Tag: Marketing channel

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Allpoints Insights

GEO, Explained Like You’re Five – And Why PR Is Suddenly The Grown‑Up In The Room

Banner image in black with green writing, displaying the title; GEO, Explained Like You’re Five – And Why PR Is Suddenly The Grown‑Up In The Room and an illustration of a marketing person working at their desk in green.

The bottom line – it is all about earned media

By Megan Johnstone-Mackie, PR & Marketing Head, allpoints

Okay, don’t panic. We know the information is overwhelming and rapidly changing, but don’t worry – we have done the tough bit. We have reviewed the research and put together a playbook for making sure your business shows up in AI. 

AI tools are becoming the place people go first when they’re hunting for agencies, venues or production partners, especially for complex event briefs. Instead of scrolling pages of search results, they ask a chatbot a long, human question – and trust the short‑list it gives back. That means your reputation now needs to live inside AI answers, not just on page one of Google. Let’s explain what this actually means…

What GEO Actually Is

Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is simply: “how to show up when someone asks AI a question.” Traditional SEO tries to get your website high on a list of links; GEO tries to get your brand name and proof points written into the AI’s actual answer.

For event and creative agencies, this means optimising not just web pages but the whole footprint AI can see – coverage, reviews, profiles, directories, panels, even community threads.

How Buyers Are Using AI Instead Of Search

Image of a girls face and Ai related data coming off her head.

According to Nightwatch, recent UK and global studies show that more than half of people have now used AI chatbots, and usage is highest among professionals using them for work tasks. Traffic and search analyses suggest informational queries are steadily shifting towards AI assistants, even though Google still dominates classic search. In practice, a marketing lead might ask: “Which UK agencies specialise in sustainable live events for luxury brands?” then let AI propose a starting list – and only then click through to websites and LinkedIn. If you’re not in that first AI‑generated list, you may never even get searched.

Where AI Gets Its Answers From

When researchers look at the links and sources AI tools cite, they see a clear pattern: most of what gets pulled into answers is earned and third‑party content, not your owned channels. One widely shared analysis suggests that the large majority of URLs used in AI answers come from editorial coverage and other independent sites, with a tiny share from social posts and ads.

AI assistants lean heavily on:

  • High‑authority news and business outlets.
  • Trade and vertical media (marketing, events, sector titles).
  • Community and reference platforms like Reddit and Wikipedia.
  • Structured review/directory sites with clear ratings and descriptors.

According to Fastcompany, owned content still matters, but mainly as raw material for those third parties to quote and link to, AI is more likely to surface the article about your work than the case study you wrote yourself.

How To See What AI Is Really Saying About You

Kerry and the team from the Remarkables PR and the logo for The Mark

Tools like The Mark, developed by The Remarkables and powered by GEO leaders LEOPRD, give brands a way to stop guessing and start measuring how they actually appear inside AI answers. Instead of just checking search rankings, these audits run structured prompts across major AI platforms, analyse which sources are driving the responses, and benchmark how you show up versus competitors.​

For agency leaders, this is the GEO equivalent of media monitoring and share‑of‑voice tracking: you can see the narratives AI is repeating, where sentiment skews positive or risky, and which gaps in earned coverage or online reputation are holding you back. Led by reputation and communications specialist Kerry Parkin, The Remarkables and LEOPRD then translate that insight into practical PR and content recommendations, from the trade titles you need to be in, to the kinds of proof points AI currently can’t find about your work.

PR’s New Job In The GEO Era

If GEO is “how AI finds you”, PR is how you feed AI with the right stories. According to Linkedin, classic PR tasks, getting you quoted in trade titles, placing op‑eds, securing award write‑ups, landing interviews and panels, now double as GEO work, because every credible mention becomes another signal AI can reuse.

For agencies, that means:

  • Prioritising earned coverage in trade and business media so there is something trustworthy for AI to grab when a client asks “who’s good at X?”
  • Making sure your “proof” lives off your own site – in directories, partner case studies, speaker bios, award books, and community spaces where AI is allowed to train.
  • Treating PR, SEO and GEO as one strategy: every announcement, thought‑leadership piece or case study should be designed to work for humans, search engines and AI answer engines at the same time.

PR puts your best stories into the biggest, most trusted books in the library; GEO is about making sure the robot librarian reads those stories out loud when someone asks for an idea.

