The Events Industry as One of the Fastest Growing Industries - Case Study Example

The Events Industry Table of Contents The Events Industry Table of Contents 2 Overview 3 Demographic Profiling 6 Growth Potential 8 Market Share 12Future Developments 14 Conclusion 15 Overview Event management has been one of the most demanding industries since past few years. Event management is a method of planning, preparing as well as producing the event, be it small or big event. There are event managers in the organisations that look after each and every aspects of the event such as planning, organising, implementing, controlling as well as evaluating an event’s overall design, activities and production. In this study, a report will be presented in relation to the business/trade event sector. The report will be intended towards the presenting to a new events based company Phoenix Event Planning which is looking forward to diversify into business/trade sector of event industry. Historical Development Event management is one of the fastest growing industries all over the world. It includes hosting of numerous events of distinct stature. It has been noted that arranging for birthday parties and weddings is considered as one of the social issues that needs to be managed by the trained professionals (JuliaSilvers, 2011). It was identified by UK Events Market Trends Survey (UKEMTS) that the revenues generated by the event management companies in the years 2006-2008 had been 7.2 billion. The event industry of the UK presents numerous career opportunities. There are various organisations that tend to deliver the events such as the corporate companies, agencies, publishing companies, venues and festivals (Leicester Shire Promotions, 2010). There are large companies who have an in-house event team such as in banks, retail companies and automotives. Most of the organisations conduct numerous events all over the year such as conferences, management meetings, customer focused events and external events such as sports and arts. Venues in the UK are capable of offering themselves as an event venue. Even at the publishing companies, there are live events that are generally conducted all through the year. With the greater scope in the event management sector, most of the companies are entering into the event management industry. One of them has been Phoenix Event Planning that entered into the markets of the UK, Lancashire in the year 2008 and is providing its services all around the UK. It aims at providing tailored services to its clients (FreeIndex, 2011). It has been noted that since the past three years the company has organised numerous parties, weddings and events for different clients (Pheonix Event Planning, n.d.). It can be mentioned that the company is already into social events and cultural events. In planning to diversify into a new sector; the company can enter into business/trade shows. Tradeshows can also be known as exhibitions where the traders are allowed to demonstrate regarding their latest products to the public. Trade shows are conducted at a continuous basis by all the markets and thus tend to attract the members of the public. Exhibition has been into existence since a long period of time and the first trade show took place approximately 2500 years ago (Pyramid Visuals, n.d.). It has been noted that huge amount of money is spent in business or tradeshows/exhibitions by the marketers every year. The tradeshow organisers are providing learning contents, consultative opportunities and demonstration theatres as few of the main characteristics of the events. The companies as well take benefits of the opportunities (Conventions, 2011). Demographic Profiling It has been noted that for executing a major event, it takes almost 150 hours for an event planner as well as the staffs of the planner to execute a major event. There are innumerable numbers of business/trade events that are held in the United Kingdom. Most of the business/trade shows take place twice in a year as well. The different trade shows held are International Fire Expo, the UK national footwear exhibition, the UK national fashion accessories exhibition, the UK national menswear exhibition, autumn gift and home buying show, RWM-recycling and waste management related trade shows among others. Numerous schools, corporate houses, charities can be targeted by the event companies (Events Eye, n.d.). It has been noted that trade shows as well as exhibitions serve as the significant part of the promotion mix for those companies wanting to address highly focused target audience. The biggest challenge for the organisers is to attract the sponsors for the events, selling of the booths and thus to make the whole endeavour a major success. The overall value of the exhibition and trade shows in the United Kingdom is 9.3 billion. One of the greatest opportunities for the UK trade show event organiser is the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics games that will bring huge trade potential for the event organisers in the UK. Exhibitions and trade shows seem to have been playing a significant role in the UK economy. Most of the exhibitions that took place in the UK have developed themselves as a base for the international trade. The trade that takes place at the trade shows and other business events at the UK is approximately 100 billion. It has further been evident that the United Kingdom spends heavily in the event facilities as well as supporting infrastructures. It has been noted that the trade exhibition in the United Kingdom takes place in the month of February to June and September to November. However, the public exhibitions take place all round the year. Data collected by