Events are shrinking

A rather ominous email landed in the inbox this morning, stating:

"The Retail Business Show" and "The Retail Business Show Awards" have unfortunately been cancelled. With the current economic slump and more specifically the carnage within the retail arena right now we are not able to put on this year's event, thank you for your interest.”

That was pretty much it apart from an email signature at the bottom; nothing but dismal, downturn depression.

The email piqued my interest firstly because this is usually such a vibrant and well-populated event and secondly, because it’s a subject Buffalo’s just recently been writing about recently.

Obviously retail is a special case with the torrid times the high street is currently going through, but this is likely to be an ongoing trend across the entire event industry. The decline of the mega-expo and conferences with 500+ delegates are really inevitable as marketing budgets are reeled-in.  

During the downturn all businesses are looking to justify every little bit of marketing spend. The mega event, all too frequently, can be a hit and miss affair if delegates don’t plan their involvement properly or don’t have the necessary information to make the best of their time.

The result of this reining-in of events budgets is going to see a rise in more specific, smaller events, creating high-value face to face interactions. Creating smaller events can often see a much more direct result; converting warm leads and strengthening business relationships by devoting more time and effort to those that matter.

Having said that, both big and small events have their individual merits, so this isn’t the end of large events as we know it. However, the trend is starting to emerge and is only likely to increase in 2009 – look out for it.