel: We’ve already implemented good practices, including waste management, more vegetable-based catering, the re-use of certain decors which are recycled by players such as ArtStock, up-cycling wherever possible, the storage and re-use of the elements produced over the years as much as possible, and French or at least European production for textiles, etc. I am aware, however, that these efforts will not be enough to drive a truly systemic change. In other words, in my view, brands must release fewer products, reduce their messages and learn to stick to their own campaigns for longer. We notice a great deal of impatience, as in ‘What new thing can we do this year?’ This question should always be preceded by another one: ‘What worked well and can be kept as it is?’  Red Bull has been organising its soap-box derbies for 23 years. Worldwide. And everyone still finds it really good fun! Prioritising continuity would help to limit the impact of event production. With that in mind, it’s up to us as agencies to put more conviction and effort into recommending events with a lower environmental impact.

EA: What is the outlook for the event sector in the coming years?

T. Daniel: It’s difficult to say, but what I would personally like to see is popular events. Events that are accessible, that rally people. I’m a strong supporter of the “general public”, of events which draw people together and are large enough to play a role in the shared experience. I’ll always prefer an event for 1000 Joe Bloggs than for 10 of the happy few. And I think we need to come together. I also hope that brands will take the bull by the horns and start creating their own events instead of paying for big logos at festivals. I believe it is in their interest today to develop ‘a signature event’, all the more so given that collaborations and the drop culture trend are set to continue and encourage even more pop-up stores, ephemeral venues and unique experiences.

EA: You began your career in the music business. How did you get into the communication sector? 

T. Daniel: My early experience opened me to two areas in which the music sector has always been a step ahead: live events on one hand, and digital communities on the other, given that artists have always attracted huge audiences on internet (MySpace and then Facebook at the time). Similarities with the next step of my career seem fairly obvious to me: worlds to create, communities to rally with short deadlines for gathering them offline and longer periods to entertain them online. I simply went from communication ‘for artists’ to communication ‘for brands’.

EA: What advice do you have for ESSEC members interested in working in communication or events? 

T. Daniel: First of all, get involved in a club during your studies. Sport, music, travel, or any other theme; this is a decisive element we look for in CVs. Secondly, provide a book or portfolio instead of a cover letter. Show people what you have done, even if they are just ‘fictional’ projects done during your studies. Thirdly, practice on social networks. Test posts, spend a few euros on media purchases, create pages, accounts, and try to understand what goes on behind the scenes and beyond personal use.

EA: And for those looking for a communication or events agency for their company? 

T. Daniel: I believe the market is quite readable for anyone who is interested. So begin by knocking on the right door according to your need. Talk to colleagues, former classmates, ask for recommendations. Make sure you can afford to pay for what you have in mind. Don’t hesitate to call the agencies you’re interested in directly; with just some basic information they can give you a rough idea of the budget you’ll need. Then, expect to wait 3 to 4 weeks between the brief and the detailed recommendation and budget, and set aside a sum to compensate the agencies who lose the bid, even €1,500 is better than nothing! If I worked for the advertiser, I’d always proceed this way: 3 agencies in the running, no more. 2 specialists who are familiar with my sector, who reassure me and post productions online that correspond to what I want for my company. 1 agency which is a total outsider, has never worked in my sector but has sound references and can shake things up.

Interview by Louis Armengaud Wurmser (E10), Content Manager at ESSEC Alumni.
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