While companies across the globe slash their marketing spend due to worsening economic forecasts, the corporate and private event portal Event Planner Spain continues to dominate the country’s Web-based meetings and event industry, introducing several new products within the past few months including video content, translations in two additional languages and deep discounts on supplier membership fees.
Formerly concentrated in Andalusia, the site now offers event planners direct access to more than 550 venues, tech suppliers and event management companies from across Spain. And with an average of 80,000 unique visitors and 180,000 page views a month, it provides the country’s most diverse industry-specific content, as well as a free request for proposal service in Spanish, English, German, French and Dutch.
“For us, content quality is of utmost importance,” said Thomas MacFarlane, content manager for Event Planner Spain. “We ensure that our news and events section and monthly newsletters cater to all tastes, with a mix of general news, articles by international experts and press releases from Spanish meeting and event service providers.”
With its new video site (www.videos-eventplannerspain.com), Event Planner Spain allows both members and non-members to post venues, services and event videos, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the quality and magnitude of each supplier’s portfolio. Members can even post videos in their profiles. The site is the first in the country to provide such a service.
Likewise, as part of Event Planner Spain’s strategy to tap new markets and increase relevant traffic, the portal is now available in French and Russian, in addition to Spanish and English, with the launching of the German version scheduled for May.
“In times of crisis, it is essential to diversify,” said Sandra Berbee, managing director of Event Planner Spain. “Although the Spanish market is very important to us, we are keen to gain a foothold in markets with brighter prospects for weathering the current financial storm. The dramatic drop in the euro/pound exchange rate is worrying, given the weight of the English market, although I believe that Spanish event professionals will rise to the challenge.”
