themselves . They ’ re big issues and not easy or quick to solve . part of . We ’ re launching a subscription-based membership which will give access to more targeted , relevant training , events and content and – as events people at heart – we ’ ll also offer regular meetups and events . In fact , we hope to see fellow event marketers at International Confex – so keep an eye out for details on that .
How is it different from being part of the CMA or CIM ?
Event Masters is focused specifically on marketing events . We ’ ll be bringing in broader marketing experts because , increasingly , event marketers need to develop a new toolkit of skills and expertise , and we ’ ll be sharing how these tactics relate to and apply to event marketing . Broader marketing groups and associations focus on product and service marketing tactics , and while the principles are the same we ’ re often left wondering – and our members have echoed this - “ but how do we apply that to our events ?” A key difference , too , is that we are a community – a community of like-minded individuals who support and inspire each other – and if Covid-19 has taught us one thing , it ’ s that collaboration makes us stronger .
What are the key issues you are trying to promote ?
Being stronger as a marketing community . Delivering better and more successful marketing campaigns for our events . Solving problems , sharing ideas and being a valued peer network . And practicing what we preach , increasingly event marketing has become about community marketing , so our community provides an opportunity for event marketers to understand the value of community building , from the inside-out .
Speaking more broadly , what are the challenges our marketeers are facing currently ?
Right now , event marketers are spinning a lot of plates , with multiple-case-scenario planning in play and potential for friction around how the digital assets they created during lockdown best dovetail with their live events . There ’ s still a lack of certainty and – particularly for international events – confidence and more competition than ever for their visitor ’ s time , with a multitude of new offerings borne from low barriers to entry of digital . Added to that , the impact of furloughed staff and redundancies on event databases and , of course , the same on event teams
What are your ambitions for the project overall ; what does success look like ?
To serve our community of event marketers and really be of value – the pressure to deliver on visitor numbers ( physically or online ) is immense , if we can lighten that load by providing new ideas , inspiration , problem solving and sanity checking , and by creating an invaluable support network that helps event marketers deliver more successful campaigns with confidence , that ’ s our mission . In more practical terms , as event people , we ’ d love to host a live event for community members in time . We ’ d love to grow to become the go-to resource for event marketing . I think there ’ s also a need to nurture event marketers into more senior roles within events . Event directors often come through the commercial side of the business , we ’ ve bucked that trend and think more could be done to support , mentor and coach event marketers as they progress in their careers .
“ The pressure to deliver on visitor numbers is immense , if we can lighten that load by providing new ideas , inspiration , problem solving and sanity checking , that helps event marketers deliver more successful campaigns with confidence , that ’ s our mission .”
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