| Events Industry Alliance | 06 Feb 2009 |
2009 Live Events Work
While every industry likes to think of itself as special, the live event marketing sector had long defied the both the mainstream marketing industry’s pigeon holing, though not for want of trying. Now accepted as an integral part of the marketing mix, the industry shows signs of bucking the trends of global economic slowdown.
Organisers of the ‘All-Energy 09’, which takes place 20-21 May, have announced that they have been forced to expand as more exhibitors come onboard. "Things are looking really good for May," says Paul Stott, Managing Director of Media Generation Events Ltd, who organise the annual show in partnership with Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre. "The enthusiasm from the industry translates into some 3,200m2 of space already sold and reserved, which is appreciably more than this time last year. This includes national pavilions from Austria, Canada, Denmark, Flanders, Norway, and the USA and, closer to home, large regional pavilions from Aberdeen City and Shire; Fife, HIE, Orkney.
Meanwhile 2008 results for leading companies and AEO members in the sector make good reading;Haymarket Exhibitions’ 2009 booking up
Haymarket Exhibitions ended 2008 on a high, with increased attendances at all of its shows and rebookings for 2009 up, in some cases by 46%.‘Stuff Live’ incorporating ‘What Hi-Fi? Sound & Vision’, both held at Excel London at the end of October started the trend with a gate increase of 22% year-on-year and stand sales up by 16%. The ‘BBC Good Food Show London’ in mid-November then recorded a gate increase of 17.5% year-on-year and a rebooking rate up by 30% year on year, while the Birmingham show at the end of November saw a huge 46% of exhibitors rebook their stands at the show.
‘Clothes Show Live’ in early December rounded off the year in style attracting more than 185,000 visitors and featuring a new ‘Fashion Theatre’ hosting the hottest catwalk looks and live acts from up and coming bands.
"The latter part of 2008 was challenging and in common with the rest of the industry we saw a drop in stand sales across the board," says group managing director Simon Daukes. "But the last few weeks' results are fantastic and very satisfying for all of us at Haymarket Exhibitions. Amidst all the doom and gloom we're delighted to be able to say that the past few weeks have been great for us," he added.
The ‘no-frills’ organiser Easy Fairs reports sales growth of 11%
“Easy Fairs shows enable exhibitors to do business, develop new contacts and make sales at a fraction of the cost of a traditional trade show,” says UK managing director Peter Heath, pictured. “There is a clear return on investment, and that’s crucial for companies right now.”The Easy Fairs model is based on delivering all-inclusive stand packages and, in four years, the company has grown from a small portfolio of manufacturing shows in Belgium to 90 shows in 16 countries across Europe and Latin America, across a number of sectors. The company reported a €30 million turnover in its last financial year and recently took on 100 additional staff.
Tarsus Group plc say 2009 bookings are strong
The autumn Interim Management Statement from Tarsus affirmed that the group’s key brands are continuing to perform well and describe bookings for its large 2009 biennial exhibitions as strong. The company’s global flagship event ‘Labelexpo’ returns to Europe in 2009 with exhibition space equivalent to the 2007 edition already contracted. Meanwhile the group sees demand remaining extremely strong for the next edition of the ‘Dubai Air Show’, well ahead of the last show cycle. Tarsus and Clarion Events below are two great examples of UK events companies that are internationally recognised as leaders in their field and driving exports in this sector.Clarion Events announces record breaking results and a surge in visitors.
The Earls Court based organiser held more events and welcomed 30,000 more visitors in 2008, nearly 480,000 in total. Highlight included two new launches in the baby and pregnancy market, motoring events ‘MPH’ and ‘Classic Car’ with combined attendance growth of 23%, ‘Luxury Travel Fair’ attendance up 110%, ‘Fine Art’ up 4% and ‘The Baby Shows’ up by 69%.Clarion Events’ MD Lee Masters says: “Conditions out there are tough so I am especially delighted with the autumn results which demonstrate that leading events can continue to deliver in difficult economic times.”
European markets up
While not in the slightest bit complacent, the news coming from the UK events sector is positive and confidence remains strong for 2009. This optimism is shared by Europe’s biggest market for B2B events with news that the association for the German Trade Fair Industry expects its 2009 events to match 2008’s, despite the significant economic downturn.German B2B event organisers will hold 138 international trade fairs in Germany this year and expect exhibitor numbers in particular to remain ‘almost the same’. The association is expecting a total of 160,000 exhibitors to rent stand space covering a huge six million square metres of floor space at trade fairs in 2009. Visitor attendance is expected to reach around 9.7 million.
Events Industry Alliance comment: “In times of economic uncertainty, companies rightly review all aspects of their business to ensure they are lean and efficient. They will evaluate where business comes from and the cost of winning that business. Live event marketing is the only medium that brings pro-active buyers and sellers together, eyeball to eyeball in and environment of business expectation. As spend on traditional marketing channels contracts, it is live event marketing that marketers are turning to deliver the ‘engagement’ and ‘brand experience’ that directly influences and subsequently wins business. While there is no doubt that 2009 will be a tough year, the events industry is confident that businesses aiming to hit targets will turn to the only five sensory medium that really does deliver buyers.”
