Emota

What Emota does

Emota is a global experiential agency formed in June 2024 through the merger of Ashfield Event Experiences (AEE) and WRG, both previously ranked in the top five of C&IT's Top 50 Agencies 2024. Operating as a subsidiary within Inizio Engage's Experience Design (XD) specialist area, the company designs and delivers experiences across three core service lines: Congress & Conventions, Meetings & Events, and Exhibitions & Brand Experiences. Emota serves enterprise clients across healthcare and life sciences (19 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies), financial services, energy and mobility, technology, and consumer goods, with 500+ specialist employees delivering 3,800+ experiences annually across 50+ countries from offices in Manchester, London, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Plymouth, and Philadelphia. The company's differentiation rests on deep healthcare regulatory expertise (EFPIA, FDA/PhRMA, IFPMA compliance), 40+ years of accumulated pharmaceutical event experience, and a proprietary behavioral science methodology, supported by an integrated Congress Experience Toolbox comprising Enviroplan (sustainable design), FOYAH (hybrid content management), heddle (virtual event platform), TRACE (carbon measurement), CMM (metrics and measurement), Booth Academy (staff training), and MRS (meeting room booking). Emota has established an AI-assisted film production department for bespoke content creation, and its work is recognized through extensive industry awards including Grand Stevie, EVCOM Grand Prix, and C&IT Best Event Agency 2026.

Name

Emota

Legal name

Emota

Website

https://emotaexperiences.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Emota is a global experiential agency serving 19 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies plus enterprise clients in financial services, energy, and consumer goods. It designs and delivers congresses, meetings, and brand experiences from 500+ specialists across the UK and US.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Experiential Event Design and Delivery: Emota designs and delivers experiential events including congress & conventions, meetings & events, and exhibitions & brand experiences. Revenue is generated through professional services fees for strategy, creative design, production, and event delivery. Client relationships are long-term (average client relationship is triple industry average), indicating recurring professional services engagements.
2. Sustainable Event Consultancy: Enviroplan provides sustainability consultancy services including carbon measurement, sustainability strategy development, ESG reporting, and event sustainability management plans.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Emota is a global experiential agency that designs and delivers Congress & Conventions, Meetings & Events, and Exhibitions & Brand Experiences for enterprise clients. The company combines core event services with proprietary technology platforms (heddle for virtual events, FOYAH for hybrid congress content, Enviroplan for sustainable design) and specialized expertise in healthcare compliance, behavioral science, and live production. Emota serves 19 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies alongside clients in financial services, energy, technology, and consumer goods.

Product overview

Emota is a global experiential agency that designs and delivers experiences across Meetings & Events, Exhibitions & Brand Experiences, and Congress & Conventions. The company operates a platform-plus-services model combining core event services with proprietary technology platforms (heddle for virtual events, FOYAH for hybrid congress content, Enviroplan for sustainable design) and specialized expertise in healthcare, behavioral science, DEI, health & safety, and film production. The company was formed in June 2024 through the merger of Ashfield Event Experiences (AEE) and WRG, both top 5 ranked agencies according to C&IT 2024.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Enviroplan: Award-winning sustainable experience design methodology embedding sustainability into every stage of event planning, design and delivery.
• heddle
• FOYAH
• Booth Academy
• TRACE
• Congress Metrics and Measurement (CMM)
• MRS by Inizio

