April'18 Breaks the Norm, Witnesses Spectacular Events: Deepak Choudhary, Event Capital

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Industry Watch | May 3, 2018 | Guest Article

Event Capital Deepak Choudhary

It is always so great to see the Indian events and experiential ecosystem thriving and doing better than ever. The year 2018 has been fantastic for the industry so far - the market is maturing, the audiences are ready to pay the ‘buck for value’ and planners are coming up with innovative event concepts that are not only meticulously thought out but are also being delivered phenomenally. Clearly, if there is a time to be in the Indian events business, it is right now. I mean just look at the month that went by.

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In my professional experience, the month of April for any year has for years remained a month of inactivity. A time when the brands are renewing their budgets and the agencies are cautiously planning for the year ahead. But April 2018 has broken this norm and for the first time in years, the industry saw an eventful April - one that was laden with sensational event concepts, stunning executions, and miraculous technology exhibits.

This April started on a high-note on the sandy shores of Goa on April 5th. A property by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club, Goa Fest 2018 featured top-notch content, entertainment, and production. The highlight of the convention this year again was its interactive content - I mean, you need to have the vision to have programming on icons like Sania Mirza and Baba Ramdev, relate it to the industry and come out looking like a winner. Goa Fest 2018 will go down in the history of the convention as its most content-driven edition ever.

The month also saw the return of one of India’s most innovative event IP in the recent times - Lil Flea. Held over the first two weekends in the hot and humid city of Mumbai, Lil Flea gave Mumbaikars the freedom to shop their hearts out with interactive engagements, fun, entertainments and making a day out of it. This is a perfect example of a niche IP gone right.

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he most buzzing event of the month, however, was the One Republic Concert at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai. Cyrus Gorimar and Opium events have kept their love for music alive by bringing in yet another one of the best international bands in the world to Mumbai. More power to Cyrus and the team for constantly raising the bar with their endeavours. The audiences loved the concert and it was an out an out stunner - right from the time they entered the venue till the time the band wrapped up their guitars.

Another massive highlight of the year has been Event Show Asia, a property by EVENTFAQS Media supported by the Event and Entertainment Management Association. While WOW Awards Asia is known to bring the event industry together through thought-provoking content, it is initiatives like Event Show Asia that keep the momentum going and provide to the industry ‘food for thought’ for rest of the year. Event Show Asia not only saw an unprecedented exhibit of the latest technological innovations set to take the industry by storm, but its content on event safety, fabulous session by Sabbas Joseph, Viraf Sarkari, and others have truly set the tone for industry and helped us in delving deep into the core issues of an event that are usually ignored.

India’s largest sports IP, the Indian Premier League also returned this month bigger than ever with more money and a massive euphoria. Also, with India’s thunderous performance at the Commonwealth Games, it is safe to say that Sports Events and IP’s will continue to see more investment from our industry and brands.

It really feels surreal to realise that all of the above-mentioned events and festivities took place in just one month. And if that wasn’t enough content for the Industry we are all looking forward to the 10th annual EEMAgine convention set to take place from May 6-8, in Jaipur. I look forward to meeting my peers from the industry, enjoy the enlightening sessions and engaging content and keep the learnings going.

The article has been authored by Deepak Choudhary, Co-Founder and Director, Event Capital.