US event marketing agency mdg’s director of international strategy Anjia Nicolaidis looks at how has international marketing changed and asks what event marketers should be doing?
It has been a tumultuous few years trying to attract and bring international audiences to events — through closed borders, visa restrictions, Covid variants and surges, etc. With China finally opening up in the first quarter of this year, we at mdg have seen an immediate boost in international attendance.
At a recent roundtable we hosted with UFI and the Society of Independent Show Organisers (SISO), American association and event executives gathered to discuss the latest trends affecting international audiences and how to optimise marketing efforts.
Kai Hattendorf, managing director and CEO of UFI, expounded on where things stand in the current market. Hattendorf focused on three main points that are redefining international growth today. First: The event industry has moved past the post-pandemic recovery phase. China was the last to reopen and is doing so at two to three times the speed of other economies. Like the US, China has struggled to bring back international attendees even though their visa process is much faster (only 4-5 weeks to get a visa).
Second: Digital has become a mainstay and needs to be in the DNA of our marketing efforts — no specially-coined terms, like ‘hybrid events’, needed. Digital continues to drive industry growth and impact the way we develop our shows.
The third topic of utmost importance is climate change and everything related to it, including efforts to reduce the industry’s greenhouse emissions, the pressure to deliver carbon measurements and extreme weather causing event and travel cancellations. The event industry must show that business events are part of the solution because of the sheer number of in-person connections attendees can make without having to travel to multiple locations. Carbon emissions concerns could also lead to more regional and fewer global events.
Our own research supports Hattendorf’s first point about the new post-recovery era. Based on data from Freeman’s portfolio of events, first-quarter international attendance numbers for 2023 were at 93% of first-quarter numbers from 2019 — up 13 points from the end of 2022. And verification rates were higher than in 2022, though there has been an overall decrease of five percentage points from before the pandemic.
There is room for growth in the US as the visa process is still lagging — the backlog is especially significant for Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and India. Commerce and travel associations are pressuring the US Department of State to ramp up efforts and work in partnership with the departments of Commerce and Agriculture. Events organisers can plan ahead by opening international registration early and starting the visa process with exhibitors as soon as they sign on. It’s also important to be aware of the varying visa requirements for different countries. Luckily, US business visas are valid for 10 years.
The pandemic gave many events the time to upgrade and invest in the future by improving inefficiencies and mitigating risk. This mentality can also bring events through a recession. Any international marketing investments that are made for the short term, should be in service to a longer-term growth strategy. The top three actions marketers can take are to invest in data tools and resources, build out an ecosystem of in-market promotional partnerships and explore ways to get more value out of those multipliers.
New MDNA partnership
Tom Mitchell, president of Messe Düsseldorf North America (MDNA), spoke about MDNA’s new partnership with the Association of Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, which gives MDNA a 60% stake in the leading US show in uncrewed systems, XPONENTIAL. Through their global network of in-market agents, MDNA is looking to grow the show’s brand globally. The first year has been a success with record turnout from several markets, especially across Asia.
MDNA worked with the Trade Event Partnership Program (TEPP) at the US International Trade Administration, recruiting delegations from 14 countries. This helped increase the final attendee registration numbers by 65% over 2022. Moving forward, they hope to turn first-time attendees into exhibitors, and expand the brand by bringing XPONENTIAL to Germany in 2025.
Even through difficult times and restrictions, relationships need to be developed and maintained to sustain global events. Stephanie Selesnick of International Trade Information, Inc. listed some of the work that goes into building international relationships: knowing the customs and the cultures; finding the popular in-market digital and social platforms; and ensuring your event website has all the useful details travellers from abroad would need.
Other executives shared their successes with the group: The National Restaurant Association Show had a surge of international attendees this year from Central and South America, and the return of attendees from China. It was the largest percentage of total attendance the event had ever had. One new tactic that contributed to this success was adding a TikTok account aimed specifically at the international market. A similar strategy employed by the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) was to find social media influencers in other markets. This expanded their reach to new audiences in their priority markets.
The main takeaway from the discussion was that international efforts need to evolve to adapt to the new normal. Start by keeping a close eye on your data, trying new tactics and getting a deeper understanding of your in-market partners’ objectives.
