Annual Study of Tradeshow Organizers Finds Attendance Growth Linked to Marketing Budget
BETHESDA, MD- August 8- The 5th annual AttendTrends study conducted by Jacobs, Jenner & Kent and Frost Miller Group found that overall attendance increased for events in 2007. Sixty two percent of organizers said that attendance at their event increased in 2007. However, there appears to be a direct correlation between marketing budgets and event attendance.
Among organizations that increased their marketing budgets, 64 percent reported growth in attendees. This compares to attendee shrinkage for 68 percent of the organizations that decreased their marketing budgets. Also in line with the trend, of those organizations whose marketing budgets remained the same, 62 percent reported attendance remained the same.
Regardless of budget, marketers cited some other challenges in maintaining or increasing attendance at their events. Thirty five percent of marketers said their top challenge is knowing how to communicate in today's environment, while 32 percent cited communicating an event's value to new audiences.
"While the natural tendency for some show organizers may be to cut back on spending when the economy is soft, this research shows that it is likely to lead to revenue loss," says Kevin Miller, president of Frost Miller Group. "A better approach would be to become more strategic in developing databases and more creative in executing marketing materials."
Most marketing budgets for 2008 have increased or stayed the same and more marketers are using new techniques to communicate with attendees. Eighty percent of organizers have increased their use of email in their attendance marketing, using it five or more times per show.
"Event organizers are experimenting with technologies such as email and Web 2.0 tools not only to attract potential attendees to their events, but to interact with them between events," explains Miller. "Blogs, social networking pages, and online videos increase audience participation."
AttendTrends is an ongoing study of marketing within the event industry. This study was conducted in November 2007 through telephone interviews with 450 event organizers in the United States and Canada. The complete report can be obtained by visiting www.frostmiller.com.
About Frost Miller Group
Since 1992, Bethesda, MD-based business-to-business agency Frost Miller Group has provided branding, marketing research, strategy, graphic design, copywriting, Web development, public relations, and media planning and placement. Among its clients are Aircraft Owners and Pilot's Association, The Electrical Alliance, National Mining Association and Hensel Phelps Construction. More information is available at www.frostmiller.com.
About Jacobs Jenner & Kent
Wayne Jacobs is the CEO and Director of Research for Jacobs Jenner & Kent, an international marketing research and consulting company, founded in 1980 and concentrating on the exhibition and event industry. Jacobs is also a much-published author of research and international marketing studies, performing "state-of-the-industry" studies for clients such as the Consumer Electronics Industry, the Business Products Industry, the Manufacturing Technology Industry, and the Residential/Commercial Building Industry. He has over 25 years experience in the design, data collection, analysis and presentation of qualitative and quantitative market research studies and has presented exposition industry studies internationally at AMPROFEC, UFI XM and the International CEO Forum (IFC). More information is available at www.jjkresearch.com.