Hello everyone, and welcome to today's webinar! I'm your host, Ryan, and I'm delighted to be here for another episode of the HeadBox Revenue Series, dedicated to putting revenue into your venue.

For our regular viewers, you may have noticed that we're not in our usual studio today. We are broadcasting from Protein Studios in Shoreditch to bring you a highly requested and very relevant topic—how to fill your venue during quieter periods.

This year, in addition to the usual seasonal slump, the events industry saw a dramatic reduction in inquiries and bookings from around May. This was exacerbated by the UK snap general election and other factors like the Euros. At HeadBox, we want to help you make the most of these quieter periods and venue downtimes, ensuring a steady stream of inquiries regardless of the season or socioeconomic factors at play.

Our goal today is to provide insights on how to tackle the challenges of quieter periods, followed by actionable marketing strategies to help increase your booking inquiries. So, get comfortable, and before we start, if you haven't already, please add any questions you have into the chat. Our team is on hand to answer as many as possible during the session, and if we have time at the end, we'll try to discuss some of them.

We'd love to see where you're tuning in from, so snap a picture of your setup and post it on LinkedIn or Instagram, and be sure to tag HeadBox!

To provide insights and expertise on today's discussion, I'm thrilled to be joined by two industry experts who will share their valuable knowledge and experiences with us. First, we have our host today, Harry, Managing Director at this stunning venue, Protein Studios. We are also joined by Matilda, Head of Events at Outernet Venues in central London.

Thank you both so much for joining today. I think it would be great to start by telling us a little more about your industry experience and your beautiful venues.

I've been at Protein Studios for almost 10 years. I initially joined as Studio Manager and am now the Managing Director. My role involves heading up the business, which includes the event spaces we're in today, a creative co-working space with 120 members, and a café. Before Protein, I managed physical spaces and people's experiences within them, working at D&AD for a few years and in the design industry before that.

I head up the events team at Outernet Venues, which is part of the district on Tottenham Court Road. There's a lot happening in this area—immersive screen spaces, a hotel, restaurants, bars, and more. The venues themselves are below ground. I've been here for just over two and a half years, joining when it was still a building site. Before that, I worked in event production for agencies and spent some time at a branding agency during COVID, which has really come in handy.

Both venues are lovely and should be filled every day of the year with awesome events, but quieter periods are inescapable. What common challenges do you face during quieter times, and what strategies do you implement to overcome them?

Our challenge is getting people downstairs to our venue. We have around 200,000 people in the district daily, but getting them into our venue is tough. We're exploring public ticketed events and family-focused experiences to draw them in. The momentum drops when the venue is empty, so keeping our staff engaged and excited is key.

For us, it's about maintaining buzz and vibes around the studio. When the space isn’t busy, it feels off. We partner with our community and members, offering them free space during downtimes. We also reach out to lost leads—people with great ideas but limited budgets—offering them space during quieter times.

How do you feel about cross-venue collaboration?

It's incredibly valuable. It’s refreshing to have open relationships with other venues, share inquiries, and potentially collaborate on satellite events across different locations.

Absolutely. It’s insightful to understand whether quieter periods are specific to our area or more widespread. Collaborating with venues like Outernet helps us get a broader view of the industry.

Great points. Collaboration between venues and sharing inquiries can really create a strong network, benefiting everyone involved.
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Competitors, how can you work with clients in a more collaborative way to ensure that you're filling the venue during quieter periods? Are dinner clubs or supper clubs something you take on at Protein Studios?

We tend to use our downtime during quiet periods to connect with clients, whether they're new or existing. Every year we host a dinner in collaboration with one of our catering partners. Last August, we worked with Dinner Ladies, which was held in this space. It was amazing, with 200 people attending. They showcased their product, we showcased our space, and it was a great opportunity to connect with new and existing clients. That's something we plan to do again this year. These times are really important because they give us a minute to breathe, reach out, and reconnect.

It's almost a myth that the office is quiet during quiet times because, with people going away on holiday and lots of urgent inquiries to fill Q3 and Q4, it's actually quite busy. But we've got that downtime in the evenings, and it's really nice and exciting to be able to host our clients, take a second, and build relationships. It stops things from being so transactional and allows for more of those meaningful conversations. Supper clubs are a great way of doing that for sure.

