TARP & Event Planning Industry

The March 6th webinar on the current state of the meetings and event industry,  hosted by One Smooth Stone,  did a great job of summing up the state of the live event industry.

But this webinar does more than just paint a dismal outlook - it suggests constructive actions that each of us can take to make the future of the event industry brighter.

Here’s what I took away from the webinar, from the perspective of event services vendors …

As my readers know by now, I’m a big believer in creating success by helping others succeed. Your client, the in-house event planner, is facing a myriad of problems because of the proposed restrictions for TARP recipients.

Non-TARP companies and even companies outside the financial services industry are canceling meetings and events. These companies believe that the downside risks to reputation outweigh the rewards of event marketing and meetings.  It is time for event professionals to speak up and show senior management that companies can garner significant rewards from well executed events with no negative PR .

Event planners need to see events through the eyes of others. Event professionals must understand the potential risks to reputation and how negative press impacts all stakeholders.  Only once you truly empathize with management’s perception of risk and reward are you in a position to effectively persuade.

Suppliers to the corporate event market, from event planners, event venues, caterers, etc., can find seeds of opportunity in the current environment.  Event people can exploit this disruption as an opportunity to distinguish themselves  and gain market share.

Now is not the time to feel sorry for yourself, it is time to take action:

• Knowledge is power. Get informed so you can communicate with your clients better.
• Help your corporate event clients measure the returns they get from investing in live events.
• Get involved. Reach out to your trade association’s political action committee. ISES, MICE, ICA, MPI
• Contact your representatives and tell them why they must not continue bad mouthing the event industry.

It is time for event planners to connect the value of events with the future growth of your company. Planners will need to develop skill at documenting ROI and communicating value. As an event vendor, now is the time to help your clients communicate the value of meetings and events. Be the local expert they rely on.

Resources:

Watch a replay by clicking here: http://ossunplugged.blogspot.com/2009/03/state-of-industry-resources.html

http://www.meetingindustrycrisiscenter.org/tarp.htm

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