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Allpoints Insights

The IPA Bellwether Report Reveals Events as the Fastest-Growing Marketing Channel – Here’s What It Really Means

By Max Fellows Founder of allpoints

The Q4 2024 IPA Bellwether Report paints a promising picture of renewed marketing budget growth in the UK. Events have emerged as the top-performing category, with a robust net balance of +12.3%. The outlook for 2025/26 suggests further gains. At first glance, this is fantastic news for the events industry. But let’s dig a little deeper.

As always, there’s more to the story than meets the eye.

The Bigger Picture: It’s Marketing, Not Just Events

While the report highlights growth in marketing budgets, it’s important to recognise that these budgets encompass a wide range of channels. Events are just one piece of a much larger puzzle that includes digital, direct marketing, PR, main media, and more. When marketing budgets increase, it’s often the “bigger lumps”, such as digital and main media, that receive the lion’s share of investment. Events, on the other hand, often sit further down the priority list, acting as part of an integrated strategy rather than the primary focus.

This means that while the events category is growing, its relative share of marketing budgets may not always reflect a seismic shift for our industry.

The Lag Effect: When Will We Feel It?

Another critical point to consider is timing. Marketing budgets may have increased, but the impact on events won’t be immediate. Events, whether they’re internal activations, external campaigns, or top-of-funnel experiences, typically require longer lead times and are tied to broader strategic planning. This often means:

  • Events planned now might not take place for six to nine months after budgets are finalised.
  • Calendar vs. fiscal year budgets: Many organisations operate on financial year cycles, which could delay the real impact of increased marketing spend until late 2025 or even 2026.

The positive sentiment is encouraging, but as an industry, we should manage expectations and prepare for a gradual, rather than immediate, uptick in activity.

What This Means for Events and Experiential Marketing

The data from the Bellwether Report reflects the strength of events as part of a well-rounded marketing strategy, but it’s not exclusively about our industry. This nuance matters. While events and experiences continue to gain traction as high-ROI channels, they’re still competing for budget share against other priorities like digital performance marketing or AI-driven personalisation.

So, what does this mean for us? Here are a few key points to keep in mind:

  • Positioning is crucial: As the fight for budget allocation continues, we must position events as an essential channel that drives measurable business outcomes. ROI storytelling will be more critical than ever.
  • Consultative capabilities: By operating in a more consultative capacity, further up the chain, you can gain insight into the broader budget and use your expertise to help steer how it is allocated and ultimately spent.
  • Collaboration is key: Events rarely operate in isolation. By integrating with other marketing channels, digital, PR, and direct marketing, we can amplify impact and justify investment.
  • 2025/26 will be pitch-heavy: Be ready! A reported 73% of businesses will be reviewing their current agency/supplier rosters over this period. Stay prepared and ensure you’re part of those conversations.
  • Innovation will win: With advancements in technology and AI, the events space is ripe for creative disruption. Brands will be looking for experiential marketing that goes beyond the traditional to deliver hyper-personalised, high-impact experiences.

Looking Ahead: Building for the Future

The report’s optimism for 2025/26 is worth celebrating, but we’re not out of the woods yet. Budget increases in the broader marketing landscape are great news, but they don’t always translate directly into immediate growth for the events industry. As we move forward, here are three things to focus on:

  1. Stay proactive: Engage with clients early to secure your share of the increased marketing budgets. Demonstrate how events can drive value within broader campaigns.
  2. Prepare for delayed impact: Align your business strategy with the reality that significant growth may be felt later in 2025 or even 2026.
  3. Champion collaboration: Events thrive when they’re part of an integrated marketing ecosystem. Build partnerships and align your offerings with complementary channels to maximise impact.

Final Thoughts

The Q4 2024 Bellwether Report offers a sense of optimism for the broader marketing landscape, and events are undoubtedly in a strong position. But as an industry, we must remain realistic about what these figures mean in practical terms. Growth in marketing budgets is encouraging, but for events, the impact will likely be gradual and require strategic effort to capture.

Let’s celebrate the positive sentiment while also staying focused on the bigger picture. Together, we can ensure that events remain not just a part of the marketing mix but a driving force for meaningful engagement and measurable success.

What’s your take on the report? Let’s discuss how we can shape the future of events together.


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