Events Planning- the Sunrise Sector in India

Article published in Small Enterprise India- http://www.smallenterpriseindia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=940:events-planning-the-sunrise-sector-in-india-&catid=82:featureone

Event and wedding management is catching up India faster. So far, it was a western concept, but since last decade, the trend of hiring professionals for any event is going up. If few years back it was restricted to Tier I cities, now people in Tier II, Tier III cities are taking professional assistance for organising events.

Blame it to today's erratic work schedules and busy lifestyle; people do not have time to plan and at the same time, want to get the best of everything. The area that comes under the ambit of event management today includes marketing events, trade shows, MICE events, internal corporate events, television segments, sports events, entertainment events, award nite, domestic events and personal events. With a relatively new breed of companies for whom events are an indispensible, need professionals to manage them.

Currently, the organised event management industry in India is pegged at around Rs 3,000 crore and it is expected to touch Rs 5,000 crore by 2015. According to a recent PwC study, the market has grown tremendously in the past two years from the Rs 1,800-crore industry two years back. The key reason for this growth is the influx of international brands and increased western exposure.

But it is a fact that, still the industry is in an infant stage and unorganised. There are a very few handful of professional and organised players. In the backdrop of the growing the number of events and weddings in India, the current demand-supply gap is huge. As the industry has immense potential to grow, it is now opening up opportunities for individuals and start-ups to foray into the space.

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when event management started carving a segment for itself in the country. In the mid nineties, when we started, it was very difficult to convince people to take professional assistance for planning their events and brands have n’t recognized events as a marketing strategy. But now it has become more viable to conduct even small celebrations through the event management company.

Events help companies to reach out to customers more closely and it is an economical advertising medium than conventional forms like television or print. Entrepreneurs can integrate a live event into a well-defined marketing plan. Companies or brands can select and reach out directly to their target audience. They can also control their budgets at the end of the event to tangibly analyse if the event was a success or not.

Apart from other events, if you will take only the 'Indian wedding market', the industry is currently roughly estimated to be around Rs 125,000 crore, which is growing at 25-30 per cent annually. Depending upon the 'lavishness' and 'affordability' of the individual, the cost of the wedding could vary anywhere between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 5 crore. As the dialogue from the movie 'Band Baaja Baarat' goes, "Recession ho ya inflation.. shaadi toh hoti rahegi" (The wedding industry will not be affected due to the consequences of either inflation or recession.

Weddings will happen; the spending amount may differ or may increase or decrease). This is apt for the Indian sentiments, they may not spend lavishly and may cut down some expenses, however, they will do the wedding. Another major reason for growth in demand is that Indians are concentrated in every part of the world. And globally, Indian wedding planners are also in high demand. So, the industry opens up many opportunities and scopes.

But this does n’t mean that donning the role of an event manager is an easy job. Event management is an art, which requires tremendous skills in designing and organisation skills. It involves conceptualising, visualising, budgeting and executing. Companies and individuals approach event managers with a vague idea and a budget in mind and it is entirely up to the event manager to develop and improvise it to for a completely successful output, planning and coordinating the entire thing.

Event management degrees are now getting popular to ensure professionalism in the field and to create specialized event managers. One has to remember that to become a successful event manager, you may need to put in 365 days a year and have immense patience and insight to get into the minutest details. Good networking skills, ability to think out of the box, time management and problem-solving capacity are some other qualities essential for this role.

Therefore it is really important for entrepreneurs who are getting into this lucrative segment to be fined tuned. Brands also should ensure professionalism while hiring their event manager. Lower quotes may be attractive, but not a guarantee for an impeccable service.

As the future only promises to be brighter, bigger and better let’s wait and see how it would be for the existing and would be entrepreneurs!