The Conference Speaker MARKETPLACE – Who Buys & Hires Presenters?

David Staughton

Australian Conference Speaker & Event MARKETPLACE for Professional Presenters and Online Talent

An Overview of The Conference Speaker & Online Presenter Marketplace – Who buys them? Lots of different conference organisers!

The marketplace for conference speakers and talent consists of thousands of events for audiences of every size. The Business Events Council of Australia (BECA) estimates over 400k business events are organised in Australia each year generating billions of dollars in revenue for the economy.

Australian Speaker Marketplace
The Australian Speaker Market is HUGE

There is an ongoing requirement for talented specialists & speakers for many different types of Event Buyers and Organisers.

GROUPS THAT ORGANISE CONFERENCES

There are many thousands of groups and organisations in the Speaker Marketplace including:

  • SMEs – Franchises, Licensees, Dealerships and Small Business Groups
  • ASSOCIATIONS – similar businesses of all size with suppliers & sponsors too
  • CORPORATEs – listed companies like Banks, Finance, Super and Manufacturers
  • GOVERNMENT EVENTS – Federal, State, & Local Government , PPP and semi-govt.
  • EDUCATION – Schools, Unis, Tafes and RTOs – Teachers, Parents and Students
  • NOT FOR PROFITs and other CSR or Charity organisations,
  • B2C – Business to Consumer Sector – Direct Selling Businesses (DSA) like Amway
  • SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT EVENTS
  • EXPOS & SHOWS – trade shows, exhibitions and “Selling from the stage” events
  • FAITH MARKET – Big in USA but not much in Australia
  • PUBLIC WORKSHOPS – Selling from the stage at Events

 

DIFFERENT TYPES OF EVENTS NEEDING SPEAKERS & ENTERTAINMENT

Speakers and Entertainment Artists are needed for the many different types of events that require talent  including

  • CONVENTIONS, CONFERENCES & SUMMITS
  • ROADSHOWS, WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS & MEETINGS
  • BIG SHOWS, EXHIBITIONS & EXPOS
  • RETREATS & GETAWAYS – incentives and Strategy/Planning Events
  • CRUISES & FLOATING EVENTS

MANY INTERMEDIARY BUYERS HELP ORGANISE EVENTS

  • PCO’s – Professional Conference Organisers like MCI, ICMS, Waldron Smith, CI Events, Arinex, Solterbeck, George Patterson and more in the PCO Association (PCOA)
  • IHMP’s – In House Meeting Planners that work for big companies (e.g. AMP, KPMG etc)
  • VENUES & TALENT AGENCIES can also require and sell talent

Australian Speaker Bureaus, Talent Agencies & Talent Managers for Conference Speakers

  • About 20 key Speaker Bureaus in Australia offer specialists like speakers, celebrities, MCs, Facilitators and other acts for events and conferences.
  • There are also a number of Talent Agencies who represent a limited or specially curated selection of speakers, comedians, celebrities, sports stars or other famous people.
  • Recently a number of Online Talent Providers are offering “Book Direct” options via websites.
A Speaker in the Speaker Marketplace
Steven Bradbury Olympian – Speaker & MC

MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF TALENT REQUIRED

  • There are ALL types of speakers and presenters – Keynote, Plenary, Breakout, Workshops, Experts, Strategists and Thought Leaders
  • Different styles of MCs, Facilitators and Teambuilders – Corporate, Celebrity and Comedians
  • All types of talent and celebrities – Entertainers, Comedians, Stars, Acts, Singers, Social media Stars

As you can see the marketplace for speakers and talent is extensive and probably bigger than you thought.  Then there are more events in New Zealand, the Pacific, Asia and big markets like the USA.