Products and services

• Meetings & Events Full spectrum of virtual, hybrid and in-person meeting and event experiences for enterprise clients, including advisory boards, global product launches, employee engagement events, investigator meetings, senior leaders meetings, and sales meetings. Supported by industry-leading sustainability, DEI, Health & Safety and production practices.
• Exhibitions & Brand Experiences Innovative exhibition and brand experiences delivered locally and globally for enterprise clients, including bespoke stands, modular programs, pop-ups, mobile tours, congresses, tradeshows, roadshows, product launches, and brand installations. Underpinned by sustainability, DEI, Health & Safety and production practices.
• Congress & Conventions End-to-end congress and convention management for healthcare and enterprise clients, including attendee logistics, exhibition booth design and delivery, ancillary meetings, registration, housing, transport, association relationships, symposium production, and full congress program management.
• Enviroplan Proprietary sustainable experience design methodology embedding sustainability into every stage of event planning, design and delivery. Helps organizations reduce carbon emissions, minimize waste, and achieve measurable sustainability improvements including up to 70% carbon reduction and 98% waste reduction.
• FOYAH Hybrid content management platform designed for onsite and virtual experiences at medical congresses. Enables rapid deployment of compliant congress content with features for both exhibitors and delegates.
• heddle Custom virtual event platform that combines 30 years of experiential expertise with customizable technology, allowing clients to create tailor-made virtual events without typical limitations.
• Healthcare Expertise Services Specialized healthcare event services with 40+ years of experience in highly regulated environments, including compliance expertise across EU (EFPIA), US (FDA/PhRMA), and international codes, plus Transfer of Value reporting and pharmacovigilance procedures. Works with 19 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies.
• Behavioral Science Services Behavioral science consultancy integrated into event design. Uses Behavioral Science sprints to develop events that deliver purposeful connections based on the principle that emotional experiences are more effective than purely rational approaches for changing how audiences think, feel and act.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 70% reduction in carbon emissions through Enviroplan
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Inizio EngagecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmota sits within the Experience Design (XD) specialist area of Inizio Engage. Emota leverages Inizio Engage's employee engagement, learning, and capability expertise. Emota also draws upon Inizio Engage's commercial, medical affairs, and patient solutions teams. Mark Jackson reports to Russ Lidstone, President of Inizio Engage XD.
• IPCAA (International Pharmaceutical Congress Advisory Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmota collaborated with IPCAA on the 2026 Healthcare Professional Congress Experience Report, surveying 251 HCPs across the US and Europe. This joint research provides evidence-based insights into HCP satisfaction, engagement, digital access, and industry involvement at medical congresses.
• islacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmota is a founding member of isla, an action-driven network dedicated to accelerating the event industry's transition to a sustainable future. As part of this, they invested in the isla TRACE tool for carbon measurement.
• Forty1minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmota collaborates with Forty1, specialists in employee engagement, on integrated experience delivery. Used on projects such as the Roche UK employee engagement conference.
• NazaréminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmota collaborates with Nazaré, specialists in learning, to create more effective employee experiences and learning programs.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MCI Group: MCI Group is the world's largest independently owned events and association management company, delivering meetings, congresses, exhibitions, and brand experiences globally. It is the most direct head-to-head peer to Emota given overlapping full-service experiential delivery and global pharma/healthcare client mix.
• Jack Morton Worldwide: Jack Morton is a global brand experience agency owned by IPG, with deep healthcare and technology verticals. Highly comparable to Emota given its experiential campaign delivery, global footprint, and focus on behavior-changing brand experiences.
• George P. Johnson Experience Marketing: GPJ is one of the largest global experiential marketing agencies, delivering exhibitions, events, and brand activations for enterprise clients including technology and healthcare brands. Closely comparable to Emota on scope and enterprise positioning.
• BCD Meetings & Events: BCD Meetings & Events is a global meetings, events, and association management agency serving enterprise clients across healthcare, financial services, and technology. Directly comparable to Emota on full-service meetings and congress delivery for large multinational clients.
• Freeman: Freeman is a leading US-headquartered experiential and events company specializing in exhibitions, trade shows, and brand experiences. Comparable to Emota on exhibitions and brand experience delivery with global reach and large event portfolio.
• GES (Global Experience Specialists): GES is a global exhibitions and event services company delivering trade shows, congresses, and brand activations. Comparable to Emota on congress and exhibition delivery, particularly for enterprise clients in healthcare and technology verticals.
• Sparks: Sparks is a global experience marketing agency owned by Omnicom, specializing in brand experiences, exhibits, and digital engagement. Comparable to Emota on creative-led experiential delivery and enterprise healthcare and technology clients.
• MKG: MKG is a New York-based experiential marketing agency delivering brand activations, immersive experiences, and corporate events. Comparable to Emota on creative experiential delivery for enterprise clients including healthcare and consumer brands.

Broad incumbents

• Informa: Informa is a global B2B events, exhibitions, and information services conglomerate operating large-scale congress brands (e.g., ASCO via subsidiary relationships) and trade shows. It overlaps with Emota as a major player in the congress ecosystem but operates at much greater scale across many event categories.

Others

• Cvent: Cvent is a leading event management technology platform used by Emota itself for meetings and events delivery. Not a direct competitor, but a key ecosystem partner whose technology roadmap influences Emota's delivery economics and competitive positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Emota