In its e-book Events Amplified: An insider’s guide to modern event marketing, ExpoPlatform has collated and outlined new advice for event marketers based on recent data and surveys.
The new e-book is designed to help marketers face the industry’s “highly competitive landscape” especially when managing “tiny budgets”, says ExpoPlatorm’s head of marketing, Maria Drozdova. Other challenges assessed include acquiring and engaging visitors, and acquiring and converting exhibitors, among others.
Competitive landscape
As more companies turn to event marketing to reach their audience, the more saturated the market has become. This competitive landscape is ‘Quite challenging’ for 36% of respondents, with ExpoPlatform recommending identifying a well-defined target audience and utilising tailored messaging for them as a solution to capture attention.
Budgets
Budgets also maintain top spot as a crucial pain point for event marketers, with 29% of respondents marking it as ‘Very challenging’. Event attendee feedback platform Explori suggests that event costs have increased by about 30% since before the pandemic, leading to some businesses struggling to justify the cost of pricy event marketing. Despite sustainability initiatives, MICE travel spending has increased by up to 60%.
Acquisition
Methods to maintain a relationship with attendees and exhibitors have changed post-pandemic, with events finding it harder to attract attendees due to market saturation and an increase in remote working – the allure of a day out of the office is no longer prevalent. Acquisition of attendees and visitors are in both cases marked as ‘Quite challenging’ for 43% of respondents.
Email marketing is still hugely important as a method to communicate with an audience, but events marketing agency TEMBO notes that this cannot be relied upon solely. Haydn Gush, TEMBO’s marketing director revealed that 90% of bookings would have resulted from email marketing five years ago, however post-pandemic this is now closer to 60%.
Opportunities for marketers
However, it’s not all doom and gloom for event marketers. There are clear opportunities for businesses and events to harness and impact their audience.
Personalisation and automation
Personalisation can warm attendees to a brand, increasing brand loyalty and their likelihood of repeat attendance. ExpoPlatform’s data shows that streamlining an event with technology can help this go smoothly, making it a ‘Good opportunity’ for 64% of respondents.
“Utilising technology that can make sure those (personalised) things are actually going to happen is probably the most valuable thing for exhibitors,” says Laura Davidson, CEO of ag Digital.
Sustainability
Sustainability is more than just a buzzword, it’s a necessary consideration for event marketers and the industry as a whole. More and more attendees are becoming environmentally conscious, with 36% of respondents stating that sustainability is an ‘Average’ opportunity and 29% noting it as a ‘Good opportunity’. Investing in sustainable practices can include waste management, providing hybrid options, or implementing a carbon offsetting scheme.
Influencer marketing
Influencers continue to be the talk of the town, with 71% of study respondents noting influencer partnerships as a ‘Good opportunity’. Carefully selected influencers can effectively expose a show or brand to their target audience, with loyalty to the influencer prebuilt in. ExpoPlatform suggests Meta Creator Studio as a method to analyse the best influencer for an event’s audience.
The free e-book can be found at expoplatform.com/ebooks
