IPA lends support to events industry

The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) has agreed to include event marketing spend in the quarterly Bellwether survey after lobbying by the Events Industry Alliance (EIA).

The IPA will reassess the breakdown of the “All Other” segment of the survey, which represented 23% of marketing spend in Bellwether report for the first quarter of 2007.

The EIA says it “welcomes the move to shed greater light on exactly where the £43bn spent on marketing in the UK each year is being allocated”.

EIA group chief executive Trevor Foley (pictured) adds: “Having worked to develop and promote the events industry over recent years, and seeing the increased popularity of live events marketing among brand owners keen to deliver a total brand experience, this is an important step forward for our sector.

“The move by the IPA will not only give its members a more complete picture of what’s hot and what’s not, but also raise the profile of this powerful and hugely effective medium.”

The EIA says that, according to a survey by JMA Research in March this year, 46% of those polled expected events to play a greater role in communication strategies, with 61% saying they will allocate more budget to events in the next 12 months.