Another thing we've been looking to do, which we tried to do in July, is connecting with clients through venue collaboration. We're pushing for a Shoreditch Open House, where all the venues would open their doors. We could even get a minibus between central London and the venues in close proximity, allowing everyone to invite their clients and contacts. It’s a great way to connect with clients, especially if you have time and the venue is empty. Opening it up for new people to come by is a great opportunity. Suppliers can also bring value during quieter periods. We mentioned collaboration and communication with other venues and competitors, but our supplier lists are vast, and suppliers can bring in opportunities during those times. Last year, when we did our dinner, every single one of our event partners was involved. I think it’s important to bring everyone together if you have the opportunity.

We tend to use our downtime during quiet periods to connect with clients, whether they're new or existing. Every year, we host a dinner in collaboration with one of our catering partners. Last August, we worked with Dinner Ladies, which was held in our space. It was amazing, with 200 people attending. They showcased their product, we showcased our space, and it was a great opportunity to connect with new and existing clients. That's something we plan to do again this year. These times are really important because they give us a minute to breathe, reach out, and reconnect.

It's almost a myth that the office is quiet during quiet times because, with people going away on holiday and lots of urgent inquiries to fill Q3 and Q4, it's actually quite busy. But we've got that downtime in the evenings, and it's really nice and exciting to be able to host our clients, take a second, and build relationships. It stops things from being so transactional and allows for more of those meaningful conversations. Supper clubs are a great way of doing that for sure.
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Another thing we've been looking to do, which we tried to do in July, is connecting with clients through venue collaboration. We're pushing for a Shoreditch Open House, where all the venues would open their doors. We could even get a minibus between central London and the venues in close proximity, allowing everyone to invite their clients and contacts. It’s a great way to connect with clients, especially if you have time and the venue is empty. Opening it up for new people to come by is a great opportunity.

Suppliers as well—I mean, you’ve alluded to it, but it’s collaboration and communication with other venues, competitors, and clients. Our supplier lists are vast, and there are suppliers out there that can bring value during quieter periods. We started by talking about dinner clubs, but it could be anything. For us, last year when we did our dinner, every single one of our event partners was involved. I think it’s important to bring everyone together if you have the opportunity. Everyone is probably in the same boat, so it makes sense to come together and push each other.

For us, we tend to use our downtime during quiet periods to connect with clients, whether they're new or existing. Every year, we host a dinner in collaboration with one of our catering partners. Last August, we worked with Dinner Ladies, which was held in our space. It was amazing, with 200 people attending. They showcased their product, we showcased our space, and it was a great opportunity to connect with new and existing clients. That's something we plan to do again this year. These times are really important because they give us a minute to breathe, reach out, and reconnect.It's almost a myth that the office is quiet during quiet times because, with people going away on holiday and lots of urgent inquiries to fill Q3 and Q4, it's actually quite busy. But we've got that downtime in the evenings, and it's really nice and exciting to be able to host our clients, take a second, and build relationships. It stops things from being so transactional and allows for more of those meaningful conversations. Supper clubs are a great way of doing that for sure.

Another thing we've been looking to do, which we tried to do in July, is connecting with clients through venue collaboration. We're pushing for a Shoreditch Open House, where all the venues would open their doors. We could even get a minibus between central London and the venues in close proximity, allowing everyone to invite their clients and contacts. It’s a great way to connect with clients, especially if you have time and the venue is empty. Opening it up for new people to come by is a great opportunity.

I can't remember the expression, but it's something like, "One wave lifts all ships."

Love that. That should be the slogan. I think these events are often more successful than you think, and sometimes in ways you wouldn’t expect. You might have a really interesting conversation with a supplier when you're expecting to talk to a client. A lot of the time, it’s just about saying yes and planning them. It’s easy to think about these ideas, but the leap of faith is actually saying yes and doing it. Even like today—let’s sit down, have a chat, and then things can snowball from there.

Exactly. What is the metric we’re measuring this by? Are you wanting to fill your venue’s quiet period? It’s a Tuesday night in August—that’s box tick number one. But then you’ve brought in suppliers and a client who might book again during a busier period for more money. Which leads us to the next point:

Quiet periods. I know you both sort of have flat rates throughout the year. We don't need to get into rates, but I think it leads us to marketing strategies. What do you implement to attract guests during off-peak times?

