Event planning is a strange world. There are many types of event planners, ranging from wedding planners to incentive trip organizers, festival organizers, all the way to event planning agencies working for multinational companies.
…and this list does not cover everything. Today in Hungary, there are nearly 1000 (!!!) companies whose activities include event organization. Interestingly, those young people who are about to choose a career and I talk to about my work, when they find out that I am involved in event organization, almost unanimously claim: „I could do that too.” When we are looking for a beginner for an assistant or intern position, 90% of the applicants' motivation letters state that they organized gatherings in school as a child, so they would surely make a good event organizer.
Is it really that simple?
At such times, I smile a little and at the same time feel sad. Is our profession really just about coordinating people and services to one place at a specific time? Is it really that simple?
I think (and I believe most people working in event agencies think so too) that it is much more than that.
Event organization is indeed a profession. But what kind of profession is it? Where does it come from? Where is it heading?
The domestic literature certainly does not, or only limitedly, provide answers to these questions. In education, there is no evidence of conscious training for succession, and most people working in the profession do not agree on who we are, what we are, and what we actually do. Thus, it is also difficult to explain what an event organizing agency is and what it deals with. This leads to several problems, such as the perception of the profession, pricing issues, uncertainty in training successors, unpredictability in development and planning, and the lack of a vision for the future, to name just a few. Many things are hindered by the fact that we ourselves do not know what we are and yet what we do.
I think what event organizing agencies do today, on behalf of brands and multinational companies, is closer to communication activities than to the entertainment industry. The people working at these agencies (or at least a significant part of the company) need to understand not only the hardware, meaning they should know the suppliers, the trends in the entertainment industry, have experience in managing crowds, know the legal regulations off the top of their heads, and even if they are awakened from their sweetest dreams, they should still know what infrastructural needs a sports day or conference has with their eyes closed. They must not only deal with venues, furniture, technology, and catering but also possess a communication mindset.
The importance of a communication mindset
What these agencies do has grown into a communication channel in the lives of brands, and just like with traditional media, experts are needed here too. Experts who know how to present a message, a brand in a way that is effective and achieves the results that brand owners want, and what to pay special attention to at events. The significance of this communication channel, in my opinion, will increase day by day. As we increasingly live our lives online, live human connections are becoming more valuable. Even if we do not admit to ourselves that we crave human encounters and face-to-face communication, where there is immediate feedback, chemical impulses, and the possibility of immediate response, our bodies and souls certainly need it. I am not an evolution expert, but I believe that humans are wired for social interaction and not for staring at a monitor.
We must not overlook the fact that an event (whether for employees or clients, a promotion, sponsorship appearance, everyone can choose as they please) is the „content” itself. Today, it is no longer just a unique element separate from communication activities, but an opportunity for communication. This will become a photo topic that is eagerly shared, this will become social media content, this is why we call/write to our client, this is how we attract the potential target group to obtain their data, this will create a showreel for YouTube, through this we communicate with all our colleagues, and this provides a real experience that everyone talks about so much. This list is not exhaustive either; many more things can arise thanks to the work of event agencies.
So an event/promotion cannot be interpreted in isolation; it is an integral part of communication activities, an additional channel that should be taken more seriously and given greater emphasis. However, this also requires brand owners and agencies themselves to recognize that alongside the aforementioned hardware, there is also a need for software knowledge, a communication mindset, and professionals skilled in communication.
What is the reason that the picture is no longer so clear and straightforward today?
I have thought a lot about it, and there are several reasons. The first and most important, which I mentioned earlier, is that the event agencies themselves do not think uniformly about this. Everyone assesses what they do differently. Another significant reason can be found in the history of the profession. We are talking about a young phenomenon that emerged after the regime change, which, unlike large communication and advertising agencies, did not have suddenly appearing international networks that would bring the know-how, thus the mechanisms developed in a self-taught manner, both on the agency and client sides. I think a huge problem is the lack of education.
Paradigm shift
While today advertising and marketing, communication education is embedded in higher education, event organization is „only” a half-year subject. Even if there was an initiative to change this, the profession did not really embrace and establish it. Similarly, the professional literature is also lacking; the existing books only deal with one aspect of events, and even that is of fluctuating quality (although, if I am correct, a gap-filling book is in the works, which I am very much looking forward to). Our work lacks professional jargon; there are no foreign, incomprehensible words that would make this whole thing seem more scientific. But perhaps the biggest problem is that the impact of events cannot be measured (yet). It is a bit like love in relationships. You cannot measure how in love someone is; there are only feelings...
Despite the problems, I believe we are on the brink of a paradigm shift. Events will become increasingly valuable as a living communication channel. But their impact will not only be measurable in how the events themselves affect, but also in that their creation can serve as raw material and topics for other communication channels.
There will be something to talk about...
