EVENT MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY IN INDIAGrowth: The past decade of the Indian economy has witnessed an alarming growth in the size of Event Management Industry. It has grown by leaps and bounds in the recent past and most of the experts in the industry strongly believe that this is just the beginning of a new era. According to the survey done by some leading Research agencies, the organized Event Industry in India is poised to grow by at least by 25% annually and is estimated to reach INR 5500 crores by 2014-15.

Components: With every day passing by, the functioning of Event Industry is getting more & more professional and organized. This industry caters to events in four broad categories: Leisure, Cultural, Personal and Organisational. Rising household as well as company incomes, growing number of corporate awards and conferences, television and sports events, reality shows and so on are helping this sector grow. With rising incomes, people are also spending more on weddings, parties and other personal functions.

Scope: The scope of Events has been widening day by day and the Events & Entertainment Industry today encompasses events like Fashion & Celebrity shows, Film awards, Celebrity promotions, Road shows, Musical concerts, Bollywood-shows, T.V. Reality shows Company conferences, Banqueting facilities, Tourist attractions, Sports, Culture, Corporate seminars, Workshops, Exhibitions, Wedding celebrations, Birthday parties, Theme parties & Product launch. The continuous rise in the number and the scale of all such events has emerged as the main growth drivers in the sector.

Marketing Re-defined: Events are playing an increasingly important role in the Marketing and Communications mix for all companies. Today, Event Management has become an integral part of any Marketing plan. A large number of companies have already recognized the benefits of Direct Marketing through events. Events are considered as a means to Launch, Advertise or Build a brand. Market Segmentation

Event Management industry can be categorized in following segments.Social Events

* Wedding Planning (Wedding Management) * Birthday Parties* Anniversaries* Get Together* Social Gathering* Fund raising for Large Clubs, Charitable Trusts etc

Educational Events

* Education Fairs* College Events* Picnics & Holidays* Annual Sports

Corporate Events* Meetings* Seminars* Conferences* Training Programs* Annual Picnics* Award Functions

Exhibitions & Fairs* Property Exhibitions* Export Exhibitions* Electronic Fairs* Jobs Fair* Finance & Banking Fairs etc.

Entertainment Events* Movie Promotions* Celebrity Nights* Music Video Release* Award Nights* Sports* Fashion Shows* Beauty Pageant Contest* Stage Shows* Dramas etc.

Marketing & Promotions* Ad Campaigns* Product Launches* Road Shows

* Promotion Activities* Shopping Festivals etc.

Special Events (For special needs of clients.)

Event ManagementOverview

Event management is a type of project management that involves the creation, development, and execution of processes for the promotion of different types of events. It helps create and develop events such as fairs, conferences, festivals, seminars, trade exhibitions, business meetings, and conventions events. The Event Management industry covers a wide range of occasions various ceremonies, conferences, events, trade shows, sporting events, etc.

Events are usually categorized into several groups based on their objectives and goals. Some of these categories are briefly discussed below:

 

Award functions — films, music, art, science, etc. Leisure events — leisure sport, music, fine art, beauty pageants, fashion shows Cultural events — ceremonial and religious festivals, heritage, and folklore-related events Organizational events — trade exhibitions, business meetings, seminars, conferences,

product launches, expos, etc.

Trends

One of the major trends witnessed in the Event Management industry is the advertisement of events on the internet. Businesses and event managers are using internet for event announcement to attract large audiences.

The use of social media for marketing and advertising is another popular trend among event planners. The steadily growing popularity of Tweet discussion boards offering live updates of events is an example of the widespread adoption of social networking. Currently, many planners use social media to offer immediate, "face to face" customer support, thus increasing customer satisfaction.

Technical developments are another trend noticed in the Event Management industry. The use of advanced equipment has taken event management several steps further, resulting in greater interaction within the events. The role of technology in event management is increasing at a rapid pace, boosting the growth of the industry in all its segments.

Moreover, mobile applications are being increasingly used for the marketing and promotion of events. Smartphones, with their advanced inbuilt features and applications, help promote target audience engagement, interaction, and networking. They also help planners communicate quickly with their guests and provide them with live updates of the events.

 

The “green” concept is another popular trend in the Event Management industry. Event planners are nowadays including environment-friendly components in the course of their work. These include biodegradable components, regionally found food items, and reusable plants and flowers. Several event planners are also working with recyclable label badges to decrease onsite wastage. Re-fillable drinking water channels are also being introduced in an effort to substitute bottled water.