FaceTime, Vivid Consulting and Vivid Interface upon the major 500 events in the United Kingdom reveals that the rate of the trade exhibition attendance had fallen by 8.2% in the year of 2009 as compared to that of the year 2008. A fall of 2.9% has been evident in the consumer’s exhibitions in the year 2009. The table demonstrated below helps to comprehend the number of trade events that took place in the year 2008 and 2009 (Tony Rogers Conference & Event Services, 2010). Source: (Tony Rogers Conference & Event Services, 2010). Growth Potential The value of the UK event industry was almost £22 billion in recent times and it has huge influence on the economy of UK (IMEX, n.d.). According to a research, a big portion of event business corporations in the UK are growing gradually and also generating revenue. It has been found that almost 201 business corporations in the UK which is related to event management are growing at 10% per year and contributing to the recovery of economy. As of 2010, almost 80 event companies had made sales growth of almost 10% but also had reduction in the profit margin because of overtrading (Thorley, 2010). The event industry in the UK is varied and fragmented. This industry is covered with other sectors, for example, hotel industry and only a fraction of event industry is coincided by authorised administration i.e. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes. With respect to business/trade event, it comprises of four sub sectors which are: Meetings, conferences and exhibitions Incentive travel Corporate events, and Outdoor events In the year 2010, there were almost 3000 conventions and trade shows establishments in Great Britain and out of them 90% were from England only. In the whole Great Britain, the business and trade related events account for almost £22 billion. These events include spending of people on business travelling, entertainment, marketing and conference visit. In business/trade events, there are three major entities namely event planners, event material suppliers and clients. In business/trade event industry, there are four kinds of event planners: Source: (Business Visits & Events Partnership, 2010). Business/trade shows or events comprises of several industries which comprises of hospitality, digital media and logistics. The event industry of the UK had commenced in the seventeenth century and later it has become an extraordinarily different business segment. This industry has developed significantly in the previous 10 years. Several SMEs are part of event industry and performing business successfully. According to SIC Code, there are almost 5700 Business/Trade Show Planner institutions in whole England and Great Britain. Majority of busines/trade events of London and England are followed by South East region of the UK. The following table shows the Business/Trade Event Planner institutions in the UK: UK Region Number of Business/Trade Event Institutions England Scotland Great Britain London Wales Yorkshire & The Humber East Midlands North West South East South West West Midland 2700 200 3000 800 100 200 200 200 600 200 200 Source: (Business Visits & Events Partnership, 2010). Maximum business/trade event institutions i.e. almost 93% are small sized which employs maximum 10 individuals. The UK organizes almost 450 major events whose value is almost £1 billion and the business appointments account for almost 28% of all foreign companies. Each year almost 80 million persons join about 1.5 million trade sessions and business meetings. The business people expend total £122 in a day, which is two times more than the regular expenditure of any holiday traveller. Thus, it can be seen that the business/trade event industry is very strong and large in the UK and average people spend much in these events (Business Visits & Events Partnership, 2010). Market Share The economic recession had greatly affected the event industry in the UK. However, as the economy is recovering the event market is gradually returning to standard condition. Though Asia–Pacific region had recovered rapidly from recession, many advanced nations such as the UK had faced difficulties because of increased unemployment and decreased consumer confidence in the market. However, in 2010, major development in the event industry had been seen as government had minimized the domestic debt by proper mechanism and policies (Davidson, 2010). According to the report of International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), Germany was placed in first position with regard to organising business/trade meetings i.e. almost 360 conferences, Italy had organised 350 business conferences and the UK had organized 345 business conferences in the year 2010. The UK business/trade event planners are organising the events more afield in the year 2010. In recent years, the uses of digital media had increased rapidly for organising business/trade events. In order to appeal to the younger consumer segments, the event planners are progressively applying Web 2.0 applications such as various social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter and MySpace) for driving the business through a company’s web portal and scrutinise the event market. From the market survey, it has been found that in the year 2010, the marketing employers of the UK had invested money for promoting their venues on various social media for half day in every week (Davidson, 2010). From 2006 – 2008, an average rate of 385 business meetings per venue were held in Northwest. These business meetings had generated £848 million for sites in that region of the UK. The event business in the UK had increased from 2007 to 2008 (NWRIU, 2009). The proportion of