Big Indian Fat Weddings And The Event Management Industry

On account of the Monthly General Body Meeting of the Karnataka Event Management Association (KEMA), a Panel discussion was organized where Mr. Samit Garg, CEO & Co-Founder of E Factor Entertainment talked and discussed how event Management industries set its footprints in THE BIG FAT WEDDINGS.

While events were happening every day in the country in the form of cultural, social, political programs, they greatly lacked quality control and attention to detail. This was what instigated Mr. Samit Garg to set his foot into events.

The trends of big fat wedding celebrations began with a vision of being in the high profile social events space. The fact that weddings are a showy affair, especially among families with high disposable incomes and their eagerness to pull out all the stops for this momentous celebration served as the perfect recipe for us says Mr Garg who is one among the top destination wedding experts to have handled big fat weddings of many known rich and famous celebrities like Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, weddings of the Goenkas, Essar Group, GVK Group, the Sahara Parivar, etc. to name a few.

Answering queries during the panel discussion conducted by Mr Srikant Kanoi, VP of KEMA, Abhilash, and Mahendra Gangadharan, Members of KEMA, and Mr Samit Garg gave an insight on the past, present and future of event management companies and the roles and responsibilities in managing big, fat weddings. Some astonishing statistics and opportunities that lie ahead for event management companies in the years to come were shared.

"The global wedding business is about 330 billion dollars out of which the US market is the highest with 76 billion dollars. India is the closest second with 38 billion dollars. In India, on average a person spends one-fifth of the wealth accumulated in a lifetime at a wedding. Considering an average family of five members, there are around 250 million families in India out of the 1.37 billion Indian populations, an average of one marriage per family every 20 years comes up to 10 million weddings every year. Out of this, 0.25% of business is handled by organized sectors in terms of events that come up to 25000 weddings annually," said Mr Garg.

"The estimated cost of a wedding with no expenses spared could be between Rs 5 lakh to Rs 50 crore in India. Currently, the Indian Wedding industry is worth 180,00,000 crores across domains which include Hotel Expenses, Jewellery, Travel, Apparel, Gold, Food & Beverages, Decorations, Banquets, White Goods, etc. Even if the average amount spent per wedding is Rs 100 lakh per wedding all across, we are talking about Rs 25000 crore worth of business across the organized sector today in terms of events and related supplies. Considering 20 to 25% of growth already exhibited in the previous years, we are talking about an increase by Rs 5000 crore year on year basis," he said.

"It is also expected, the per capita income will be tripled in a couple of decades and the per capita consumption of gold during weddings or otherwise will increase. With half of India's population being under 30 years of age, the marriage market is set to boom like never before over the next five to 10 years. It is time for us to get ready - for the Giant Leap which will catapult this market to a 2.5 to 3 times multiplier in the next 5 to 7 years."

The Destination Wedding market is also growing and will continue to grow but International Resorts and Tourism Boards find it difficult to offer wedding clients what is offered in India.

But the brides and grooms want to travel to new places and are fascinated with international destinations for their weddings and hence the event management companies keep themselves abreast of the newest options to give variety to their clients. The panel also discussed organizing big tourism events ranging from city festivals for the people, global tourism, re-imaging brand persona to promoting arts and culture. These events are usually spread over many days and have recorded hundreds of thousands of footfalls. Besides the sheer scale and magnitude, the initiatives are to be created keeping in mind local substance, needs and objectives to developing a distinct identity. Every event, hence, acquires a personality of its own, has its own magniloquence and magnificence", concluded Mr Garg, along with sharing his failures and success stories from working at Delhi Tent House to managing big fat weddings of celebrities and larger than life Tourism Events for states and the country.

The previous General Body Meeting of KEMA saw for the first time ever in the history of the Indian events industry, KEMA and Event Equipment and Service Association (EESA) join hands to enhance the quality and services of Events in a more structured fashion. It is one of the most noticeable developments in the history of event industries which will cater to Karnataka and will gradually to the rest of India during the years to come.

