The Evolution of Event Management Space

There was a time when people had time, and nothing much to do. They spent doing most things by themselves, including arranging for events be it personal and official. From the greeting cards to arranging and sprucing up venues to food, games and so on, everything was done in-house. It was tedious but it was also fun. With the whole family pitching in, it was great for bonding with events like marriages going on for days! Yes days, and not hours which we see in the present. And who can forget hand-made gifts. From eatables, to showpiece to clothes to anything most could think of, everything was made in-house!

But that was exactly a quarter of a century back. In the interim, times have changed and so too circumstances. Mentioned below are situation-wise evolution of events as also the reason for the change and evolution. It would be truly interesting in understanding how with development, even something as close to the heart as events change along!

Homes 

There was a time when practically every event from house-warming to someone passing away was handled in-house by the members themselves! The leader of the pack in most cases was the lady of the house who took it upon her self-respect to make the entire event memorable. The Men of the house had to slog on all the outdoor chores be it procuring food-grains, veggies, decorations, buntings and the whole works. As for children, from then on to the present, they did as they were told. And when the goodies came out, had their fill. Food and India are two sides of the same coin. And events let the Indian show to the world what they could do to food! Into the present, the zest for events remain the same, right from births to deaths but the modes have changed. And drastically! The women of the house these days works in most cases and with two income and little to spend on, they splurge on getting the best event specialists, food makers and what have you. Instead of dipping her hand into the grime, the lady (and so too the gent!) believes in hiring event managers for everything from birthdays to theme dinners to of course, kitty-parties. They walk in and so does convenience. They cook, clean the place, organize the party, put up all the bells and whistles. As for the occupants, they go about their lives waiting for the dedicated hour for the party to begin!

Small Offices

There was a time when most start-up entrepreneurs had small offices (and not shared spaces!) which during “Eventful” days were bedecked with decorations by the owner and his/ her band of loyal workers. There were hardly any occasions worth calling ‘events’ then with a party around Diwali and a booze-bash during new-years. These days, everything has changed. They are called start-ups and they believe in working hard and partying harder! Events thus mean eventful days (or evenings turning to nights turning to mornings!). For them, events never meant decorating the office and cutting a cake! It meant getting the best event manager in town, pouring hard-earned money and getting the best DJ, Music System, Dancefloor, Booze, Food and the works. Events for the present lot MEANS partying through the night with hangovers being part of life!

Commercial establishments

Moving on from small offices to larger establishments like big offices, corporates, organizations and the likes. Events for them always means things on a grand scale which sometimes takes up humongous space, including once, an entire stadium (Reliance Industries used to hold its AGM at the Brabourne Stadium). These given the scale at which they are to be held and a certain no-nonsense which goes with the air, haven’t really changed much, except the fact that the sound systems and recordings are all digital. Evenings after the day’s meetings are though a different ballgame and can be called an Event worth employing an Event Management firm! There are those who call in the best artists, the best lighting and sound specialists and make the evening so memorable, most don’t forget it in a hurry. And with that goes the best of food and drinks. Event Management companies who hold the contract for such huge events invariably have to bend backwards to accommodate all the requests (or shall we call it demands!) of the clients which could call for the best of food from the entire world, to the best of drinks to the best of entertainment. Most such events are held at massive scales indeed!!

Hospitals, schools and the likes

Modesty seems to be an unused or less-used word in the lexicon of most commercial establishments in India when it comes to events. That can’t be blamed on any one reason. They want to be known and admired, be looked up to, be advertised well, and like the rest of the entities mentioned before, be counted as the “alive and kicking” entities! Hospitals, Schools and the likes too take entire places on rent and call in Event Management firms, spruce up the place, get good food, DJs, Sound and light specialists and so on! This, seriously wasn’t the case earlier when in the case of schools, it was the staff itself which did the needful. But as is the trend, even schools are known to arrange for dance floors and DJs on occasions and let their students just have bomb of a time once in a while. As for hospitals, they too get specialists though they try and keep it low-key lest they disturb others!

Industrial establishments

Industrial establishments celebrate only on select occasions including select festival days, founding days, days of national importance etc. Given the number of people working in such places, scale of operations and the need to rewind every once in a while, while keeping things strictly under legal checks and balances, their kind of events are guided by a need to maintain decorum while being entertaining, lively and informative. From the earliest time into the present, industrial establishments have not really changed their way of holding events thought how they organize it may have changed. Speaks aren’t the ear-splitting loud-speakers these days, food isn’t served in the traditional way of laying plates on the ground (they have tables lined up!). Some in fact have invested in buffet systems with mouth-watering stuff from the whole world with filtered, cooled water being served at regular intervals and places.

In the end, there is that one essential detail which never took place in the past but which is very visible these days. Digital Marketing. In the past, with most events being organized in-house and with hardly any need felt to advertise such things, there wasn’t really any need felt to go about telling the world. Today with every event being routed through Event Managers who themselves feel like telling the world how good they are, marketing has really caught on which in today’s parlance means ONLY Digital Marketing, and nothing beyond!

Events haven’t changed. Managing them certainly has. And this, isn’t all.