Tipsheet

The Canadian Events Industry at a Glance: 2019 Trends

Event creators have a to-do list a mile long. It can be hard to find the time to step back from your own events to take a look at the Canadian events industry as a whole — but you need to keep your event competitive.

As part of Eventbrite’s annual Pulse Report, we surveyed nearly 200 event creators like you to get the insights you need to improve your events and benchmark your performance.

Use these industry benchmarks to plan your budget, strengthen your team, and update your event tech. Here are the essential stats you need to stay on the pulse of what’s happening in the greater Canadian events industry — or you risk falling behind.

Careers in events:

Canadian event teams have their hands full

You’ve heard the stereotype that Canadians are friendly, but that’s even more impressive when you realize they are crazy busy, too. When it comes to Candian events, most teams have less than five people — and still manage the equivalent of an event every other week.

51% of Canadian event teams consist of less than 5 members
1/4 of Canadian event teams run 25 events or more per year

What this means for you 

You need to make the most out of the strengths of your small team. Start by outlining each position’s tasks and duties. If staff members know exactly what their responsibilities are, there will be less confusion and time wasted on overlapping tasks.

Here are the three key duties you need to be covered for a successful event — even if your team is just you.

1. Event marketing

No one will come to your event if they don’t know about it. A marketing lead is critical to the success of your event. If your team is small, this person will be responsible for marketing, PR, and outreach. If you have additional resources, you may have dedicated people for each of these channels.

2. Operations

The general manager works on the nuts and bolts of the event. This person is also in charge of budget, and making decisions about the technology and tools the team will invest in.

3. Vendor and partner coordination

Your coordinator should handle some of the day-to-day tasks — filing purchase orders, scheduling meetings, and coordinating with vendors and sponsors.

Additional positions can be determined based on your event’s size and specific needs. For more on how to ensure you have the right people behind you, check out this ebook on how to snag an all-star staff.

The Canadian market for live experiences

is all about community

Canadian event creators host a diverse roster of event types. But the most common formats all have one theme in common: building community. This is especially clear when you consider the number on category creators focus on: nonprofit, community, and educational events.

The most common types of events in Canada in 2018

55% of creators ran a nonprofit, community, or educational event.
45% of creators ran a networking event.
38% of creators ran a training or workshop.

What this means for you 

To strengthen the reach and attendance of your nonprofit, community, or educational event, you need to align your cause or purpose with your attendees’desires. And those desires have shifted over the last decade.

Often referred to as the “experiences generation,” millennials especially are passionate, vocal champions for a cause or community. They make decisions about events to go to based on what speaks to them personally: A survey of 2,000 American adults found that two-thirds said they’d rather be known for experiences they’ve enjoyed instead of the things they own.

So emphasize your mission and the uniqueness of your experience while marketing your event. Tell a personal story about how people found community at the event, or how the cause you’re promoting made a difference in someone’s life.

Tickets sales and sponsors are the top revenue sources

Calculating your event’s final revenue numbers is always nerve-wracking. Depending on what you find, it can be a cause for celebration — or time to reevaluate. The top three sources of revenue for Canadian event teams were ticket sales, sponsorships, and grants or donations.

%

70% Ticket sales
52% Sponsorships (vendor exhibits, advertising)
31% Grants and/or donations

What this means for you 

Ticket sales are a natural source of revenue. Sponsorships, however, can be a little harder to come by. If the stress of reaching out to sponsors is giving you pause, the key is to be prepared.

To walk into those meetings and send those emails with confidence, make sure you’re clear on your event’s elevator pitch. Start by identifying the Unique Value Proposition of your event. This consists of three elements: what your attendees need, how your event fulfills that need, and what makes your event unique compared to others in the space.

For more expert advice on how to pinpoint what sponsors are looking for, read the 2019 Guide to Event Sponsorship.

Food, facilities, and marketing are top Canadian event costs

Event planning means a lot of expenses, and these can stack up — fast. Canadian event creators’ top three areas of expense were food and drink, venue rentals, and event promotion.

food facilities %

48% Food and beverage
46% Facility rental
45% Marketing and promotion

What this means for you: There’s nothing worse for a creator than realizing that a mistake in planning means you have to cut the budget for an essential part of your event. You don’t want to compromise quality for quantity, after all.

Not everyone is a numbers whiz. If balancing the budget is weighing on your mind, download this budget template and take a breather. Step one is done.

Pro tip

Not sure what to include in your template? Check out the full budgeting guide to help you. You’ll be balancing expenses like a pro in no time.

Reaching new attendees is Canadian creators’ top challenge

Some parts of the event planning process work out without a kink. Other can feel like Murphy’s Law — anything that can go wrong will.

For Canadian creators, these are the three main challenges that keep them up at night.

#1 Reaching new attendees
#2 Insufficient budget
#3 Securing sponsors

What this means for you 

Reaching new attendees is by far the greatest challenge facing the Canadian events industry. To grow your event, you need to branch out and try new strategies.

Social media is a powerful way to reach new audiences, with both organic and paid posts. Use this social media advertising calendar to figure out what to post, when to post it, and how to promote it to drive the most awareness and ticket sales.

Grow your event with the best tech in the industry

Canadian event creators manage busy calendars and the everyday craziness of the events business, all with small tiger teams. But if you want to grow, you need to keep pushing yourself to think differently — and partner with a ticketing technology that makes reaching new attendees easy.

Ready to hit the ground running? Create your next event on Eventbrite today.

Eventbrite powered 4.7 million events in 2019

Eventbrite brings the world together through live experiences. Nearly one million event creators like you used Eventbrite in 2019 to issue over 309 million tickets and registrations. From music festivals and conventions to pop-up dinners and photography classes, events of all sizes use Eventbrite to transform your vision into an experience people will love.

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