Event Management Process

 

 

Each player in the Event Management industry follows a typical process to assure consistent performance and success. The first step of the event management process is research, which is fundamentally the process of collecting information. Research is among the most vital steps of managing an event as a thorough research carried out before the event lowers several risks, allowing planners to achieve results that are as close to the planned results as possible. Research allows planners to concentrate on fulfilling and meeting the demands, preferences, needs, and goals of potential customers.

As soon as the research stage is over, the event manager gains a complete understanding about the event to be planned. This helps the event manager design the event, which constitutes the next step of the event management process. This is another significant step in the process as it is during this phase that event organizers have to contemplate and plan out every minute detail of the event, thus laying out the blueprint for the final event. The tradition/culture of any business plays an important part in designing of event.

Once the designing is over, the planning and preparation for the event begins. This is among the lengthiest stages of the event management process. The next step is event coordination, which is the execution phase of the event management process. It is during this stage that the actual event takes place. The final step in the process is evaluation. An event can be analyzed in different ways, such as through written surveys, phone or e-mail-based surveys, etc. Evaluation can be carried out before as well as after an event. These evaluations help event managers understand

participants’ opinions as well as collect other information and facts that can be used to analyze the success/ failure of events.

Top Exhibition Markets & Industry

Some of the top exhibition markets in world are Top Exhibition Markets the US, Germany, France, the UK, China, Italy, and Russia.

Business Services, Industrial Services, Automotive, Food & Beverage, Medical & Pharmaceutical, Building Construction, Agriculture & Forestry, and Electronics and Electrical goods are some of the top industry events happening across the globe.

 

 

The eight P’s of Event Marketing Mix are:

1) PRODUCT(the service offered)

Successful sales people have both expert product knowledge and effective sales skills. Expert

product knowledge is essential in today’s competitive environment. The expertise the marketing

person demonstrates regarding the sponsorship package or other event components will differentiate

this individual from the competition. More important than sales skills, demonstrated product

expertise show the client that he or she is making a purchase that has added value and helps to

develop confidence as well as long-term loyalty. It also brings in reputation for the customer. The

product i.e., the event shows the design characteristics. This includes details about the event and how

the presentation of the event will be done. It also shows the intangible concept that the event is

delivering. The intangible concept that an organizations Award Ceremony delivers is the feeling of

acceptance, belongingness and trust among the employees.

2) PROMOTION

Event manager may have the best quality event product, but unless he has a strategic plan for

promoting this product it will remain the best-kept secret in the world. There are varieties of ways to

promote your efforts:

Advertising

Public relations

Direct marketing

Word of mouth

Hospitality

PROMOTION CHECKLIST: -

Identify all event elements that require promotion from the proposal through the final

evaluation.

Develop strategies for allocating scarce event promotion resources with efficient

methods.

Identify promotion partners to share costs.

Carefully target your promotion to those market segments that will support your

event.

Measure and analyze your promotion efforts throughout the campaign to make

corrections as required.

3) PRICE

Marketing research will help the event manager to determine price. Part of this market research

will include conducting a competitive analysis study of other organization offering similar event. When

potential ticket buyers or guests are interviewed, he may be surprised to learn that they consider his

event similar to many others. Therefore, an event manager must carefully list all competing events

and the prices being charged to help him determining the appropriate price for his event. This price

later on helps the Finance head to prepare the budget for the event according to the sponsorship,

which the marketing head brings.

The price of the event is determined by the financial philosophy of the event.

The event can be:

Not-for-profit venture:

If the event is a not-for-profit venture, the organization may not be concerned with a large

commercial yield from the event. Also, the philosophical purpose of the event may be to generate

overall awareness and support.

Commercial venture

If the event is a commercial venture, the goal is probably to generate the greatest potential net profit.

He will try to get maximum sponsorship and fiercely sell the event by using all the promotional tools.

Once the philosophy is clear, then the event manager will be able to determine price. The price must

reflect the cost of all goods and services required to produce the event plus a margin of profit or

retained earnings.

4) PLACE

The place where you locate your event ultimately will determine the marketing efforts you must

exude to drive sales, for example it has been shown that those events that are close to inexpensive,

safe public transportation or those events that feature close and reasonably priced parking will attract

more guests than those that do not offer these amenities. Furthermore, those events that are

connected to other nearby attractions or infrastructures (such as shopping malls) may also draw more

attendees due to the time efficiency to the destination. For upscale events, the addition of valet

parking may improve the chances of attracting guests to a new or nontraditional location.

