Half of all event agencies increase revenues by double digits by 2022
The events and experiential marketing sector in Spain considers its market to be firmly established after the impact of the pandemic and subsequent signs of gradual recovery. Specifically, almost half of the companies (45%) increased their revenue from this area by more than 10% and a third (36%) increased it by 30%.
These are some of the conclusions drawn by the latest AEVEA Pulse, the annual study on the state of the sector, prepared by the Spanish Association of Event Agencies (AEVEA), after asking its 63 member agencies.
This sample of market consolidation is translated into figures. 21% of the agencies increased their turnover to over 20 million euros, followed by 24%, which accumulated growth of between 5 and 10 million euros.
The improvement of the recovery path started in 2021 is also certified by the number of events held. Almost half of the agencies, 48%, organised more than a hundred events, which means an increase of 10% of actions compared to the previous year.
This market is improving its results while implementing new improvements to adapt to the new context. Proof of this is that more than 60% of the agencies opted to reinforce professional profiles and roles and 48% to close strategic alliances with other companies.
Half of agencies say they are struggling to identify talent at a time when they are hoping to bolster their workforces.
The optimistic environment is promoting improved expectations. For example, 54% of the partners surveyed said they plan to increase their workforce by more than 10%, even though 55% said they were having difficulty identifying talent.
When event agencies think about their career horizon, they tend to refer to sustainability. The majority of these companies (72%) point out that it is a growing demand from clients that has become a priority lever for the sector, as part of the efficient and respectful management of its impact.
In addition to sustainability, the importance of content (66%), digital creativity (42%) and performance measurement (42%), among others, predominate as a trend.
Despite the positive sector indicators and expectations, agencies recognise that they have to contend with notable challenges such as rising costs that impact the entire event value chain. Catering services are the most affected by inflation (33%), followed by audiovisual production (21%) and personnel (18%).
Catering, audiovisual production and personnel costs have been hit hardest by inflation.
These price increases have an impact on their business, according to one in three respondents, who put the increase at between 20% and 10% above last year’s rates.
However, this cost increase was offset by a slight increase in brand budgets, around 10% additional turnover for 21% of the agencies surveyed, and 5% for 24%.
On the other hand, more than half of the respondents consider that brands have maintained budgets, despite the current economic scenario and inflationary pressure.
The president of AEVEA, César González, believes that the events sector “is at a vital moment, in which it is up to us to vindicate the essential role we play. We are an industry in constant adaptation, linked to changes in society, in companies and in how we communicate and interact with brands. Our activity creates more than 87,000 jobs in Spain, which represents 8.3% of the total number of tourism professionals, and generates 12,000 million euros of impact, which places us among the best countries in the world for organising events”.
Sectors
AEVEA Pulse also compiles the ranking of sectors that organised the most events and experiences in 2022. According to 66% of the agencies surveyed, the automotive industry ranks first (67%), followed by the pharmaceutical industry (60%), the luxury and premium segment (54%) and the food and beverage sector (48%). Professional events (conventions, launches, congresses, trade fairs, press conferences, charity events, inaugurations, conferences, etc.) have grown in importance and are now a key tool in the marketing and CSR strategies of organisations.
In terms of categorisation by type, conventions were the most frequently organised events last year, followed by product and brand presentations (66%) and congresses (57%).
