Why too much communication at an event can be just as problematic as too little.
Incentive events involve numerous stakeholders in both the planning and execution stages. As a result, there is a great deal of communication. But more communication does not automatically mean better communication. Too little information can put an entire event at risk. Too much information, the wrong recipients or unnecessary rounds of coordination can be equally problematic.
So who needs to know what, when – and who doesn’t?
As part of her bachelor’s thesis on stakeholder engagement at incentive events, Sarafina Teclai discussed this topic with Veronika Radchenko and Bernard Wieynk, both Senior Project Managers at the Berlin-based event agency GPM LiveMarketing GmbH, as well as company shareholders Friedemann Grase and Olaf Thiel.
Sarafina: Before we talk about communication, what makes incentive events special from your perspective?
Olaf: For me, personal appreciation is the most important aspect. An incentive needs to be something unique and personal, with a genuine “money can’t buy” character. Another important element is the opportunity for personal interaction with board members or senior executives during the incentive – people whom participants might otherwise only know from emails, phone calls or video conferences.
Bernard: Especially when employees are spread across different locations, spending time together creates opportunities for personal interaction that are often missing from everyday working life.
Friedemann: For me, the key point is already in the word “incentive”. It’s about motivating people, employees and influential individuals to achieve certain goals or performance targets by making those goals more attractive. You could compare it to holding a particularly big and appealing carrot in front of someone.
And once the guests are on the trip, the aim should be to take as much organisational responsibility off their shoulders as possible. Ideally, from the moment they board the plane until they return home, they can almost switch off their brains and simply enjoy the experience. To put it somewhat exaggeratedly, the guests should glide through the event as smoothly as a piece of cheese floating in butter.
Sarafina: Many different parties are involved in an incentive event. Who are the key stakeholders from your perspective?
Veronika: Apart from us as the event agency, a DMC (Destination Management Company) is often particularly important because it brings local expertise and knowledge. Of course, the client is also essential, as they make the key decisions and provide the budget.
Olaf: The client. Incentives are very personal events. That makes close collaboration between the client and the agency even more important. The client knows their target audience particularly well and has access to crucial internal information.
For me, it’s also important to establish a personal connection with the client and build trust as quickly as possible. You should demonstrate your expertise and, based on your own experience, be able to openly advise against something if you believe it isn’t the right approach. The goal should be to establish a relationship on equal terms as quickly as possible, act as a trusted adviser and not simply be seen as an agency that executes instructions.
Bernard: I would highlight the participants, because the incentive is ultimately organised for them. Then there are the various production partners, such as technical service providers, caterers and hotels. They all make an important contribution, but they don’t necessarily have the same function or level of decision-making authority.
Sarafina: Should all stakeholders be involved to the same extent?
Friedemann: As the person with overall responsibility, it’s simply impossible to communicate constantly with every individual involved. That’s why you need a smaller core planning team made up of people selected according to their expertise and areas of responsibility.
Communication within this group is particularly important because this is where information comes together before being passed on to the different areas. Each person responsible for a particular area then determines how closely the stakeholders within that area should be involved and what information they need.
Veronika: A decisive factor is how much knowledge someone has about the project. Anyone who needs to make binding decisions or pass information on to other stakeholders should be more closely involved.
Bernard: Participants, for example, have less influence over the fundamental event concept. However, since the incentive is organised for them, they still need to be sufficiently informed. So it’s not about involving everyone to the same extent, but about involving them according to their respective roles.
Olaf: I would also differentiate between stakeholders on the client’s side. Initially, the people responsible within the relevant department are particularly important because they represent the project to senior management.
The event agency therefore needs to prepare information in a way that enables them to fulfil this internal role effectively. Senior management doesn’t need to be involved in every operational detail, but they approve the budget and are consulted on major decisions.
During the event itself, I would actually place even greater importance on the guests because they provide immediate feedback to the project management team and senior management on site.
Sarafina: Does that mean some stakeholders are less important than others?
Friedemann: No. The importance of a person doesn’t depend solely on their role within the project. At a particular moment, any function can become critical.
If the bus driver isn’t at the agreed meeting point or an event hostess fails to recognise the guests at the airport, the success of that particular part of the event can suddenly depend entirely on that individual.
Every person involved in an event – whether a hostess, bus driver, DJ or CEO – plays an important role at a particular moment. Everyone should always be treated with respect and made to feel that their contribution matters.
Keeping this principle in mind when communicating contributes significantly to the success of any event, regardless of its format.
Sarafina: Is it enough to simply ensure that everyone receives the information they need?
Friedemann: The event agency clearly has a role as a translator between different stakeholders. Different stakeholders have different goals and information needs, so both the communication channels and the tone of communication must be adapted accordingly.
You communicate differently with a technical service provider than you do with a client or a catering company.
Simply passing on information isn’t enough. If you sit arrogantly in your ivory tower, communicate from a position of superiority and fail to notice that the people involved don’t actually understand the information, you will pay the price for it later in the project.
This principle applies at every level, from the cleaning staff to the CEO.
