This publication of the R&C Market Research Company is focused on the meetings industry (a segment of the event industry). It provides a classification of events and describes main market participants, as well as main stages of the event organizing process. The glossary draws on the experience of leading international companies and industry experts. The publication is recommended by the Russian Convention Bureau (National Convention Bureau Association).

According to the authors, before this classification there were no attempts in Russian sources to structure the meetings industry. The available data were fragmentary or incomplete. The authors classify all events by format, client, and relevance. Some of the terms defined are congress, business breakfast, corporate and non-corporate meetings, hallmark event, etc.

Another very important parameter for segmenting the industry are its participants. R&C experts provide a classification of these, describing buyers, agents and intermediaries, suppliers, and, finally, convention bureaus and DMOs, that is official representatives of cities, regions, and countries (destinations).

The event organizing process itself has four stages: planning, preparing, actual holding, and summing up the results. The planning stage starts with formulating the concept of the event. After that, a business plan, budget, and technical project are compiled, the project management structure is built, etc. The preparation stage is the time for all the main organizational activity for the project: the program for the event is worked out, discussions with the participants, media, and partners are held, etc. In fact, the quality of the event depends entirely on this stage. At the stage of actually holding the event it’s crucial to build a strong management system for the congress infrastructure. Finally, the stage of summing up the results is also very important. This is when the effectiveness of the event is assessed and a final report is written.