The KEMA Monthly General Body Meeting had Mr Shridhar R - Regional Manager Karnataka - NOVEX Communication Pvt Ltd and Mr Rasheed Sait - MD - George P Johnson talking about the 'Perils and Imperils of Licensing in Event Industry' as a part of the panel discussion and Mr Srinivasa H M, Additional Director, MSME participating in a panel discussion and sharing information on Role and Importance of MSME in the event industry and Maj Gurna talking about the importance of Licencing and copyright for event management companies in the previous editions, while the highlight of the General Body Meetings over a couple of months we're having Dr Venkat Vardhan, the doyen of the event management industry as Honorary Chairman of KEMA.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Arvind J Sabhaney, General Secretary of KEMA said, "The Event Management Industry, which has grown in leaps and bounds over the past decade doesn't just provide training and entertainment opportunities; it also makes a vast contribution to the India's economy. It is estimated that the industry creates lakhs of full-time jobs, from the event crew members that set up the stage and the lighting to those in control of security, marketing and every other vital component that goes into organising a successful event. These jobs offer a high level of satisfaction and help to keep team morale at peak with the exciting environments that each person can be a part of. With the quick succession trends and technologies, it isn't enough to look one year ahead; rather, modern meeting and event planners should keep their eyes on innovation coming over the horizon for the upcoming years within the long-term planning range."

Legal heads of KEMA, Mr Sharat Amin and Vijay Sundarmurthy said, "We at KEMA are working towards customer delight and making collaborations with Event management industries an everlasting experience as Clients and Corporates depend on us to make their celebrations, landmark events and memories for a lifetime. It is these enchanting 'moments of truth' that we want to create in the minds and hearts of our clients with the quality of services we plan to enhance with every event we manage for them so that we make it a meaningful association for both the clients and the event management industries. We have covered crucial topics that are of the utmost necessity to successfully run an event organization. Topics ranging from Licensing for Event Organizations and Roles and support of Government organizations in supporting the Events Industry, to seeking guidance and support from industry veterans for the benefit of the upcoming event organizations have been covered in the previous editions."

Mr Sanjeev Kapoor, President of KEMA said, "KEMA started as a small group of people initially now has 80 organizations as paid registered members in a short span and saw participation from 200 odd event organizations and is growing strong. Our aim is to collaborate and to address all issues faced by event companies including licensing, start-ups, venues, legal, incubation, etc."

"We have been regularly organizing many such panel discussions with government organizations and various stakeholders to bridge the gaps and make companies more compliant, equip them with all necessary information, work in unison by sharing our experiences and support our fellow members to run their establishments hassle-free. This will not only improve the quality of the organizations, but will also help us organise events in a more planned and structured way, and that, in turn, will help our clients," he said.

EVENT MANAGEMENT COMPANIES: An Overview

Event Management is looked upon as a sunrise industry in the service sector. The past decade of the Indian economy has witnessed an alarming growth in the size of the event management industry. It has grown by leaps and bounds in the recent past and most of the experts in the industry strongly believe that this is just the beginning of a new era. According to the survey done by some leading Research agencies, the organized event industry in India is poised to grow by at least 25% annually and is estimated to reach Rs 10000 crore.

The scope of Events has been widening day by day and the events & Entertainment Industry today encompasses events like Fashion & Celebrity shows, Film awards, Celebrity promotions, Roadshows, Musical concerts, Bollywood-shows, T.V. Reality shows Company conferences, Banqueting facilities, Tourist attractions, Sports, Culture, Corporate seminars, Workshops, Exhibitions, Wedding celebrations, Birthday parties, Theme parties & Product launch. The continuous rise in the number and the scale of all such events have emerged as the main growth drivers in the sector. Today, Event Management has become an integral part of any marketing plan. A large number of companies have already recognized the benefits of Direct Marketing through events. Events are considered as a means to Launch, Advertise or Build a brand.

The Indian Media & Event industry grew from INR 728 billion in 2011 to INR 821 billion in 2012, registering an overall growth of 12.6 percent. The industry achieved a growth of 11.8 percent in 2013 to touch INR 917 billion. The sector was projected to grow at a CAGR of 15.2 percent to reach INR 1,661 billion in 2017. As per a report by EY-EEMA (Event and Entertainment Management Association), the events industry in India is predicted to cross 10,000 Crore mark by 2020-21.

ABOUT KEMA:

The Karnataka Event Management Association (KEMA) is an autonomous and non-profit registered body of companies, institutions and professionals operating within the Events and Experiential Marketing Industry of Karnataka (India). KEMA aims to bring together the leading Event Management, Sports Management and Brand Activation Companies, MICE and Wedding Planners of Karnataka on the same platform. KEMA will represent as an Association with a unified voice that leads dialogue within its members and also with the Government Bodies, Statutory Bodies, Taxation Authorities, Private and Municipal Licensing Bodies, Corporate and Industry, Vendors and Artists. Going forward KEMA will be setting Industry Standards that will guide its members, and prescribe a Code of Conduct for its members and their employees, and safeguard their interests in the Industry.