Veronika: Agreements made during the planning process should always be documented consistently. Phone calls are useful when something needs to be clarified quickly. However, the outcome should then be recorded in writing and made available to the relevant people.
Sarafina: What changes when the project moves from the planning phase into actual event production?
Bernard: Above all, the way people communicate changes. Regular calls and emails are replaced by direct conversations on site and short coordination messages, for example via WhatsApp, on the day of the event.
Veronika: Communication on site becomes much more hectic. Information comes in from different directions while several problems may arise at the same time.
During the planning phase, on the other hand, there is usually more time to discuss and coordinate things precisely.
Olaf: That makes it even more important for communication on the day of the event to be clear and direct. Before the event begins, separate briefings should be held with the respective suppliers to go through all the relevant details.
Sarafina: At what point does a lot of communication become too much communication?
Friedemann: When technical requirements, catering, hotels, transfers and programme changes are all mixed together in one long email chain, you can no longer find the exact information you need at the crucial moment.
The same applies to meetings: Don’t overdo them. I’ve experienced meetings where 16 people were invited even though only three could actually contribute anything meaningful. The rest just sit there and eventually fall asleep.
Bernard: And communication needs structure. Rather than writing a single email containing 10,000 words, you should separate the content by topic and address each subject individually.
That also makes it easier to trace where specific information can be found later.
Veronika: Another useful control mechanism is to regularly ask whether any information is still missing or whether anything has changed.
That doesn’t mean sending one email and then having no communication for the next two months.
Sarafina: What happens when information is missing or misunderstood despite clearly defined communication channels?
Friedemann: A simple example is the bus drivers again. If they don’t know they’re supposed to be back at the hotel at 7:30 p.m., you could end up with 150 guests standing outside in the rain – and no buses in sight.
Situations like that can often be resolved. How quickly that happens depends on how clearly and directly people communicate and how well your communication chain or organisational structure is set up.
Even so, there can never be a 100 percent guarantee that everything will go according to plan. That’s why an event needs a clear framework and defined checkpoints.
To me, that framework is like a guardrail on a motorway. It doesn’t prevent unexpected things from happening, but it helps ensure that the rest of the operation can continue.
Olaf: And this isn’t just about operational mistakes. Misunderstandings about the agenda, the next programme item or the reasons behind certain decisions can also cause problems during the event.
Good communication therefore doesn’t just explain what needs to be done. It also helps people understand why things are being done in a particular way.
Conclusion from Sarafina Teclai’s Academic Research
Research Question: What role does communication play in effective stakeholder engagement during the planning and execution phases of incentive events, and how can event agencies successfully manage this communication?
Communication plays an essential role and is therefore indispensable for effective stakeholder engagement during both the planning and execution phases of incentive events.
It is not merely a supporting tool, but rather a fundamental prerequisite for establishing a shared understanding of information, ensuring predictability and enabling successful collaboration between stakeholders.
The way stakeholders are involved is determined by their respective roles during the planning and execution of an incentive event. Participation can take different forms, including information sharing, consultation, active involvement in shaping the event and joint decision-making.
Communication also influences business relationships by enabling structured processes and ensuring mutual understanding among stakeholders. This can lead to greater satisfaction, recommendations and repeat business for the event agency.
Achieving this requires strong communication skills, which are important from both an organisational and an economic perspective.
Event agencies should adapt their communication to the different phases of an event. During the planning phase, communication should primarily be formal, written, digital and consistently documented. During the execution phase, informal, fast and direct communication channels should be prioritised.
In addition, a stakeholder-specific approach to communication is recommended.
The event agency should take on a central coordinating and mediating role, ensuring that information is passed between the various suppliers and service providers while also allowing direct communication where appropriate.
In this context, event agencies should act as translators and facilitators of mutual understanding. They need to interpret the different specialist languages used by stakeholders and reduce uncertainty through continuous checking and cross-checking of information.
By adapting communication to the needs of individual stakeholders, agencies can help ensure that information is understood correctly by everyone involved.
Successful stakeholder communication at incentive events should therefore be tailored to individual stakeholders while also incorporating structured and standardised elements that clearly define responsibilities and points of contact for specific areas.
Ultimately, the findings demonstrate that successful communication at incentive events combines structured communication tools with an individual approach tailored to both the stakeholders involved and the different phases of the event.
About Sarafina Teclai
Sarafina Teclai holds a bachelor’s degree in International Tourism and Event Management.
As part of her bachelor’s thesis, she conducted a qualitative study entitled “Communication as a Success Factor in Stakeholder Engagement at Incentive Events in the Context of Event Agencies”.
She began her career at the Berlin-based event agency GPM LiveMarketing GmbH as an intern. Since spring 2025, she has been working there as a student employee and has already contributed to various international event productions.
In September 2026, Sarafina successfully completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in International Tourism & Event Management.
Her bachelor’s thesis was awarded a grade of 1.7 in the German grading system.
This panel discussion is based on the full-length version included in her academic thesis and has been editorially shortened and adapted for publication.