Your Guide To The Key Event Industry Associations In The UK & Ireland

Have you considered joining an event industry association before?

There are so many to choose from, the chances are you may have been a bit confused about which is the correct one for you!

To help guide your choice and find the best association fit for your company, we’ve created this handy infographic detailing all the major UK & Ireland event industry associations.

Take a look at it by clicking the image below!

But how do you choose the right one?

Thankfully the event industry is full of great support and fantastic networking opportunities, and a lot of this is down to the numerous associations that cater to all different kinds of events, suppliers and everything in between.

Here are a few of the questions you’ll want to ask yourself in order to find the right event industry association for you to join:

Purpose: Why do you want to join an association? Is it because they provide education for you and your staff? Do you value the chance to network with peers more? Perhaps they do a great job of lobbying and you want to add your voice to the mix.

Whatever your purpose, make sure you pick an association that focuses on that particular area.

Budget: Some memberships are more expensive than others! Do you need to be a full member to get all the benefits you want, or can you join as an associate member and still achieve your objectives? Is it the best use of your resources at all? Perhaps the opportunity is so great that your investment will be worth every penny. Just make sure your spend aligns with the benefits you receive.

Company they keep: You’ll definitely want to review who else is a member before joining an association. Do you want to be the only small company in a club full of the big guys? Or the one company that is three times bigger than everyone else? Probably not because different sizes of company face different challenges, so you’ll want to be amongst similar companies to get the most from the networking and education offered by the association.

Benefits: Some of the additional benefits an association can offer are:

• Communications to other members
• Exclusive research
• Credibility or accreditation
• Partner and supplier discounts

Does the association you’re looking at offer any of these benefits and do you want them?

Have we missed any associations? What benefits do you value most? Let us know in the comments!