As VP of EEMA South, My Primary Objective is ‘Gloom to Glory’: Martin Emmanuel, Razzmatazz Ventures

by  Komal Darji Industry Watch | February 10, 2021 | Interview

Martin Emmanuel Razzmatazz Ventures EEMA

Razzmatazz Ventures, an event management company based in Kerala, has been instrumental in shaping up the industry in South India over 25 years. In an interview with EVENTFAQS Media, Martin Emmanuel, Founder and Managing Director, Razzmatazz and Vice President - EEMA South shares insights on the event industry in the South, revival of events this year, projects in the pipeline, progress of the South on various fronts, future initiatives and more.

How have you seen the events industry evolve over the years, especially in the South?
Evolution of events in South has been slow and steady. Though it started very modestly, the momentum picked up after the millennium.  With global liberalization, more and more companies started using their marketing funds to build their brand and engage with their audience. We saw a lot of activity after the advent of mobile phone companies in the South. In the public and corporate events segment, though the momentum picked up smoothly, the quantum of personal and intimate events remained very low. But in the last decade, we saw a great turnaround in the scenario. People wanted to see their personal events – be it birthday, wedding, anniversary or any other celebration – in a way as to make great memories. The digital boom supported this growth; now the industry is robust enough to enjoy the fruit of its endeavours.

As Vice President - EEMA South, what will be your efforts to assist the industry in its revival this year? What are the challenges you see ahead?
We expect the year 2021 to be great. Though the whole world had been very optimistic about the magical 2020, it turned out to be a disastrous year for the entire industry. Keeping the positivity flag flying high, the events and entertainment industry is on the way to regaining its full strength. As we all know, COVID-19 has not yet settled down, the vaccines are showing us hope towards regaining our lost glory.

Thanks to the intervention of EEMA, Government organisations are showing compassion to our industry, relaxation for crowd gathering has increased to 100 people now. COVID-19 protocols have been set for every event by EEMA, shouldering great responsibility for the health of the attendees. These steps have far-reaching impact on the people and companies in the event management segment.

As the Vice-President of EEMA South, my primary objective is ‘Gloom to Glory’. EEMASouth has devised steps to educate, rejuvenate and revive the events segment from gloom to glory. Educating people, equipping our fellow event managers and clients to face the adversity of the pandemic with courage, to utilise every opportunity to build-rejuvenate IPs, bringing in collective or joint ventures to face the current situation, etc. Interactive online sessions with industry leaders and eminent speakers from the Government and corporate sector have strengthened the fighting spirit of every event manager in the country. Like the phoenix, I foresee all our fellow members rising from the impact of the pandemic.

On the events and activation front, tell us about various projects in the pipeline or projects executed in the last few months by event companies in the South.
In the last few months, the events sector is showing very good signs of coming back to life. It was obvious that event companies had to come back with creative ideas to do business. We focused more on personal events like weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Following the guidelines and SOPs for COVIDsafety, people have enjoyed celebrating weddings in a special manner. We have done more destination weddings with limited number of attendees. As the unlock guidelines prevent people gathering in large numbers, we had to arrange multiple events on different days with fixed time-slots to accommodate maximum visitors. In short, weddings have become a weeklong celebration in the South. Now, the industry aims to stand strong by integrating different methods and technologies. When weddings returned, people opened their minds to the idea of participating in hybrid events with a small gathering. By smartly using social and digital technologies, the reach of these events could be made much wider.

Share some insights on the progress of the South on multiple fronts amidst COVID and future initiatives planned by EEMA South. 
In the aftermath of the COVID-19pandemic, EEMA South has conducted various activities to keep up the spirit of event management companies and their employees. Through various online interactive sessions, we at EEMA could support all our members to keep their hopes high. Skill training to employees, knowledge sessions, encouragement and acknowledgment of deserving people in the industry have been some of our main activities recently. We also conducted regular monthly meetings with EEMA members in various parts of the country.EEMA South is in a never-ending process of updating and uplifting the spirit of the event management fraternity.