Our two venue spaces are very different, so the marketing strategies during quiet times and busy times are vastly different. In our smaller venue, The Lower Third Bar and Club Room, it’s a cocktail bar on the top floor and a club room below. For that space during quiet times, we even go out and door-knock. We’ll literally go out into Soho, knock on companies’ doors (not the general public), and talk to them about their office and if they’d like a Christmas party. We’re a local bar, up-and-coming, all that stuff. We’ve booked some great events through that.

That’s incredible. I love that so much.

Some of the team who’ve been doing it more and more might be getting tired of the physical walking, but it’s great. It also means we’re developing more of a community, which in central London is challenging because of all the businesses. It’s a bit less of a community nature.

To have a face to the name and know where people are at, for sure.

Exactly. We do a lot of that and also reach out to our industry colleagues, such as hotels and restaurants, to look at hosting their summer parties or late Christmas parties in January. We have a barter system, which means we can have our Christmas parties with them. It’s great for morale and for our staff who may not be working as much in the summer.

For the larger venue here at Outernet, you can’t really door-knock for a 1,500-capacity venue. We might try, though. But it’s more about connection—reaching out to current, past, and lost leads, and trying to drum up those connections. Then, of course, amping up any marketing we can do and doing things like this.

Same question, anything to add?
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For August this year, we’ve released our summer discount—50% off summer rentals, which has been going really well. That’s something new for us, and it’s very public-facing. We’re actively promoting the discount on our socials, LinkedIn, and through paid social campaigns. It’s been working really well for us. It’s just about being clear that this discount is only valid during our quiet period. We might do it again for winter, tweaking and adapting it for that period.

You touched on something important—during quieter periods, you want to give a discount but maintain your venue’s perceived value. For venues that haven’t experimented with seasonal pricing or offering discounts during quiet periods, can you walk them through best practices for communicating that to guests?

It's interesting because we don't want people to think this is just a standard discount. Using the word "summer" was important for us, and being really clear in our communications that this is a set discount between specific dates. That has worked well for us. We'll
definitely be repeating it for our winter dates, but with some tweaks.

Absolutely, thank you so much for that. There was a lot of really good insight there. I want to take a second now to go back to the out-of-the-box, untraditional event ideas. We've touched on dinner clubs, but what are some ways you've used your spaces that may be a bit outside the norm? For example, are you open to ticketed events, experiences, or immersive events?

100%. Recently, we hosted a truck in the space with a giant blimp that was used as part of a new album promotion. When we did our summer discount, one of the things we found interesting was the shift in client inquiries. During the pandemic, we pivoted to a lot of filming, content creation, and video production. But then we saw a shift back to events. With the discount, we’re now back to seeing inquiries for video, photography, and pop-up retail experiences, which I’m excited about. We can’t just be a blank space; we need to be adaptable to what the market is asking for. The events industry is driven by trends, and we’re always asking how we can stay relevant and provide that value. Part of that is being open to anything, and when something crazy and amazing lands in your inbox, you should say yes.
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Do you have any more examples of those crazier requests?

We've had some fantastic ones. We worked with Matches Fashion to create a mini-Soho House experience, transforming the space to be unrecognisable, which was really special. We've also been part of private immersive experiences, as well as some bigger-scale ones. Secret Cinema is a well-known brand, and while we haven't done anything with them, we had a similar concept where we turned a venue into a full-blown set for a TV show. This was for a corporate event where they wanted something different—an immersive TV set with actors, a narrative, and all the bells and whistles. It was one of the coolest projects we’ve done, even though it took a lot of work. I think having that versatility and being open to those sorts of projects is key. It's about being brave and saying yes, and then figuring out the logistics.

In those cases, how did the experience go in terms of operations? What advice would you give to a venue that’s interested in trying something similar?

There’s always a bit of trial and error, but the key is communication—making sure everyone is on the same page, from the client to your team, to any external suppliers. Clear communication is essential to ensure the experience goes smoothly. It’s also important to be honest about what’s possible within the space and timeline. Sometimes we’ve had to say no to certain ideas, but often, we can find a way to make it work with a bit of creativity and collaboration. We’ve learned a lot from these experiences, and they’ve made us better at what we do. So, my advice would be to go for it, but be prepared to adapt and learn along the way.