On the state of the events market in Russia
Purely personal results of observations of the market for professional services in the field of event management.
The myth about service.
Service in the market of professional services in the field of event management is a myth. There are islands of service - individual “trying” agencies and contractors. Or islands in time: when an agency or contractor decides to “invest” in a project.
Service outside these islands ends very abruptly. Service as a system, as a production culture, is a great success.
The culture of “sacred service,” that is, treating service as a sacred and obligatory part of one’s profession, is a rare thing. Many people can organize an event. Not many people can qualitatively organize the organizing process itself, make it easy and balanced.
Diktat of platforms.
Venues for large events dictate their own conditions. Usually the client experiences a feeling of deep obligation while working with such sites.
There are frankly few venues. Those that exist do not provide even close to the normal European level of service or technological equipment.
For example, how many decent venues are there in Moscow for an event of 1000-2000 people? You can count them on your fingers. Everywhere you will get your share of “Oh, well, what do you all want from me.”
Stars.
Most of the stars are stuck somewhere in the 90s. Payment in cash, 100% prepayment and, of course, a demonstration of character. Service and professionalism in working at events are rare and not systematic. Depends solely on the personality of the star's director.
Competition and reputation.
Another market myth. There are connections. And so far this is the most important competitive and reputational advantage. A tender where the customer himself waits with interest for the results is the exception rather than the rule.
The state in Russia is, of course, exemplary in this regard. All commercial structures look at government tendering practices and copy them.
There are two ways to assess the situation. Wait for change. Or consider this as a national feature of our market and enjoy ritual competitions.
Feedback.
Lack of feedback that allows you to learn. A full debriefing and response rarely occurs either within the framework of the tender or at the end of the project. We did it and thank God.
Sitting down and analyzing all the little things in detail is more an exception than a practice. But, the truth is, it happens more and more often.
As a summary.
After all, it couldn’t be otherwise: the events market is a copy of any other market in Russia. With all the vices and family traits.
Unlike, say, the PR market, the events market does not yet represent a single field. The market is played by both those who call themselves “event agencies” and PR companies, marketing companies, BTL companies specializing in promotional campaigns, associations, individuals, etc. The barrier to entry into the market is very low and almost anyone can “start doing events.”
Due to the fact that the players themselves do not see themselves as participants in the same field, there is no opportunity for the emergence of quality standards, service delivery standards and market development goals.
The market has several challenges that will allow it to take the next step:
A) Start praying for the service. Focus not only on the final result, but also on how it is achieved and why it is all being done.
B) Integration of tasks that event managers solve into more global tasks facing the company. In the tasks of marketing, in the tasks of personnel development, in the tasks of strategic development of the company.
Then we will move from “holiday events” to events that will become tools for change in people and companies, will become a way of recording successes, fixing a new picture of the future.
