The Year Aheadfor Events. 2020

w w w . w e a r e m a s s i v e . c o . u k

The Year Ahead for Events

The events industry excites, entertains and engages millions of people every year in the UK and is a significant contributor to the economy. So as an agency that supports brands, agencies and rights holders to get the most out of events we wanted to know how those at the sharp end, the rights holders, the events teams, the agencies and the charities working in events see the year ahead.

The majority of event professionals we spoke to are optimistic about the next 12 months and almost three quarters are planning to deliver or be involved in more events than last year.

However, the majority of our industry insiders expect their jobs to be harder in 2020, facing pressure on budgets, increasing expectations and demands from participants and sponsors and the challenge of attracting an audience in an increasingly competitive market.

How are event profs feeling about the year ahead?

Clearly, there’s great confidence in the events industry with 71% of those surveyed feeling good about the year ahead and 72% expect to be involved in more events this year.

However, 86% expect their jobs to be more demanding this year. In addition to the demands of delivering more events the three main challenges our insiders expect this year will be pressure on budgets, competing with other events to recruit participants and the challenge of securing sponsor and commercial partners.

Interestingly in an increasingly digitally focused world, incorporating new technology into events was not seen as a significant challenge by many - suggesting either as an industry we’ve got this nailed or that we may not be giving the attention it deserves?

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0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree, nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree

10%

61%

20%

8%0%

23%

49%

14% 14%1%

24%

62%

12%2% 0%

I am optim�tic about theyear ahead

We are planning to deliver /be involved in more events

I �pect my work /job will be more demanding

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Rank 3Rank 2Rank 1

Pr�sure on budgets

36%

22%

Incre�ed competitionfor participants

Securing sponsors andpartneterships

34% 23%

22%

15%20%

29%

16%

What will people want from events?

In addition to the pressures outlined our experts are reporting participants and supporters expectations of what events should deliver increasing.

Almost three quarters say participants want more for their money, with 9 out of 10 saying that expectations of the overall event experience are increasing. There is growing demand for entertainment above and beyond the main event and 92% believe this will need to be delivered with an increasing focus on sustainability.

Participants and fans aren’t the only ones expecting more from events, over half of our industry insiders are expecting brands and sponsors to ask for more for their support.

Reflecting the trend of brands looking to do more than just slap a logo on an event more than half of our experts report brands increasingly demanding more opportunities to interact with participants as part of their support.

Perhaps worryingly only 46% see sponsors actually seeking to add value to the event experience. Given the needs of both event providers and brands to meet participant expectations, this feels like it may be a missed opportunity.

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0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree, nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree

18%

56%

22%

3% 1%

Participants will demandgreater value for money

24%

66%

7% 2% 0%

Participants will �pect eventsto be more of ‘an �perience’

9%

57%

26%

8%0%

Participants will �pect addtionalentertainment beyond the main event

38%

54%

7% 1% 0%

Participants will want events to bemore environmentally sustainable

Think sponsors are now demanding more for theirinvestment.

96%Think brands are more interested in engaging with event participants.

90%Think brands and sponsors are seeking to add value to events.

82%

What does the year ahead hold for Charity Fundraisers?

Mass participation events have long supported fundraising for good causes but charity event professionals seem significantly less optimistic than their peers.

74% expect fundraising to be more challenging, driven by falls in both the value of donations and the number of people returning sponsorship income.

Encouragingly the view is not entirely negative. We are seeing charities planning a more long term approach, combining the power of events to recruit supporters and better charity messaging to develop long term relationships with participants which go beyond one event to deliver greater value over the lifetime of that relationship.

Responding to the challenges and opportunities aheadGiven most of our industry insiders are expecting to deliver more events, 40% are planning to increase their budgets for events, 34% will be increasing headcount and a similar figure will be looking to increase agency spend to cope with additional demand or where full-time resource is not realistic.

To deal with increased competition in the market 47% of respondents are planning to increase their marketing spend and a similar number 45% will be spending more to improve the event and spectator experience to reach new audiences and keep their events fresh, relevant and attractive.

Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree, nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Stay the same DecreaseIncrease

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0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

34%

60%

6%

Head count in your team

40%47%

14%

Overall event deliverybudgets

45% 48%

7%

Inv�tment in improvingthe event/spectator �perience

26%

59%

15%

Spend on freelance/agency support

22%60% 4%

14% 47%22%

21%8%

2%

Fundra�ing will be e�ier in 2020 than in 2019 �e focus of the charity � moving from in the year ndra�ingtowards engagement and lifetime supporter value

47% 46%

7%

Marketing spend

The year ahead

This is the first year we’ve produced what we hope will become an annual sense check on the health of the mass participation and outdoor event industry driven by those who work in it.

Based on what we’re hearing from event professionals, 2020 will see more events, bigger budgets and increased demand for support from agencies and recruitment of additional headcount to support that growth.

We will see brands, fans, participants and fundraisers all expecting more from their event experiences, having more choice of which events to support and becoming more vocal in holding us as an industry to higher environmental standards.

In short, a changing and increasingly competitive market requiring more work to recruit participants andinnovative approaches to develop event experiences that continue to excite, engage and inspire new andexisting audiences.

So all in all many reasons to be optimistic about the future. What better way to start a new decade?

The Year Ahead for Events. 2020

w w w . w e a r e m a s s i v e . c o . u k

We provide strategic, delivery and innovation support to help brands, charities and events providers harness the power of mass participation. The survey was conducted online using surveymonkey with 300 event profes-sionals from charities, rights holders and agencies taking part.

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Tel: 020 7360 3401 (South) Tel: 01904 425 690 (North) Email: hello@wearemassive.co.uk