Member Article

Bdaily talks to R&B Group

In this series of interviews, Bdaily dips into the world of events and production business, R&B Group. This fourth installment is a chat with Yorkshire Branch Manager, Gavin Frost, who tells us about his role in managing R&B’s national presence.

“The Yorkshire Office is a bit more compact , but we do have plenty of equipment and resources for us to tackle most projects.”

Gav explains that R&B Group’s Yorkshire branch supports the company’s reach nationally, and is situated to allow for access to projects across the North West, Yorkshire, and even further south.

“We’re really well placed in Harrogate. We do a lot of work in Leeds and York, and get across to projects in the North West a lot as we are a bit closer. Equally, we will work closely with people from our North East base and vice versa.

“My day-to-day work as Branch Manager covers a lot of aspects, mainly because we are a smaller office. One minute I can be out securing a major contract with a client, and then I’ll come back to the office and have the hoover in my hand! My role can include logistics, project management, bits of graphics, and includes a lot of hands on work.”

Prior to joining R&B Group, Gav had worked in theatre, and draws parallels between the two jobs; particularly in the need for absolute smooth running of the event.

“Before working for R&B, I worked in theatre and the theatrical does come into our work quite a bit actually. Even internally we’ll call projects ‘gigs’ or ‘shows’ and essentially, putting on an awards show or conference is very much like staging a show. It just so happens that in this case, you don’t do a run every night for three weeks. We’ve got one chance to get it right, and that’s it.

“I recognise that similarity in taking a deep breath just as I would before the opening night.”

Like his colleagues, Gav always has his eye on showcasing R&B Group to potential clients. Each project presents another opportunity to impress, and is a key driver in winning new business.

“Lots of our work is through word of mouth, and we thrive on our reputation. People will hear that we offer a great product. For instance, recently we did an event where the chief exec of the firm pulled us aside afterwards and said, ‘that was absolutely flawless’, which was a great feeling.”

And to get that flawless event, Gav says that it is all in the detail. Every component of the project is scrutinised to make sure this is the case.

“I always pay attention to the detail, in fact I can be over fastidious. I’m the one that’s famous for pointing out that some cabling isn’t neat enough, for instance. It does matter, image is everything in this business and I want my projects to be perfect and it’s the little things that can determine the outcome of a project.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .