 Since its creation in 2006, Eventia has rapidly established itself as one of the most effective and powerful bodies for the UK events industry. We caught up with executive director Izania Downie to talk about the association’s ongoing developments, to examine the current state of the industry, and to take a quick glimpse into the future.
Eventia is a relatively new organisation but it has a very distinct purpose. Can you tell us what Eventia is all about?
Our mission is to be the voice of the industry, to provide a community where the industry can come together with a united voice. We’d like Eventia to be the name on the lips of any businesses thinking about putting on events. Through us they can find out the latest trends and information – and find out who are the best of the best professionals.
We want to raise industry standards. That’s why our other big audience is the Government. We’re here to lobby for change in legislation where it adversely affects our industry – a very important side to what we do. We’ve already held a number of successful briefing breakfasts for MPs, where we’ve put together industry speakers to highlight the economic value and impact of our industry – and the fact that it’s worth their time to invest in us and to support us.
And how have you seen the association develop over the past two years?
We’ve come along in leaps and bounds. When we started, several associations had lost some of their focus, lost members – and some had lost a lot of money. So we went out to the big agencies in the market and gathered their opinions. We held focus groups and asked what they wanted to get out of an association. Then we distilled all the feedback we got, and said, right, let’s get on with it.
One of the keys to our success is that we’ve remained buyer-centric, so we’re pretty much run by the agencies for the industry. Suppliers sit up and take notice because they want to see the agencies’ business; they want to understand what’s going on in the market. If you’re not in touch with the buyers, you’re not in touch with the pulse of what’s going on.
How do you spend a typical day – or is there no such thing?
 There really is no such thing. I spend my time in a range of activities. It could be looking at venues for events that we’re running, talking to suppliers, talking to potential sponsors, talking to the media. It could be talking to MPs – reading through screeds of paper on new legislation, trying to turn it into plain English so the members can understand it and give us their views. It could be planning an event, or writing for the newsletter.
It could simply be putting people in touch with each other. I get calls all the time from members asking for advice, contacts and recommendations. Obviously I have to be unbiased – but I can point them to members who I know are the best people in the business.
Who makes up your membership – and what do they expect from Eventia?
Let’s start with the agencies; they’re the heart of the association, whether they’re large or small. Agencies come to us for education on the issues affecting their business, so the government legislation is particularly important for them – things like health and safety, risk analysis, the Corporate Manslaughter Act. They need one place they can get information and education.
They also benefit from the networking, the ability to chat with one another. Even though most of the big agencies know each other, they may not necessarily know some of the smaller players. Sometimes it benefits them to speak to members from smaller organisations, even to partner together.
Being a part of the association helps our agency members give something back to the industry. It’s about the next generation. They know that their staff want to progress through the industry, so if they can support them through the training initiatives Eventia can provide, then their businesses are going to benefit in the long run. So it’s a two-way street.
Our other members are mostly partners and suppliers. Their relationship is a bit more straightforward: they’re looking to place their business in front of buyers. But as an offshoot of their involvement with the association – supporting us at events, sitting on committees, being on the board, generally doing their part – the agencies take notice.
So Eventia is a neutral ground where all the members can come together and discuss the issues that are important to them. To both the agencies and the partners, this is crucial.
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