Shrinking Geographic Coverage to Optimize Spends
Event Production teams that served larger area coverages are shrinking their geographic boundaries or choosing virtual event media deliverables to cut down some major trucking costs. The scenario is such that even to logistically more around a few equipments, and with inter-city travel in the picture, staying competitive with local providers is a tough nut to crack with rising fuel cost structures!
This brings constraints to margins, so event organizers are ideating more teeming local and regional business events as a direct consequence, as opposed to major trade shows or conferences in centrally located big cities. Another thought process - is abandoning costly event venues and destinations for budget second-tier city venues. This significantly reduces all projected costs such as the accommodation and legal documentation charges as budget locales are not as financially weighty as those in prime cities.
In fact, event companies are more intent today on launching their event at one central location and then its concurrent satellite events at regional locations with less audience strengths, to optimize spends.
Do Fuel Costs Affect Event Sponsorships?
Ballooning gas prices have a domino effect on all variables of events & conferences, as they push up costs at every stage of event production. As mentioned above, increasing airfare bills and trade show ‘booth’ transportation charges eat into event budgets. Adherence to event catering safety standards & deliveries during the pandemic and addition in courier fees has also had a net negative consequence on various components of event fund allocations – thus keeping less
sponsorship dollars and sponsors keen on investments.
The Way Ahead Is Getting Net Zero with Sustainability Initiatives!
Since July 2021, the software giant Microsoft has increased the internal price of carbon by 600%. Doing the math, if a Microsoft employee has to attend a business event that warrants air travel, along with the usual $100 per tonne internal fee, another $150 are being added now to the attendee’s total flying cost.
The reason Microsoft and other companies took such a decisive action could be The Paris Agreement that insists keeping a check on rising global temperature and limiting it to strictly below 2 degree Celsius! The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission has also recently proposed on the public disclosure of public limited companies’ greenhouse gas emissions, that could be passed into law soon. United Nations is also pressing on analysis of net-zero plans of companies and cities to avoid greenwashing – the term coined when companies publicly feign sustainability; but the reality falls far short of expectations.
Thus to cut out on global emissions, global brands and companies are now trying to consciously devise
carbon footprints into a cost structure, relating it to the corporate social responsibility wing of their brand. Event companies are handpicking venues with sustainability accreditations and onsite energy & waste management programmes. Event Planners are avoiding long-haul aviation by preferring digital or hybrid events. With localized Hybrid events on the horizon in 2022, adopting plastic bans, sharing digital in-event, zero paper communications and drawing up sustainable event registration designs is every event planner’s vision forward.
Thus, from a long term perspective, the event’s industry refinements owing to pandemic or rising fuel costs or climate change are indeed sculpting the event industry day-by-day to a more streamlined and sustainable one!