Why Events Are a Booming Business Again

If the demand for Oasis and Taylor Swift tickets lately, alongside the inability of Ticketmaster to deal with that, indicated anything then it is that the global events sector is on a major growth trajectory. And with that brands are proactively jumping on board as people seek out in-person connections and unique experiences all around the world. It could almost double in value by 2035, when it is predicted to generate almost £650 billion.

According to Allied Market Research, the combined amount generated by events worldwide was £342 billion, growing at 5.4 per cent each year, with the most popular proving to be music and art performances, sports, and festivals. 

Driving that surge in revenue is event sponsorship as brands eye various opportunities to engage with and connect with audiences in relevant environments, while also creating brand love from thousands of people and supporting cultural moments they will remember for the rest of their lives.

According to the most recent IPA Bellwether report for the second quarter (Q2) of the year, events continue to be the best-performing mode of marketing in terms of budget expenditure. It saw growth of a further 17.2 per cent on the 23.1 per cent increase from Q1 with clients and prospects showing a “strong appetite” for in-person interaction.

The sudden boom in demand is a sure sign that the world has returned to ‘normal’ post-pandemic, as face-to-face interactions prove vital to building trust and interpersonal connections, states Dan Bennett, Ogilvy’s consulting partner and UK lead for Behavioural Science.

“The smallest aspects of body language, tone of voice, and micro-expressions can have far-reaching impact on important decisions. On a more human level, however, the shift towards in-person events is a response to the growing cognitive fatigue from the normalisation of virtual work,” he adds.

And there is a surge from brands to get involved with major events such as Glastonbury, which has a capacity of over 200,000 every year, as they look to connect with consumers. This year, that festival was sponsored by blue-chip names such as Land Rover, Brothers cider and Vodafone. The latter is also the Official Connectivity Partner of Wimbledon, BST Hyde Park, Mighty Hoopla, and Kendal Calling, offering access to tickets to customers for each.

“Events have now evolved into immersive stages for interactive storytelling, where audiences experience campaigns first hand therefore giving more meaningful and memorable experiences than ‘traditional’ advertising,” explains Sarah Bryers, director of Live Experiences at TMW.

The personal data gained from those attending and sharing their data can offer powerful behavioural insights into consumers that will power engagement strategies.

“We now leverage insights from behavioural science to forge stronger emotional connections with audiences and utilise data analytics to enhance personalization, just as two examples. These advancements have proven to boost engagement and conversion rates, delivering a positive return on investment for clients,” continues Bryers.

Another example of a brand getting in on the ground floor is, perhaps unexpectedly, local supermarket chain Co-Op. Despite a bumpy start, in May, it opened its £365 million indoor area, named Co-Op Live in Manchester, hosting the largest capacity of any area in Europe.

At first, the idea seems unaligned – but with demand for in-person events roaring back to life post-pandemic – the whole project may yet prove a shrewd move (even if it was commissioned in 2020.)

Since then, Kanyette Nelson has joined the Co-Op as chief membership and customer officer and has introduced giving away tickets as part of the organisation’s community building incentive strategy with members also given access to pre-sale tickets.

According to Lea Karam, consulting director at Behave, part of Total Media, this is only really being experienced now in 2024 because people take time to return to their habits and behaviours.

“The psychological reason to do it is there and brands are benefiting because they're offering more immersive experiences, more branded experiences, to connect different people with each other when they're trying to snap out of the content fatigue and the digital ecosystem we were all in,” says Karam.

Another sponsor of Hyde Park and Co-Op Live, Diageo uses the event to run brand activations and serve a variety of its drinks.

Tyler Monk, Smirnoff brand manager for Diageo Great Britain, says that the company recognises that socialising is about more than just having a drink with friends, and highlights major events where the company's brands activate. Those include fashion shows through the Jonathan Anderson x Guinness collab, as well as across the National Football League, Six Nations and Premier League. It also looks to tentpole entertainment events such as the Academy Awards and Eurovision to engage too.

It involvement with Co-op Live sees Diageo as the official drinks partner. The launch included the Co-Op Live Summer Series presented by Smirnoff. It was developed to reflect the vodka brand’s ongoing commitment to make music more accessible.

Meanwhile, Smirnoff also rolled out its ‘WE DO US’ campaign, which included a series of initiatives that aim to reignite social connections and lower barriers to socialising.

"We are using our insights to embed and grow our brands at the heart of these cultural moments where people are socialising – and the opportunity is huge." states Monk.

B2B Is Also Winning

And that boom also seems to be the case when it comes to major marketing festivals with the surprise acquisition of Cannes Lions-owner Ascential by Informa in a deal valued at around £1.2 billion pounds.

Informa has revealed that it intends for Lions to become the centrepiece of its new business, Informa Festivals, which will be a series of B2B festival experiences including its own such as the Monaco Yacht Show and London Tech Week.

“Our two divisions, Lions and Money20/20, have transformed how our customers around the world experience events, and benefit from both digital intelligence and advisory services. The value our businesses bring to their respective industries is clear as is the regard in which they are held by Informa,” added Ascential CEO Phil Thomas.

That deal follows on the heels of another; London-based event MADFest earlier in the month by Ingenuity and the announcement by South by South West (SXSW) that it will begin an annual spin-off festival in Britain’s capital from the first week of June next year.

Virtual Events Still in Increasing Demand

The physical restrictions introduced due to the pandemic in 2020 also saw the rise of virtual events and platforms being created to engage and entertain billions of bored housebound people globally.

And despite in-person coming back in a big way, and Meta having lost $45 billion on its investment into its virtual reality and metaverse offer since 2020, the virtual events market is still expected to outperform the growth of in-person, Allied Market Research also claims, reaching just over £1080 billion by 2035. That is being driven by the continuation of hybrid working seeing a boom in webinars, virtual expo fairs and festivals, entertainment and conferences when unable to travel.

The change in community building is also partially behind this trend, explains Karam, with the worldwide access developing a global village that is available to people through the phones, laptops and headsets that they own – and brands have been attempting to do the same with their own experiences.

During the height of the pandemic, Heineken-owned beer brand Desperados developed the ‘Rave to Save’ app to raise funds for entertainment spaces while closed. That has now evolved to become the Desperados Dance Club - only now users dance to raise money for causes close to their hearts.

Meanwhile, major festivals such as Adobe Summit, Cannes Lions, SXSW and Cisco Live have developed remote access to their content, driving additional revenue that was not available to them prior to the digital transformation drive during the Covid restrictions.

Karam believes that while the desire to retain those communities that were built virtually remains, demand has already begun to fade outside of the business-to-business sector that do not depend on the creation of emotional moments.

“The reason they [virtual events] will outpace [in-person events] is because we can connect from anywhere and the digital sphere opens up that opportunity. But scientifically in-person events will integrate a hybrid way… There is a need for reconnection and people want to be in the same space.”

Ultimately, the consumer is the winner with so many events running, catering to their every interest and passion, which they can indulge from the comforts of their own home too should they choose - and brands are loving it.