Event Management For Dummies

Chapter 1

Why Put on An Event?

In This Chapter

What an event is

Changes in the industry in recent years

How being organised isn't the only skill an event manager needs

Establishing why to put on an event

Everyone has a different idea of what event management is and what an event is. There's no real need to agree; this range of opinions makes the events industry what it is today - diverse.

Whether you're a wedding planner, fundraiser, secretary, brand manager or even an actual event manager, you can discover a huge amount in this book and from people doing the same things you are. Look around you, see what other people do and try to do it better.

To be successful in the event industry, you need far more than just organisation skills; passion and teamwork are vital, too. This chapter talks you through the skills you need and explores one of the first steps in managing events.

Introducing Events

According to my dictionary, an event is something that takes place - a significant occurrence or happening. I like to think of an event as any particular time when a group of people are brought together.

Many people in the industry don't consider events to be marketing; they focus on production and creating theatre. I believe, however, that trying to communicate a message to a group of people is a form of marketing. If you think of an event as a marketing tool, what people experience and feel becomes a driving force in your decision making.

The benefits of an event are:

It can be much more personal than other forms of communication.

A real occasion stands out in a cluttered world of digital and above the line marketing (for example, advertising).

People enjoy human interaction and face-to-face conversations.

They generate a high level of word-of-mouth response, which is one of the best forms of endorsement?

Many people consider themselves to be event managers, and many types of event exist. (I cover types of events in more detail in Chapter 3.) As events become more popular, the disparity between what one event manager does and what another does can be huge.

This book focuses on corporate events, while leaving weddings and community events to the more experienced. However, the skills and knowledge are transferrable, and once you've mastered how to manage an event, you'll have the confidence and understanding to manage most events that people can throw at you.

Event Management As an Industry

The UK event industry is now worth more than £36.1 billion, according to the 2010 Britain For Events report - online at www.aceinternational.org/phocadownload/reports/Britain%20for%20Events%20Report%20final.pdf, if you want to take a look. The main event industry sectors are:

Conferences and meetings (£18.8 billion)

Exhibitions and trade shows (£9.3 billion)

Sporting events (£2.3 billion)

Music events (£1.4 billion)

Incentive travel (£1.2 billion)

Festivals and cultural events (£1.1 billion)

Outdoor events (£1 billion)

Corporate hospitality (£1 billion).

That's a lot of money.

Event industry body Eventia published the 2012 UK Events Market Trends Survey (UKEMTS) in June 2012. This major research project, undertaken annually since 1993, provides volume and key trends data for the UK conference and business events market from a supply-side or venue perspective.

An estimated 103 million delegates attended events in 2011. (An average of 80 people attended each of an estimated 1.3 million events in 2011, slightly more than the average 76 delegates in 2010.)

Eventia reports that a resurgence in corporate sector events accounted for 57 per cent of all events staged (51 per cent in 2010, and just 47 per cent in 2009). The number of association events was stable (21 per cent, the same as in 2010), and public sector events showed a substantial fall, down from 37 per cent in 2009 and 28 per cent in 2010 to 23 per cent in 2011. This industry is growing and growing.

Fifteen years ago, some of the biggest names in the academic marketing industry published Principles of Marketing (by Kotler, Armstrong, Wong and Saunders; Financial Times/Prentice Hall). That book had over 1,000 pages, and one page mentioned events. Now, an Internet search for 'event management' generates over 30 million results. This shows how much the marketing industry has changed.

The event management industry has grown hugely in the last five years, in part because of the recession, but also because face-to-face marketing and communications are seen as much more impactful and successful methods than previously. The changes are that:

Production companies that provide kit such as lighting and sound have started to take the extra step of helping to organise other elements of the event too.

PR agencies that were hosting basic press launches and press-worthy stunts have started to try their hand at larger events.

In-house teams have been growing as businesses try to save on costs by not paying other companies to run their events for them.

The London 2012 Olympics was a huge boost for the events industry in the UK and Europe. Many companies jumped on the bandwagon and gave events a go to capture the spirit of the nation. Events ranged from speaking to consumers in the street to hosting hospitality-focused events around the Olympics rather than sending out purely written communication. I now see businesses that tried their hand at using events in their marketing plans in the summer of 2012 including events in their budgets for 2013 and beyond.

The events industry is growing. As the amount of communication received daily from companies, increasingly through digital channels, becomes a little overwhelming, there's comfort in speaking to real people at events.

The types of events in the industry have changed dramatically, with more focus on large, interactive experiences rather than smaller meetings. The biggest change, however, is that digital is now an essential part of an event rather than just an add-on, as in times gone by.

Essential Skills for Would-be Event Managers

The event industry is intense and is hard work. Even for those who have been in the industry for many years, something else that you have never seen before always comes along in the next event.

You need common sense in the events industry, although it isn't a skill as such. I have yet to find a way to develop common sense; from what I can see, you either have it or you don't - but it's very useful.

To be the best event manager possible, you need to have or to develop these qualities:

Passion: Being an event manager is incredibly rewarding, but can be tiring as you get closer to show day and your to-do list is never ending. With the constant demands on your time, you often think 'Why am I doing this?' Only those that are passionate about events and about event management as a job feel the true satisfaction and reward that producing a successful event offers. If you are keen to get into the events industry as your career, see Chapter 19 for some ideas.

People skills: Event management is a people business, more so than any other form of communication or channel of marketing. Every part of the process of planning an event involves speaking to and thinking about people, see Chapter 4 to see who some of those key people involved in planning an event. Enjoying spending time with people and understanding what makes people tick helps you think like your target market.

Communication skills: Events are a communication tool. Not only is one of your main objectives likely to be to communicate to your attendees (See Chapter 8 to find out how to make sure people know about your event), but you need to communicate with many people before the event. Whilst contacting people by email is often easier, I'm a big believer in picking up the phone (events is a people not computer business, after all). Knowing how to get the information you need out of people and then being able to cascade that information down to other people such as your client or suppliers makes your life much easier. See Chapter 11 for information on how to communicate with your team on-site at your event.

Problem solving skills: The event industry has a saying that there are no problems, only solutions. One of the most rewarding parts of event management is coming up with solutions to what often feel like impossible requests. Sitting with your team and brainstorming ideas on how you want the event to run or how you can get around the fact that your deliveries are all delayed by a road traffic accident on the main motorway into your event site takes skill. Being the kind of person who gets a thrill out of finding solutions helps make you a good event manager. It also helps when trying to think of all the potential problems before they occur, a role we called contingency planning. This is covered in Chapter 13.

Attention to detail: When I...