The Events Imperative – Should I Launch One?
By John Failla, CEO, Tesoro Events
Reprinted with permission from min's b2b - Nov 19 2007
John Failla is CEO of events consulting business, Tesoro events. This article will be about some of the general points and key questions to consider when extending your brands through face-to-face events if you have not already done so. American Business Media's recently released Financial Trend Report documents continued softness in print B2B advertising revenues. The report provides evidence that print B2B media is in the middle of an irreversible structural decline. With that said, where are publishers turning for their future growth?
The consensus opinion at this month's ABM Top Management meeting in Chicago is that developing digital media platforms is a must, in spite of real uncertainty around when these digital activities will generate meaningful profit. As the president of a leading B2B publishing company said at one of the ABM Top Management sessions, "all of the back office costs associated with digital are huge; this isn't for the faint of heart". He further went on to say, "we're three to four years away from e-media revenues dropping to the bottom line".
Focus on Tradeshows v. Conferences
While publishers will typically leverage their content expertise to launch a conference as a first step for getting into the events business, tradeshows have proven to be the most powerful drivers of incremental revenue and profit for publishers. The superior financial dynamics of tradeshows make them particularly attractive. Tradeshows generally collect 100% of their revenues before the event stages, pay the bulk of their expenses after the show is held, and generally can be produced with the support of a minimum of full time staff.
Key Questions
The key questions a publisher must address when contemplating an event launch are:
- What are the best event models, times and places to launch?
- How can I maximize my probability of success?
- How do I manage the key risk factors in event launches?
Managing these issues is both art and science. Successful launches are generally effective in balancing the art of product development with the science of risk management. For those venturing out with a launch, the key is modeling best practices in both disciplines.
A Built-in Advantage
Publishers contemplating an event launch start the process with three very important built-in advantages that can be leveraged for success in the event business:
- Audience databases and insight.
- Content development expertise.
- Relationships with marketers and associations.
Remember, if the Internet has taught us anything in publishing, it has taught us that the content we create is valuable, but users will want to consume it in a way convenient to them; furthermore, the Internet has taught us to squeeze every cent out of the content we create by repackaging it.
Challenges
The following challenges must be successfully resolved to ensure a publisher's successful entry into the event business:
- Lack of knowledge of event management best practices.
- Management and staff are more than fully occupied.
- Publisher event expertise is usually limited to conferences.
In future articles, we will talk about how to start a show from a limited face-to-face business, how to leverage some native advantages publishers have, and how to overcome the challenges listed above and others not considered.
John Failla can be reached at john@tesoroevents.com
