NO SHAME IN SMALL BUDGETS
Martin Fullard , editorial director , Conference News , says organisers shouldn ’ t shy away from creativity , and it doesn ’ t need to cost a penny
n agency owner recently told Conference News that “ the pandemic seems to have killed off the didactic lecture format for good ,” and that their senior clients have been forced to pay greater attention to audience behaviours , and to even use the idea of a meaningful experience as a bargaining chip for someone ’ s time .
It ’ s great to hear , but is there a misconception that tighter budgets will stifle this ?
For a couple of years now , we ’ ve been stating that – pre-pandemic – the value of the conference and meetings industry is £ 18.3bn in direct spend annually . When we talk about ‘ meaningful , impactful events ’ we always disappear down the warren of big brands with big budgets .
If you are Mr Vodafone , then largely your events don ’ t have too much in the way of a budget constraint . A
Martin Fullard , editorial director , Conference News well-planned and executed consumer experiential activation , or internal conference , is the perfect breeding ground for an agency looking to flex its innovation muscles . It ’ s a chance to trial new ways of communicating content and immersing the audience through both physical and digital means , using technology to spread the word of how amazing the organisation ... you know how it is .
Yet , this is not representative of all events .
The bread and butter of this £ 18.3bn conference and meetings industry is small events , often with very little frills , and that should not be scoffed at .
I use the word ‘ scoff ’ intentionally because that ’ s what some people are doing right now . All this talk of the ‘ new era of events ’ is fine . I have no doubt that high-end events and experiences will set the world alight , but let us be cautious and not lazily assume bread and butter events will require much beyond basic AV and coffee .
Look at this way : how many association football clubs are there in England ? The 20 Premier League clubs ? The 72 EFL clubs ? No , when you include non-league , there are 40,000 football clubs in England . They all have an important role to play , whether it ’ s just for 15 people involved in a club in the Combined Counties League , or the 3,500 fans of Torquay United .
The money generated by the ‘ Big Six ’ Premier League clubs is eye-watering to the point of madness , but they represent only
0.015 % of English clubs . Lower league clubs don ’ t have such money , their products are much more basic , but to those involved , they are no less important . There is no shame in having a small budget for your event , not everything needs to be an all-singing , all-dancing experiential event . But you can try different ways of engaging your audience to ensure the content lands . It doesn ’ t need to be fancy , but small changes don ’ t always have to cost any extra . You ’ re event organisers , don ’ t shy away from creativity . CN www . conference-news . co . uk