Lord Jason Scott - 10 February 2010

I know this may sound like a facetious remark but we did very well this Christmas by simply changing our marketing and sales plan. Perhaps rather then meeting up to talk about how bad the events industry has performed during the Christmas season and trying to find a scapegoat, we should look to those that have been successful and ask what have they done differently. Shouldn't we be looking at a proactive approach rather then a reactive response?

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. "

-Benjamin Franklin

Kate O'Neil - 10 February 2010

Love that quote - but this is about meeting Government - and how they can help the industry, not a sales & marketing plan. How about the worrying annoucement by Westminster Council of plans to extend parking charges to midnight and prevent parking on single yellow lines? Bound to effect event loading. Or why the congestion charging system doesn't debit the charge directly from your bank account so businesses don't incur fines by forgetting? \(They have the capacity but won't do this for less than 10 vehicles in a fleet - presumably because it's very lucrative). I am sure Mike will be a great representative for the industry.

Robert Denton - 11 February 2010

That quote is usually attributed to Franklin or Einstein, both wrongly. It comes from author Rita Mae Brown. Technically it's a definition of psychological denial but could be described as insanity or stupidity.

Sorry, what was the question?

Kitty Ebdon - 11 February 2010

I agree with Lord Jason Scott 100%! We had a fantastic Christmas-in fact our busiest on record BUT we worked hard for it. We work on a total 'open book' costing policy and gave our clients 'true' value for money without comprimising on the quality of the product or service.The business is out there -just go get it!!!

Kitty Ebdon-Director-Crafty Arty Parties Ltd

Kristy Bartlett - 11 February 2010

The 'Say thank you at Christmas' campaign failed because it asked companies to feel sorry for the industry and hold parties for the event industries sake. Instead event companies should be trying to win business by and demonstrating the true benefits of holding events and why holding an event will increase sales, decrease costs or provide some other business benefit. I would have rather seen a campaign titled 'Events – the best way to get business back on track'. So that is the message I think Downing Street should hear.

Mike Kershaw - 11 February 2010

Thank you for all the comments. Rest assured I will be focussing on getting the Government to understand the scale and importance of the Events Industry and will request that they consider increasing the tax threshold for employee engagement events from £150 per person p.a . up to £500. This would send a clear message to the UK business community that employee engagement matters and helps productivity.

I don't think the Government has a clue how important corporate events are to many sub-industries like hotels, restaurants, venues, caterers, production companies etc. so I hope to at least get them to register the value of what we, as an industry, contribute to the economy.

I am not sure if the Say Thank You at Christmas campaign failed as is suggested above, it was only ever going to get Christmas parties onto an agenda for discussion and in that it got coverage all over the national media and on TV, then I think it did OK. However much I agree that 'Events- how to get business back on track' is an admirable sentiment, I am not sure it would have got the media that excited.

I am delighted so many companies had a record Christmas and I completely agree that we need to be proactive as an industry. If the campaign has done nothing else than to get events talked about and taken seriously, then I think it was worth it.

I'll let you know how it went on Monday.