domestic business conferences was high in spite of recession in the UK. The following graph shows the share of corporate events and association events in the year 2008– 2009: Source: (Meetpie, 2009). It can be seen that the number of association events is relatively high compared to business/trade events and almost 53% of corporate use residential destination for arranging business/trade events. The following table shows the market share of several business/trade events in 2007: Business/Trade Events Market Value Annually in 2007 Exhibition/Trade Fair £9.3 billion Incentive Travel £1.2 billion Corporate Event £1 billion Outdoor Events £1 billion Source: (Business Visits & Events Partnership, 2010). Thus, it can be seen that the market of business/trade is quite strong with regard to consumer spending in events. Future Developments The organisation of the trade shows is quite creative and thus for the event management companies to survive, they need to pay due attention towards the marketing. In order to remain at the leading edge of the marketing the organisers need to take account of numerous issues. The organisers for the purpose of improving their trade shows product are trying to develop conferences and seminars. With the availability of the wider range of technological opportunities for the tradeshows, the event managers thus can capitalise upon this by arranging for audio-conferencing, video-conferencing as well as webcasting. It can be mentioned that the event management companies will keep succeeding if they are capable of identifying the niche markets for the trade shows thus targeting directly to the specific market. In order to stimulate the internationality of the shows, the exhibition industry is continuously making an effort. This will provide the event management a scope to stimulate their export market (Tony Rogers Conference & Event Services, 2010). Conclusion Phoenix Event Planning is a new company in the event industry of the UK which operates for almost three years. This company generally organises several social events such as wedding or parties. As the event market in the UK is in good condition and there are several business/trade events happening each year, Phoenix Event Planning can diversify into the business/trade sector of event industry. People spend several thousand Pounds in these kinds of events and the budget is quite high for arranging these occasions. The UK economy is recovering gradually and it is expected that in future there will be demand for business/trade events in the UK. Phoenix Event Planning has good performance since the establishment and thus it will be profitable for the company to enter into this segment. References Business Visits & Events Partnership, 2010. Labour Market Review of the Events Industry. People 1st. [Online] Available at: http://www.businesstourismpartnership.com/pubs/People%201st%20Events%20report%20final.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2011]. Conventions, 2011. Brief History of trade Shows. About Us. [Online] Available at: http://www.conventions.net/related_articles/brief_history_of_trade_shows-a92.asp [Accessed August 13, 2011]. Davidson, R., 2010. EIBTM 2010 Industry Trends & Market Share Report. The Global Meetings & Events Exhibition. [Online] Available at: http://www.cibtm.com/RXUK/RXUK_CIBTM_v2/2010%20Education/EIBTM%20Industry%20Trends%20Report.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2011]. Events Eye, No Date. Trade Shows In Birmingham. Trade Shows WorldWide. [Online] Available at: http://www.eventseye.com/fairs/cy1_trade-shows-birmingham.html [Accessed August 13, 2011]. FreeIndex, 2011. Company Description. Pheonix Event Planning. [Online] Available at: http://www.freeindex.co.uk/profile%28phoenix-event-planning%29_257862.htm [Accessed August 13, 2011]. IMEX, No Date. Putting The Industry Into Context. Eventia. [Online] Available at: http://www.imex-frankfurt.com/documents/Eventia.Gettingthemessageacross.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2011]. JuliaSilvers, 2011. Event Management Body of Knowledge Project. Speaking Of Events. [Online] Available at: http://www.juliasilvers.com/embok.htm [Accessed August 13, 2011]. Leicester Shire Promotions, 2010. Annual Report 2009/10. Publication. [Online] Available at: http://mediafiles.thedms.co.uk/Publication/LM/cms/pdf/A4%20Annual%20Report%202010.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2011]. Meetpie, 2009. Corporate Spend Slashed Again But Association Budgets Grow. Documents. [Online] Available at: http://www.meetpie.com/documents/archives/MIT_181972_survey.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2011]. NWRIU, 2009. UK Events Market Trends Survey 2009. The Event Industry Association. [Online] Available at: http://www.nwriu.co.uk/PDF/UKEMTS_2009_-_NWDA__Final_draft_.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2011]. Pyramid Visuals, No Date. The History of Exhibitions. Services. [Online] Available at: http://www.pyramidvisuals.co.uk/services/exhibition-displays/history-of-exhibitions/ [Accessed August 13, 2011]. Pheonix Event Planning, No Date. Past Work. Pheonix Event Planning. [Online] Available at: http://www.phoenixeventplanning.co.uk/#/past-work/4539798403 [Accessed August 13, 2011]. Thorley, C., 2010. Plimsoll Research Shows Event Industry Growth. Event Magazine. [Online] Available at: http://www.eventmagazine.co.uk/news/993691/Plimsoll-research-shows-event-industry-growth/ [Accessed August 13, 2011]. Tony Rogers Conference & Event Services, 2010. Britain For Events. Industry Overview. [Online] Available at: http://www.britainforevents.co.uk/pdf/Britain%20for%20Events%20Report%20final.pdf [Accessed August 13, 2011]. Read More