What does an event producer do?

Welcome to event production

Have you ever wondered about how all those big shows, B2B events, exhibitions, conferences, concerts come to life? Or who is behind the stage, who made the programme which you cherry-pick from, who organised and convinced the speakers or the performers to come all the way from other countries or even other continents? As in many other businesses, the success of an event lies on the expertise of the team behind it. So, we've decided to dedicate this post to event producers by describing what they do, and in the first place, what conference production is all about. Read on to find out more - it may not be what you thought but may be just what you need.

Image credit: Tech Yizu

What is conference production?

Is conference production the same as event management? No, as event management is only a part of conference production, and here why: Conference production is an industry in itself whose development is linked to the International Institute for Research (IIR), a company which launched, researched and ran many international B2B events in various sectors, from automotive to IT and pharmaceuticals, and was in 2005 acquired by Informa. The main focus of conference production is not on purely managing an event, but fully researching the topic (using analytical and investigative skills, such as journalistic) with the target market - potential event attendees and sponsors, no matter how complex or specific the topic is in a certain field. The key role here is the one of a conference or event producer, who undertakes this research and then creates the event’s concept, format and content tailored to findings from the research, in order to make the event as successful as possible. This includes writing the conference programme, inviting and conrming top level speakers in that sector, creating marketing and sales plans, and finally, overseeing event management and the event on the day it happens. Now, you can tell why event management is only one piece of the puzzle!

How can professional event production help me and my organisation?

Do you hold annual events for your organisation or industry, which you want to see become more successful? Has your event become “yesterday’s news” over time, with lowered prots and attendance, in serious need of a boost? Are you keen to start up an industry event with your organisation as the main organiser, partner or sponsor? Do you wish you had a better idea of how to plan for your event properly,with enough time and budget at each stage? Do you need a helping hand for just one stage of your event’s production, such as building a database, market research, speaker acquisition, programme and format development, sales or marketing?

Hope you now have a better idea of what event production is and what event producers do. As event and conference production is what we have most expertise in, contact us via the form below if you think you need help with any of the above for your next event!

Image credit (cover image): TechCocktail

Slider-image credit: Jim Larrison