Plenty of work for events managers

Two women helping promote Dunedin's biggest and best events and turning them into headline grabbers, can both say that who you know is a key to success in event management.

Merrin Bath and Victoria Bunton are the right-hand women to the organising committees and trusts of iD Dunedin Fashion Week, the Otago Careers Festival, the New Zealand Science Festival and the Dunedin Rhododendron Festival.

These events attract thousands of people to Dunedin and garner international media attention.

They require exceptional organisational ability, ingenuity and people skills, talents which both women naturally have.

Their move into the career of event management was also done with ease.

Ms Bunton became involved in the Dunedin Operatic at 15 and has modelled since she was 16 so had a taste of what shows and events were like.

One week before completing an accounting degree at the University of Otago she phoned Annemarie Mains and asked to do a week of work experience with her.

That week turned into one year and after travelling overseas, she returned to Dunedin and took over Mrs Mains' event management business.

Sequel Events has now been running for three years and Ms Bunton holds contracts for iD, and the careers and rhododendron festivals, as well as working for corporate clients and dabbling in wedding planning.

"It's still a small industry in Dunedin, but there is enough to keep me busy," she said.

She enjoyed working in the city because its size enabled her to frequently work with the same people.

A work day for her varied depending on "what stage I'm at with events", but often involved being out of the office, checking with suppliers and contractors.

"Committee members are heavily involved, but I'm generally the person that makes sure the ideas eventuate," she said.

People often had a skewed idea of what her job would be like though, with many believing the life of an event manager was a glamorous one.

"I don't think they realise how hard it is."

To keep her on track, Ms Bunton has a monthly, weekly, and daily list of tasks to complete.

She must keep on top of grant and sponsorship applications, work through a lot of administration, and often work late into the night during events like iD.

But the diversity of the job and working with creative people on events which always came to a climactic end ensured she loved her job.

Ms Bath feels the same, with the best part of the job being the "opportunity to meet some of the most inspiring people I think I've ever met".

They were all "motivated people who believe in what they are doing" and she was inspired by those who "seem to be able to achieve the impossible".

Her entry into the job was similar to Ms Bunton's.

With years of working as a tour guide in Dunedin and Europe and as a marketing manager behind her, along with a marketing and anthropology degree, she returned from overseas four years ago with her young family and began working for a friend.

When the friend decided to quit the business, Ms Bath took over the reins and eventually established Strategy First.

"To date, I haven't actually advertised my services."

These services vary on client needs but often include "media hounding" and grooming spokesmen.

Having carried over the science festival and iD contracts from her friend's business, the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust and TracMap are also on her books.

When working up to 60 hours a week, Ms Bath believes setting up most of the work in advance helps events run smoothly.

"If you prepare in advance it works itself out."

This means work for iD, which runs in April, and the science festival, which runs in July, starts in November.

Teeing up media opportunities and interest, along with organising the key themes and messages of the events, was top of the list.

She would like to develop working with some national clients.

"With some of the PR work I do, because of technology, you could pretty much do it from anywhere."

And for Ms Bunton, the one thing that she most hoped to organise in Dunedin was "a big music event".