The events sector consolidates its growth, according to the latest AEVEA report

In 2023, the events and experiential marketing sector maintained a generalized growth in turnover, with 22% of companies with turnover in excess of ?20 million, followed by 25% with turnover between ?1 and ?2 million in 2023. This is one of the main conclusions of the latest annual survey of AEVEA members.

 

AEVEAPulse is the annual study that gathers the behavior of the sector elaborated by the Asociación de Agencias de Agencias de Eventos de España (AEVEA) among its 72 associated agencies.

This improvement of the results obtained in 2023, in which 50%of the agencies surveyed recorded an increase in revenue of 30%, compared to the same period in 2022, shows that the sector has experienced a historic year.

The report highlights that “a new business model has been consolidated, highlighting its capacity for transformation, especially in the face of the fold growth of the sector;n, especially in the face of a series of challenges throughout the value chain, such as the inflationary scenario, the difficulty of finding talent, the reduction of planning and execution deadlines, environmental requirements and the situation of tenders, among others”.

The positive financial impact was reflected in the considerable workload of event agencies over the past year, with more than 100 events organized for 50% of respondents, 2% more actions than in 2022.

In the last year, more than 62% of the agencies have focused their efforts on reinforcing profiles and professional roles in order to respond to the increased demand from clients and brands, while at the same time meeting internal demands such as the implementation of training programs and the development of new products and services;

The company has also addressed internal demands such as the implementation of training programs and the focus on attracting and retaining talent.

Alongside this professionalization (34%), the agencies surveyed highlighted the importance of partnerships (53%), the value and relevance of strategic alliances between companies (44%) and the emergence of new professional profiles (44%).

“We face 2024 as a year of structural adjustments in order to meet the current needs of the market and continue to be pioneers in the creation of unique experiences. Our forecast is to end the year with growth of between 5% and 10%, based on the good data published on the leading trade fairs in Spain in the first half of the year;The AEVEA president, Cñsar González, said: César González, president of AEVEA.

Continuous Adaptation

The 2023 edition of AEVEAPulse has taken stock of the evolution of events from the point of view of the latest trends. In an environment where audiences are exposed to a large amount of information, it is essential to stand out by offering unique experiences.

In this sense, the impact of the ESG criteria stands out exponentially, a lever that 65% of agencies claim to have expanded in the last year. In addition to being a growing demand from clients, sustainable management is a priority concept for the sector, as part of the efficient and respectful management of its impact.

Alongside these criteria, other trends of particular relevance for the agencies surveyed were the importance of content (62%), 360º communication (53%) and the importance of purpose (53%), among others. In this sense, the sector's advances in impact measurement issues, through tools such as AEVEARoX, are crucial to make the value of events tangible.

While digitization will continue to play a crucial role in event organization, the future outlook suggests a permanent coexistence between physical and digital events to broaden the audience. Only 3% of agencies surveyed believe that 100% digital events will be predominant in the long term, and 12% think so of hybrid events.

Finally, the study also reveals the sectors that have led the ranking in terms of the number of events that most take place and that has been led in 2023 by the automotive industry (62%) and the automobile industry (62%);n (62%), followed by the luxury sector (59%), the pharmaceutical industry (53%) and, in fourth and fifth place, the food and sports sectors.