172 Chapter 8 Trends in Event Marketing
The modern event marketer must constantly develop and use his
or her detective skills, much like the legendary Sherlock Holmes,
to reveal the mysteries that event marketing may hold in the next
several decades. While it is impossible to be 100 percent accurate
regarding the future of event marketing, it is also essential that
professional event marketers study fads, trends, statistics, and
other critical information to anticipate the changes that will ulti-
mately affect their ability to efficiently and effectively market
events in the future.Leading Trends in Event Marketing
Edward Cornish, editor of the Futuristmagazine, believes that “on
a day-to-day basis, the world changes so slowly that the best way
to predict tomorrow is to say that it will be like today.” However,
although today’s events may be used as a barometer to historically
track developments and forecast trends, the professional event
marketer must also keep his or her eye focused on the future needs,
wants, and desires of event guests. By anticipating future needs,
the event marketer can influence demand and fill those needs with
events that are essential to human productivity and well-being.
Figure 8-1 lists the ten leading trends in event marketing that will
result from future lifestyle, demographic, and cultural changes.
The tragic events of September 11, 2001, forever changed the
psyche of those who travel and gather for events. The resulting
cancellations of events and downturn in attendance for those that
were held in the weeks after the terrorist attacks compelled new
strategies for event marketing. Event marketers must now be in-
volved with issues of security, emergency planning, and rapid re-
sponse to negative public reaction in times of national crisis. Crit-
ical to this is the need to put these issues in perspective for
potential audiences and to reassure attendees that their security
needs are being met. Safety and security have become part of the
marketing message. Emphasis must be placed on the continuing
need to gather, and to benefit from the experience of the event and
the relationships developed with those who attend.
These trends represent hundreds of micro developments oc-
curring on a global scale in the economy, in technology, and in
lifestyles, including health and wellness. The experienced profes-
sional event marketer will continually monitor these trends and
determine how to adapt his or her marketing plan and product/ser-
vice to fill these future needs.