Many companies have made it no secret that they are cutting their advertising and marketing budgets. However, one area that appears to be somewhat insulated is event marketing. A recent study says events and meetings are playing an increasingly crucial role in the marketing mix despite the current economic conditions. This is good news for ad specialty distributors who are tapped to provide products for these events.
Fifty-three percent of the 1,000 senior level marketers surveyed said event marketing "is the discipline that best accelerates and deepens relationships with target audiences." Slightly more than a quarter (26 percent), said it drives the greatest return-on-investment—up 4% from 2007. The EventView 2009: North America report was conducted by an independent third party research firm on behalf of the Meeting Professionals International Foundation, the Event Marketing Institute and George P. Johnson.
"The underlying theme of the 2009 EventView data is that smart marketers will answer the call of their bosses to drive business as soon as possible," says David Rich, senior vice president for strategic marketing/worldwide at the event marketing company George P. Johnson. "This is best accomplished by accelerating the shift away from passive and interruptive marketing tactics and moving as quickly as possible to the more targeted, direct and engaging strategy of brand experiences that in and of themselves deliver value to the prospect or customer."
About a third of survey respondents (32%) also said events are a vital part of their marketing plans.
What are your event marketing plans this year?
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