Internet’s Impact on Events Industry

           As the events industry grows larger, more individuals are pressed towards two questions. What are the issues facing the event’s industry and how are they being addressed. This essay will focus on one issue, and will try to view the issue from multiple angles in order to give a well rounded discussion. The issue chosen to investigate more thoroughly is how the internet is affecting the events industry.

The internet is a growing phenomena as it evolves to meet the needs of its users. Fifteen years ago users used the internet primarily for communication through email or instant messaging. Other used the internet to form groups such newsgroups and message boards. As more people started using the internet, the use and need began to change. Users demanded more bandwidth and speed, as well as faster update times.  The internet is a tool that can have both a positive and negative impact on the events industry.

The negative impact the internet can have on the events industry is by the early leaking of product information. Companies desire to release their products to consumers in their own way. This is usually through press releases at first, and eventually through event product launches. By product information leaking out before the product is displayed at an event, the company cannot control how and when their product can be viewed by the public. In some cases product leaking has hurt companies financially because the public gets a false impression by information that is either incomplete or untrue. Sometimes products are leaked on the internet as too good to be true, or other times they are criticized to the extreme. Any time product information is not allowed to be controlled to be shown first at an event it usually has a detrimental outcome to a company.

There is a common misconception that everyone has internet capabilities. There are countless individuals who are either stuck on dial-up or have no internet at all. Some people do not feel the need for the internet, but these people still have interests in certain events. If event coordinators tried to use the marketing toward the online audience, he will, in effect, cut off possibly thousands of his target audience because many people do not have the capabilities to gather information off the web. Sure, if they have dial-up they can see websites, but many sites in the modern internet use Flash or Java which are bandwidth heavy. Bandwidth heavy means that dial-up users would take a relatively long time to load and view the website. Therefore the internet has a negative impact on reaching the target audience.

Another negative impact the internet can have on the events industry is through incorrect information. Information is easily spread on the internet, and if the date, time, product, or show type is off, a large portion of the target audience may not end up coming to the event. Later in this essay, we will explore the positive impact of internet through correct and regulated information.

The internet can be used in a positive way in order to impact the events industry. These positive ways can be seen through advertising, online surveys, e-mail marketing, and information. The positive impact the internet can have on the event industry is advertising, surveys, communication, and regulated correct information.

Regulated correct information transmitted through and on the internet is probably the number one positive element that impacts the event industry. Information is crucial for knowledge, communication, advertising and marketing. Without information the target audience and consumers would not know what type of event or even if there was an even occurring, but on a deeper level, information allows consumers to understand the event more completely. Information could be displayed on event or venue websites. Information that would be displayed could be the title of the event, type of event, hours of operation, cost of the event, driving or transportation directions, schedule of events, and depending if the event is multiple days, a calendar. With this aspect, consumers are able to make smart choices in the events they choose to attend.

The internet enables Communication. Communication is critically important in the event industry. Event coordinators, sponsors, or patrons could all communicate through email. Newsletter emails could be sent out to a mailing list of individuals who have previously come to this type of an event, or to individuals who have shown interest in this organization. Email marketing is a simple way for event organizers to reach their target audience.

Advertising and marketing are key elements in the event industry because these elements target the audience a venue is trying to draw to an event. These two elements effectively use the regulated correct information to spread to the target audience. The internet enables event organizers to deploy advertising and marketing more cost effectively, and more quickly.

Surveys are a key element in the feedback process of event coordinators. The surveys allow event coordinators to design their events better in the future. These feedback tools are available online, which allows the consumer to complete surveys in the comfort of their own home, while giving them the opportunity to voice their opinion on any event they attended. Surveys online are quicker and can have more reporting tools to enable event coordinators to plan more effectively in the future.

In the elements this essay has discussed, the internet has some negative impacts on the events industry, but the positive impacts far outweigh a few negatives. The internet is a tool that is needed in the future of the event industry because the target audience is increasingly going online, and it is becoming an essential tool in everyday life.