The event manager must seriously consider place when designing the marketing program for the

event. Place not only implies the taste or style of the event, it also, in large, defines the type of

individual that will be persuaded to invest in the event.

5) PROCESS: -

There are various processes to be carried out in events. Different processes are involved in every stage

of an event. Few process and their explanations are given below-

ENTRY or TICKET booking in an event:

Entry or Ticket booking in an event or booking of stalls during an exhibition event is sometimes very

tedious. There should be proper security at the entrance and the tickets should be available only at

one place and there should be no crowding near the ticket window. The process to book stalls tables

and ticket booking should be simple and easily understood by people attending the event.

QUEUING of people gathered at an event:

There should be proper process for ENTRY and EXIT of people attending the event. Single line should

be maintained or divisions with the help of ropes or rods should be made between different lines.

Various line techniques must be used to arrange the crowd and to see that there is no rush gathered

at a single place.

Large Parking space:

Large parking space should be provided for the cars entering the area of an event and valet parking

facility should be provided if possible so that customers or people are not depressed of parking their

car far away or waiting for long hours for parking may spoil their mood before the function starts and

the thought of coming back walking to the parking area would keep customer away from the event..

There should be good parking space with security facility. This will help to create a good impression on

people attending the event.

By looking at the various processes we can summarize that process is to be taken care of by the

marketing people but is the main responsibility of the logistics people.

6) PEOPLE: -

A person plays a very important role in case of events. People are the ones who are going

to deliver your event may it be any type of an event -seminars, exhibitions, entertainment, road show,

award functions, etc. People are those who are going to appeal to your customers and convey your

message to the people attending the event. Every person or people concerned to your event is

important and needs to behave properly. May he be a security guy but he is going to resemble you

and your company. So his manner of behaving is going to convey your company’s attitude and it’s your

impression.

People in event need to be well dressed as they are going to represent the company.

People in event should develop good communication skills and take care of customer interest and behave properly.

People’s role is there in every area of event such as reservation counters, ticket reservation staff, venue staff etc. Thus they need to have talent and proper knowledge of the going event.

7) PHYSICAL EVIDENCE :-

Physical evidence is very important for any event. Physical evidence is like the “FIRST IMPRESSION IS THE LAST IMPRESSION”. It is the look of the event and should reflect what the customers perceive from the event. Without physical evidence promotion of any event is not possible. Hence physical evidence is one of the important elements in marketing of any event. These are some of the important elements on which physical evidence is based.

Branding: - Branding of an event is a very crucial step in an event. Without branding

any event cannot be recognized. Any event cannot succeed without brand

recognition.

Decoration: - Decoration is also an important step in marketing of an event. Any

event can be made attractive by its decoration. It case pf large-scale live

entertainment events, Stage Set-Up becomes very important as throughout the

event the customers are going to look at the stage and experience the event.

Programs: - Any event cannot be completed without any programs. Hence programs

form integral part of marketing an event. The types of programs selected and their

potential to entertain people form a large share in the physical evidence of the

event.

The following diagram shows how the 8p’s of service marketing are related to Marketing of Events.

Collaborative Marketing:

Collaborative Marketing is on the rise.

This is a trend that began with event

marketing. For many years World

cup cricket, has had

multiple non-

competing sponsors gathering together to reach and talk to same target audience. A

collaborative effort amplifies the message that they have to send. A coke customer is also Nike

customer and a Citibank Customer

Community based events:

A fast emerging trend in event marketing are community based events targeted at specific niche

audiences and help narrow down wastage of advertising. They are most cost effective and have a

more close reach and impact over a selected target.

Global Marketing/ Events to mass Marketing:

Certain events and promotions transcend beyond national borders and appeal to consumers

and communicate on the same platform across the globe. The Olympics, World Cup Soccer, World

Cup Cricket appeal to all cross sections of the target across the world. Events today can also be

designed to reach a large mass audience through the advent of televised events and also using

public festivals as platforms for marketing where huge numbers could be addressed. Products having a

larg consumer base and international products like L’Oreal use global marketing.

Joint marketing:

Joint marketing refers to efforts conducted by two (usually no more) brands whereby a property is

created that equally reflect both brands. It is the effort conducted by two or more brands using the

same property as the central theme. This works best when there is a genuine relationship between the

two brands providing a real benefit to the customers.

Film releases use cross-promotion to leverage product placement -Lagaan with Britannia.