Celebrating success at ACA Live!

Here at ACA Live we're celebrating Gemma Turner, one of our brilliant Senior Project Managers, who has this week been promoted to Account Director. Gemma joined the company straight out of uni more than five years ago, so we decided to sit down with her to get an insight into her rapid rise up the ranks!

Tell us about your time at ACA Live?

I joined as a Project Coordinator back in 2017 straight out of uni. I knew I loved the whole events business but didn’t really know what it involved and had no experience so was grateful to ACA for giving me a chance to cut my teeth. In the five and a half years I’ve been here I’ve worked closely with many of our clients but latterly have had a particular focus on the work we do with Hendrick’s Gin.?

What will your new role involve?

As Account Director I will oversee the end to end delivery of a project, working closely with the client and overseeing everything from the day to day to the creative response to a brief and the strategic growth of the account. It’s a big step up from where I began at ACA but the last five years have been an absolute rollercoaster and I’ve learnt so much in that time. I certainly feel ready for this new challenge but I also know I have great support around me from the wider ACA team.

What really fires you up about your job?

Seeing a project go from paper to execution is a thrill every time. Working with the client to devise something that brings the brand alive in an original and memorable way never gets dull. The adrenalin on the day we go live and then the satisfaction of seeing everything go smoothly is so exciting. I wouldn’t want to work in any other industry!

What’s been your absolute favourite project during your time at ACA Live?

In 2019 we worked on the launch of Hendrick’s Absinthe, which had been kept a complete secret until that evening. It was a challenging but exciting brief, that required us to really think outside the box with theatrics, immersive dining, production and of course creative Absinthe cocktails.

This was an event that had so many moving parts, but seeing them all come together on the night was incredibly rewarding. Guests still talk about this event 3 years on so I feel that this set the bar for future Hendrick’s launches!

What would you say to a graduate trying to break into the events business today?

Firstly, nothing beats experience, so grab any opportunity to be on the ground. In my early days here I worked seven festivals in one summer and it was a blast. Even if you’re just trying to get work experience so not earning huge amounts at that stage, there’s far worse ways to spend two months!?

Then I’d say just listen, watch, get stuck in - anything to build up your knowledge of the business and to expose yourself to as many different scenarios as possible. As well as having the creative side, devising activations and events, this job is also about anticipating different scenarios, logistics and coordinating different people on the ground. That’s not something you can learn from a desk, so just throw yourself in and offer to be an extra pair of hands wherever possible. It will pay dividends in the end.