“An Event Producer Is Like Gravity”: GP Veterans on What It Takes to Thrive in Event Production

Hello, I’m Taro Suzuki from GP.

When you hear the phrase “someone who is suited for event production,” you might picture someone who is outgoing, loves getting people excited, or enjoys being in glamorous environments.

But when I asked some of my senior colleagues at GP, their answers were a little different.

An event producer is “gravity.” When that person is there, information comes together. People come together. Projects move forward…

This time, I asked some of GP’s senior members what kind of person is truly suited for event production!

Is the Event Day the Only Glamorous Part? The Reality of Event Production

The first person I spoke with was Masahiro Kosuge, who is in his fourth year at GP.

Q. Is there a difference between how students tend to imagine event companies and what the job is actually like?

— “Hmm… I think people probably imagine event companies as being ‘glamorous,’ but really, the event day itself is the only glamorous part.”

When people think of events, they may picture the exciting, spectacular scenes on the day itself. But behind that single moment are countless detailed meetings, presentation materials, coordination with everyone involved, and a great deal of careful, painstaking preparation.

A spectacular event doesn’t simply happen out of nowhere. You check things again and again, think them through again and again, and carefully align every detail with everyone involved. Only after all of that does the event finally take place.

I realized that a job dedicated to entertaining people is also a job that requires more meticulous preparation than most.

An Event Producer Is “Gravity”

Q. When do you think, “This person would make a good event producer”?

— “Someone who communicates and keeps everyone informed properly, someone who can organize things, and someone who can make decisions.”

What particularly stood out to me was that last point: someone who can make decisions.

In event production, countless decisions need to be made every day. Does this particular direction serve the event’s purpose? Can we make this schedule work? Who needs to have this information?

From small decisions to major ones, there are many things that simply cannot move forward until someone makes the call.

That was when Kosuge shared a phrase that really stayed with me.

— “An event producer is gravity.”

These are the words of GP CEO Masaki Kohata. An event producer is someone whose presence draws information together, brings people together, and keeps a project moving forward. They pull things that might otherwise scatter in different directions toward one shared goal.

That is what an event producer does.

Experiences You Don’t Expect Can One Day Become Useful in Event Production

Q. Are there any experiences students should have while they’re still in school that could be useful in event production?

— “Go to all kinds of events and try following the latest trends. For example, watch whatever everyone is talking about or visit places that are currently popular.”

The key is not to dismiss something before trying it. Give everything a chance at least once.

Even if an experience doesn’t seem directly related to your work at the time, it may eventually become useful when developing ideas or proposals for an event.

Events are about moving people emotionally.

That’s why it’s important to expose yourself to all kinds of things first—to be surprised, to find something interesting, or even to feel that something is slightly off.

The Skills That Matter When Creating Events

Next, I spoke with Mizuno, who is in his 11th year at GP.

Q. What do you think is especially important when creating events at GP?

— “The ability to understand the client and put yourself in their shoes.”

Every event has a purpose. Why is this event being held? What do we want to communicate, and to whom? How do we want participants to change as a result? What message does the company want to deliver?

As preparations move forward, even clients themselves can sometimes lose sight of that original purpose.

— “That’s why an event producer needs to do more than simply accept what the client asks for. They need to return to the original purpose and guide the project back in the right direction.”

Sometimes, it’s important to say “no” to a client. But rather than simply rejecting an idea, you propose an alternative that better serves the purpose.

Being close to the client doesn’t mean agreeing with everything they say. It means deeply understanding what they want to achieve and moving toward that goal together.

Interviews Aren’t Just About Your Academic Background

Q. What makes you think, “This student seems like a great candidate” during an interview?

— “I think it comes down to personality—someone who feels like a good fit for GP.”

Mizuno continued:

— “What matters is whether they have the communication skills to think from the client’s perspective, whether they’re making an effort to understand GP, and whether they have the versatility to take on all kinds of challenges.”

At GP, a wide range of skills are required, from planning and creating presentation materials to communicating with clients and handling things on-site. That’s why having the willingness to jump into something you’ve never done before is so important.

Whether a candidate understands GP—or is genuinely trying to understand the company—can also be seen in the questions they ask at the end of an interview.

That may be an especially important point for students currently job hunting. I think interviewers can sense when someone is genuinely trying to express their thoughts in their own words.

Three Qualities Shared by Young People Who Grow

Q. What do new graduates and younger employees who grow quickly tend to have in common?

— “Looking back at the new graduates I’ve worked with, I’d say the people who grew the most had three things in common: they love events, they have a strong desire to know more, and they have perseverance.”

Of course, event production isn’t always fun and exciting. Multiple tasks often move forward simultaneously, and sometimes things can get tough. In those moments, what keeps you going is the simple fact that you love events.

Because you love events, you want to learn more. Because you want to learn more, you take action. When you take action, you encounter obstacles. But because you still love what you do, you find the determination to keep going just a little longer.

These three qualities don’t exist independently—they reinforce one another.

Never Settling for “Good Enough” Is What Makes GP, GP

Finally, I spoke with Yoshimura, who is in his second year at GP.

Q. What mindset do you especially want people creating events at GP to have?

— “Don’t settle for ordinary. Of course, creating an event requires all kinds of abilities—driving a project forward, organizing and coordinating things, communicating with people, and more. But when we’re talking specifically about creating events at GP, I think it’s important not to stop at, ‘This is probably good enough,’ or, ‘It turned out fine!’”

The angle of a single light. The exact moment the background music starts. The spacing on a PowerPoint slide. The route guests take to the restroom.

Pay attention even to details that might seem almost too small to matter.

That is part of what defines GP. Yoshimura taught me that being a professional means never neglecting those tiny details and continuing to pursue quality with care.

Q. Simply put, what kind of person do you think is suited for working at an event company?

— “Someone who can keep thinking about what they can do for others. There isn’t one correct answer in this job, so I think it’s incredibly important to notice small things that feel off, pay attention to how other people feel, and keep engaging with those details all the way to the end.”

Making sure participants can move around without getting lost. Making sure speakers feel comfortable on stage. Making sure the client can approach the event day with confidence. Making sure guests understand the event’s world and concept from the moment they enter the venue.

Each of these things may seem like a small detail. But together, they can completely transform the impression an event leaves behind.

Q. Finally, do you have a message for your future colleagues?

— “GP is definitely an environment where you can grow. I hope you’ll join us with the ambition of saying, ‘I’m going to make GP even bigger!’ Take full advantage of everything this environment has to offer and grow many times over after joining us. Let’s bring happiness to the world together!!”

In Closing

Through these conversations, I gradually began to see a clearer picture of the kind of person who is suited for event production.

Someone who can organize information. Someone who values communication and keeps others informed. Someone who can make decisions. Someone who can put themselves in the client’s shoes. Someone who can always return to the original purpose.

I think these are the kinds of people who are suited for event production.

An event producer is the “gravity” that holds a team together. Because that gravity exists, information, people, and ideas that were once scattered begin moving in the same direction.

The glamour of the event day can only exist because of the painstaking, meticulous preparation behind it. And that is precisely what makes event production so fascinating.

Through the words of my senior colleagues, I also learned a great deal about the mindset I want to carry with me as an event producer.

“I love it.” “I want to know more.” “I want to give it a try.”

If you can hold on to those feelings, this might just be the right job for you. And perhaps those feelings will lead to the events of the future!