Eventia chairman Rob Allen has called for a ‘less is more’ approach to events industry awards shows, claiming the kudos surrounding awards programmes is becoming diluted by an over-crowded market place. In an open industry letter Allen noted the poor attendance of the recent inaugural Brand Event Awards, which was held on the same night as the UK Event Awards.
“In addition to these, over the last six weeks we have seen the Event Awards (Haymarket), the Eventia Awards (independent), the CIT Awards (Haymarket), the Field Marketing and Brand Experience Awards (Frank Publishing) and the MIMA Awards (CAT Publications). Still to come over the next few weeks are the IVCA’s Livecom Awards. Haymarket Publishing alone were responsible for three of the above events – all targeting the live events and experiential marketing sector."
Allen admitted that as Eventia chairman and “a seasoned award entrant on behalf of experiential agency TRO”, he could be criticised for having one or more vested interests, but said the issue was a matter of basic economics and common sense.
“Firstly, all of them rely heavily on sponsorship from industry suppliers. These companies’ marketing budgets are already stretched paper thin and may well be reduced for 2012 in the light of the dire economic forecast. The collective pot just isn’t deep enough to go round.
“Secondly, for those companies that believe in the excellent third-party endorsement that award wins provide, it is becoming increasingly difficult to know which to enter and where to draw the line. The entry periods for all these awards are between May and July – which puts agencies and their clients under immense pressure to prepare multiple submissions during a busy period. Our clients are beginning to lose respect and patience at being asked to approve the avalanche of entries landing in their inboxes.
“We have reached the stage where the kudos surrounding awards programmes is becoming diluted by an over-crowded market place. Perhaps it’s time for the industry to say ‘less is more’, and to consider a change of tack - either in the number or the timing of these programmes.”
Read the full letter at: http://www.meetpie.com/modules/admin/MailBags.aspx
