A new survey of event industry professionals finds the sector in bullish mood. The results show that two-thirds expect their events to grow and over half of organisers are expecting to launch more events over the next 12 months.
Eventbrite, a one-stop shop for promoting and managing events, surveyed over 500 event industry professionals for a new 44-page Pulse Report of the UK events industry.
The positive sentiment of organisers translates into hiring plans, with 31% expecting their team to increase in size this year, and less than 5% believing it will decrease, the survey results reveal.
Of those being recruited, marketing and communications are in highest demand with 37% of organisers looking for new talent here; and there is a clear trend in organisers hiring to make a direct impact on their top line, with sales being the second skill most in demand at 33%.
A closer inspection of event budgets seems to reveal a drive towards efficiency.
While 66% of event organisers expect their existing events to grow, only 24% of all surveyed organisers are expecting to increase their budgets to meet that growth, with 7% expecting to reduce them and 69% planning on keeping the same level of spend.
The average event budget among those surveyed was just under £40,000.
The big winners across new types of event technology are mobile event apps, with 25% of all organisers saying they would ‘definitely’ be using one in 2015, and a further 47% considering it.
Email was most often quoted as the most effective marketing channel, receiving 31% of the vote from organisers, followed by social media (20%) and referrals or word of mouth (19%).
The survey also returned a large appetite from organisers to make more use of online marketplaces and discovery platforms, with 31% planning on increasing their use in 2015.
An Eventbrite spokesman said the results showed a marked positive outlook for conferences and the industry as a whole, with positive knock-on effects for employment, suppliers and innovation.
