The Exhibit & Event Marketers Association (E2MA) and the Chief Marketing Officer Council have released a joint April 2013 study on the value of trade shows and event marketing, gathering the views of more than 260 brand marketers, according to a press release.
Among the key findings, the report, titled “Customer Attainment From Event Engagement,” noted the continuing importance of special events for marketers across organizations, despite growing reliance on social media and digital channels. About 90 percent of respondents reported that special events held at least some level of importance for their business, and 31 percent considered events essential.
“Events and their ability to host intimate, face-to-face dialogues with customers, prospects, influencers and even competitors remains critical to many marketers across a multitude of industries,” says Liz Miller, vice president of marketing programs and thought leadership for the Chief Marketing Officer Council, in the press release.
Most marketers in the survey thought of events and similar programs as ways to increase revenue, with 64 percent using them to find new prospects and 62 percent working to gather or cultivate leads.
The process of event marketing, however, is undergoing an evolution to make them more personalized. About 40 percent of those surveyed said they were starting to move from the large trade shows, where individual booths can be drowned out by the immense amount of participants, toward smaller, targeted gatherings. A similar amount, 44 percent, reported that they were choosing to host their own events to build their brand instead of participating solely in general events or shows.
When asked about the major challenges of event marketing, marketers reported that their primary problems were in persuading businesses to make investments, and managing the increasing costs of putting on these events.
The survey gives marketers and event planners insights on how to make the most of these business events, according to E2MA’s blog, but the organization also relays other information and recommendations on how to put on better events. For example, the blog points readers toward Splash Omnimedia’s exhibitor booth suggestions, which explains how companies can make themselves stand out on the trade show floor, or Exhibitor Magazine’s discussions on how to give social media a bigger presence at these events — all intended to help exhibitors and marketers attract interest and better relay their message.
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