Last Word
Iain
Pitt
Clarion Events
MD (Energy and
Resources) calls for
tighter regulation on
how organisers report
attendee figures
T
he events industry can be
rightly proud of many of its
achievements. Some of the
largest shows we operate not only
shape the consciousness of the
industries they serve, but capture
the public imagination and news
cycles of the countries, regions
and cities they visit in a way
unrivalled by many.
Which does then beg the
question why are so many
industry professionals suffering
from a crisis of confidence?
I was recently confronted with
two emails in quick succession
pertaining to be from the
largest event in a particular
industry. There was only one
problem with this, both were
different shows. The fact that
neither are the leading operator
in their respective vertical
only compounded my sense of
frustration of who benefits from
this practice? A quick Google
sector-based search reveals the
all too familiar tell-tale signs of
this practice, with one event after
another promising thousands
of attendees at the largest, first
and only such show in their
served markets. At best it is lazy
marketing at worst is malpractice.
There are worrying signs that
66 — November
“I was recently confronted
with two emails in quick
succession pertaining to be
from the largest event in a
particular industry. There was
only one problem with this,
both were different shows. ”
if this practice goes unabated
it will be to the detriment
of the industry. Bellwether
clients reflecting the growing
importance of events are now
armed with an ever-increasing
number of ex-industry
professionals working in-house
supporting their BD efforts. They
are questioning some of the more
outlandish claims and brining
a higher level of due diligence
to the buying decisions of core
exhibitors. Recently an S&P
500 executive discussed with
me how they are now looking at
the ownership structure of the
operator before committing to
an individual standalone event.
In short, our customers are
becoming more sophisticated, but
our marketing practices at times
can still feel like the Wild West.
The events industry as a whole,
needs renewed vigour in creating
a widely recognisable certification
scheme of attendee numbers,
one that is as familiar to our
customers as the industry itself.
Existing certification schemes
like EEIAC are available but not
universally applied and lack the
familiarity of the publishing ABC
kite mark. The UFI and AEO
would seem natural homes for
such a provision and allow the
industry to build on earlier efforts
to show leadership in this arena
and help our customers buying
decisions. David Ashdown, MD
Clarion Events Africa, and a
colleague, recently commented
to me, “Many events are
independently audited and have
figures available for review and
evaluation but the question is
around whether our customers
view an attendee audit through
the same lense as a publication
distribution audit to influence
an informed buying decision. I
agree that the flood of marketing
messages that ‘shout’ to be
the biggest, best, only, leading
event for the sector impact the
perceived quality of events in our
industry. My sense is that it is the
responsibility of the organiser to
better educate the customer base
to the value of audited projects.
The result of this will be that the
professional organiser thrives and
the events that ‘shout’ will fall
away through natural selection.”
The success in launching such a
scheme depends on a number of
issues that need to be overcome,
including; fostering a genuine
desire to change practices;
developing global coverage
for larger operators; effective
enforcement and framework for
non-compliance; establishing
who is best placed to lead this
initiative. Perhaps the biggest
obstacle of course is cultural.
Will event organisers historically
protective of revealing their real
audience datasets feel compelled
to voluntarily sign-up and pay
for the policing of such a scheme.
Maybe it will take our own Fyre
Festival moment where the
fallacy of many of these false
claims to be so publicly exposed
for us to take collective action.