The Real Cost of Undervaluing Event Producers

I’m going to say something that a lot of event producers think but don’t say out loud.

We are the most undervalued people in the events industry. And it’s costing everyone, including the clients who hire us.

I own an event production group. We produce six to seven-figure experiences for corporations, brands, and organizations. We are responsible for everything: strategy, vendor management, logistics, guest experience, risk mitigation, client communication, and the countless things that happen behind the scenes that nobody ever sees. We are the ones who make every other vendor’s work actually come together into a cohesive experience.

And yet, time after time, the event producer is treated like an afterthought in the budget.

The Budget Tells the Story

If you want to know how an industry values someone, look at where the money goes.

At a six-figure or seven-figure event, production companies get their rate. AV gets their rate. Fabrication and build-out teams get their rate. Tech platforms get their rate. But the person who manages all of them, who owns the timeline, who holds the client relationship together when things go sideways, that person is expected to work off whatever budget is left over.

On average, companies allocate about 14% of their total marketing budget to event marketing. Enterprise tech companies often spend 20% to 40% of their total marketing budget on conferences and events alone. That’s a significant investment, and it goes to venues, technology, production, catering, fabrication, and dozens of other vendors.

Every one of those vendors gets paid what they’re worth. We’re the ones making sure their work delivers. And somehow, we’re the line item that gets squeezed first.

Then, when the event underperforms, nobody questions the vendor's spend. They question the producer.

Make it make sense.

You’re Making Decisions Without Us

But here’s the part that should concern corporations and clients even more than the budget problem. It’s not just that event producers are underpaid. It’s that we’re being left out of the conversations that determine whether an event succeeds or fails before a single vendor is ever booked.

Too often, clients come to us after the vision has been set, the budget has been locked, and the expectations have already been communicated to leadership. We’re handed a plan and told to execute it. But by that point, critical decisions have already been made without the one person who understands how events actually work on the ground.

That’s like building a house and bringing the architect in after the foundation has been poured.

Here’s why this matters in real dollars: according to Harvard Business Review, only 23% of companies can effectively track event ROI. That means 77% of companies are investing six and seven figures into events and can’t even tell you whether the money was well spent. That’s not a data problem. That’s a planning problem. And it starts with leaving the producer out of the room when goals and strategy are being defined.

When you bring your event producer into the conversation early, everything changes. We can align the event strategy with your actual business objectives, not just what looks impressive on paper. We can identify where your budget is being wasted before the contracts are signed. We can flag logistical realities that will impact the attendee experience before they become day-of emergencies. We can help you set realistic expectations with leadership so the event is measured by the right outcomes.

When you leave us out of those early conversations, you’re not just undervaluing our role. You’re setting your own event up to underperform. And that costs you far more than what you would have invested in bringing us to the table from the beginning.

We Are the Closest People to Your Audience

There’s something else that gets overlooked in this conversation. Event producers hold some of the most valuable intelligence in your entire organization, and most companies never tap into it.

We walk the floor. We hear what attendees actually say when the cameras aren’t rolling. We see what’s landing and what’s falling flat in real time. We know which sessions people are walking out of and which ones have them lining up to talk to the speakers afterward. We hear the conversations happening at the cocktail hour, in the hallways, and at the exit doors.

Here’s why that intelligence matters: research shows that 80% of respondents consider in-person events the most trusted marketing channel, and 91% of consumers feel more connected to brands after attending an event. Those are powerful outcomes. But they don’t happen by accident. They happen because someone designed the experience, managed the flow, and read the room in real time. That someone is the event producer.

That perspective has real business value. It belongs in leadership conversations, in strategy meetings, in planning sessions. Not buried in a post-event report that nobody reads.

If your event producer’s insights are only surfacing after the event is over, you’re leaving money and intelligence on the table. You’re paying consultants to tell you what we could have told you months ago if anyone had asked.

To the Decision Makers Reading This

I want to speak directly to the decision-makers evaluating event budgets and vendor proposals.

Look at how you’re allocating your budget. If the person producing the entire event is getting the smallest slice, you don’t have a cost-efficient plan. You have a risk you haven’t accounted for.

Consider this: 60% of executives say events are the most significant marketing vehicle for accomplishing company goals. Companies that host events report 10x the ROI from attendees compared to non-attendees. And 83% of brands say event marketing has consistently increased their sales. The data is clear. Events work. But they only work when the person producing them is set up to succeed.

When you undervalue your event producer, you’re not saving money. You’re guaranteeing a lower-performing event. You’re burning out the one person who has a holistic view of your audience, your brand, and your goals. And you’re making it harder for them to deliver the results you’re expecting.

Bring us in early. Not after the budget is locked. Not after the venue is booked. Not after the creative direction has been decided. Bring us in when you’re still asking, “What do we want this event to accomplish?” Because that’s where we do our best work. That’s where we save you money. And that’s where we help you build an event that actually delivers on what your leadership is expecting.

This Has to Change on Both Sides

I’m not putting this entirely on corporations. Event producers have work to do, too.

We need to stop underpricing ourselves and start tying our value to business outcomes. We need to show up with data, with a strategy, and with a clear articulation of the ROI we deliver. If we want a seat at the table, we have to demonstrate why that seat matters. We have to stop positioning ourselves as coordinators/event managers and start showing up as the strategic producers we are.

And companies, whether you’re hiring an internal team or an event production group, need to stop treating the person who produces your entire event like the easiest line to cut. If you’re investing six or seven figures in an event, the person responsible for the outcome deserves to be in the room where decisions are made and compensated accordingly.

The events industry doesn’t have a talent problem. It has a value recognition problem. And until we fix that, we’re going to keep losing great producers to burnout, underfunding, and frustration.

It’s time for this industry to have an honest conversation about what event producers are actually worth, and to start acting on the answer.