Why Event Marketing and Event Managers need a rebranding

As I have already said before, event marketing is going through a total revival (read about my point of view via this article here).

We have had a couple of rough years, but since digitization has come to maturity, event marketing is getting very important for brands to create relationships, awareness and image. 

Brands talk about creating brand experiences and invest lots of time and money in the creation of experiences via event marketing and digital marketing. 

So, event marketing is really "hot" right now. 

But what about event marketeers themselves? What about the image of event marketing as an industry?

I must say, when I am invited to so called MICE events, event fairs, event awards, etc ; I really ask myself if the event marketeers knòw that event marketing is getting so important. These industry events to promote ourselves are at an inferior level. Ok, there are no budgets, but that's the point. Our strength is to be creative. Not how to spend money.

When I follow event marketeers on social media, I see we are all way too shy. Really. When I follow the hashtag #eventmarketing or #corporateevents or #eventmanagement or #eventplanner or #eventprofs, I see some great weddings, but not enough pride, not enough conviction that our industry is sò important in the world of corporate marketing and branding. 

I see tons of digital marketeers who have proved nothing, who are marketing themselves at the top. Ok, they play a home game when on social media, but that shouldn't matter. We have something spectacular to show. Something spectacular to say. But we don't.

Even if we play our home game, during the organisation of an event about the industry, we are too shy. 

Why? No, seriously. Why is that? 
Do we still feel the pain of the years of crisis? Have we not evolved since then? Do we still market ourselves like it's 1999? 

Eventprofs do not market themselves in the right way. It's a real problem of image. A problem of reputation. Especially when you talk about our business to CMO's and CEO's of corporate brands. They see us too often as party planners. Not as strategic partners for their brands. And this needs to change. 

Event Marketing is an underestimated marketingtool. We need to rebrand the complete industry of MICE and event marketing. We are underestimated, and undervalued, because we do not market ourselves in the right way.

My rant, is about the fact that we as event managers all over the world should be more proud of our business. More proud and loud about the value we bring to brands to create brand experiences. We should show more guts and creativity during our own events and also when posting on social media. 

Don't let the digital agencies have all the fun.

Let's stick together, and let's make event marketing great again. 

Hope to read / hear your opinion on this! Feel free to send me an e-mail at laurent@lapinquotidien.com. Or connect on social media to have a discussion about this.

Written by Laurent Lootens, owner and Founder of Lapin Quotidien and So-Phi.