The Case for Events Industry Advocacy

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The COVID pandemic and the subsequent shutdown of the live events industry revealed a startling fact: there was a need for advocacy. Advocacy had never been a top priority for the industry prior to the shutdown, and that became obvious.

Although the events industry contributes $873B to the general economy, no one seems to understand what we do. The absence of any sort of concerted advocacy effort was especially obvious when we expected a positive response from government decision-makers. During the pandemic, this blind spot affected approximately one million small businesses in the live event space and more than twelve million employees, including producers, highly skilled workers, and specialized vendors.

To put it succinctly: the live events industry was the first to close and the last to open. Many live events companies were denied grants earmarked to keep businesses alive during the shutdown. As a result, the running joke in the exhibit and events industry—that we’re the biggest industry no one knows about—is no longer funny. The lack of awareness, specifically on the part of politicians, of our many-faceted industry has been responsible for bankruptcies and poverty among the businesses and workers mentioned above.

Advocacy in Action

The pandemic has sparked an industry-wide realization that advocacy work needs to be a regular part of doing business. The Live Events Coalition, formed in April 2020 to raise awareness of the plight of event workers, represents many of the companies affected by the shutdown and lack of support. Other industry groups, such as the Experiential Designers & Producers Association (EDPA), have responded wholeheartedly to the need for advocacy, working directly with political figures on a national and local level.

Efforts to build awareness are starting to pay off. For example, CNBC aired a segment recently that demonstrated the plight of companies and workers in the events industry and the seemingly arbitrary process by which these companies are approved (or not)for grants.

The Power of Business Events

Those of us who have been in the trade show and events industry for a long time bemoan the fact that college marketing curricula usually omit our field. Textbooks might touch on the medium in a page or two, but nowhere is the operational sophistication of business event production and the resulting impact on sales and the economy mentioned. And for those of us who appreciate the true value of the face-to-face experience, the pivot of live shows to virtual experiences only heightened our perception of that value.

This investigative report from CNBC tells a sobering story. Business events fuel the economy. It’s time we let everyone know about our contributions.

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