KEY NUMBERS

78%

According to FIPP's 2019 Events in Magazine Media report, 78% of millennials choose to spend money on a desirable experience rather than a material product. “People have so many digital experiences these days, they're craving that live experience more and more,” says Michael Caruso, Editor-in-Chief at Smithsonian Magazine. FIPP

70%

Revenue averages for a readers' choice awards event are:

• Year 1 revenue: US$80,000, with an attendance of about 300

• Year 2 revenue: US$150,000, with attendance of about 500

• Average profit margin: 70%

These expectations from Lyndsi Lane, Vice President of GateHouse Live Events and Promotion are conservative, she said, as these events have very high profit margins. “If you're in a larger market, you're going to blow these away,” she said. Anniversary years also provide big opportunities for special recognition packages to award recipients. Lane speaking at an INMA Webinar in Autumn ’19

30%

Revenue averages for an expo are:

Year 1 revenue: US$100,000, with an attendance of about 2,000

Year 2 revenue: US$150,000, with attendance of about 5,000

Average profit margin: 30% Lane/INMA

20%

Revenue averages for a celebrity event:

Year 1 revenue: US$150,000, with an attendance of about 800

Year 2 revenue: US$200,000, with attendance of about 1,100

Average profit margin: 20% Lane/INMA

1.3M

Hearst Live is Hearst UK's 30-person events agency that in 2018 ran 100 events catering to an audience of 1.3m people, doubling attendance levels compared with the previous year. FIPP

15

How far in advance you need to plan all depends on the type and size of event you're running, according to Thomas Howie, chief operations officer and one of the founding members of Evessio.com, specialists in event management software. “Smaller events that might be replicated a number of times throughout the year might only need a few weeks,” he told FIPP. “Larger events might need 15 months (such as an awards): three months to have all the questions, categories, branding and collateral sorted and then

12 months to promote and make sales etc. Bigger international events might be two years plus in the making.” FIPP