Newsletter 5 2005 June

The Events Industry - Quo Vadis ?

On the one hand it’s not easy these days for the events industry to come up with ongoing growth rates. On the other, those who approach challenges with courage, creativity, flexibility and verve will certainly enjoy future success.

The end of the events industry has often been forecast. We only have to bear in mind the discussion on the taxation of incentive travel, suddenly considered benefit in kind and subsequently abandoned by many employers. Do you remember how so-called E-learning was meant to replace seminars and workshops? Over the past two years events, conferences and further training programmes were increasingly subject to cancellation at the behest of cost savings.

The main argument was a tight budget allied to the whole question of proving immediate benefits and lasting success. Why in an age of video conferencing and global information communications do you need events where people come together face to face? Why – from a delegate’s perspective – lose three days time and put up with travel to and from, registration fees and accommodation expenses of € 1,500,- on average when you can have all the information you require via electronic, audio-visual and print media? Is the event industry facing hard times? The answer is clearly no!

The facts of the past years tell a different story. The number of events held in Germany in the years 1999 to 2002 increased by almost 10% to 1.3 million and turnover by 14% to almost € 50 billion.  Despite economic stagnation MICE branch figures, trends and reports for 2004 have been on the whole quite positive. Germany increased its share of worldwide congresses from 4.9% in 2003 to 5.3% in 2004. Germany is now European market leader with Spain. When it comes to number of congress attendees Germany moved up to second place behind the USA. And Berlin, whose International Congress Center (ICC) was voted the World’s Leading Conference & Convention Center in 2004, came in third place for large cities worldwide with 47 large-scale international events.

One also has to differentiate in regard to the goals associated with particular types of events. Decline is most evident in internal corporate events such as jubilee celebrations. The reasons for this are not only tax-related but also of a moral-political nature in view of job layoffs and increasing redundancies.

However, when it comes to specialist information or product marketing, events are well-anchored in corporate portfolios once again. Trade fairs, conferences, seminars and roadshows in this order are essential constituents of marketing mixes and communications strategies. According to the Intellitrends Trend Report 2004 90% of German companies intend either to maintain or to increase their number of events.

Events are ideal for upholding personal client relationships and for transferring product information. What’s new is that events are becoming part and parcel of medium- to long-term corporate strategies. And when it comes to return on investment event marketing is, according to Intellitrends, already in second place behind direct marketing.

Priorities here, besides acquiring the latest product information, are face to face exchanges of experience and ideas with colleagues, clients, suppliers and distributors. This can never be replaced by internet pages or by trade magazines. And the question of budget does not arise when organisers have done their homework properly (high quality programme, interesting keynote speakers, space for communication, professional organisation). The question then concerns the profit margins.

(Article according to Dr. Preußner)