ANALYSIS EventView 2009 reveals events are the solution not the problem

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) unveiled initial findings of EventView 2009 at the recent European Meetings and Events Conference in Turin, Italy.

The research shows that meetings and events provide the highest return on investment (ROI), with 23% of respondents choosing event marketing as the discipline that provided the greatest ROI.

Additionally, companies that measure ROI are over two and a half times more likely to receive increases in their marketing budgets than those that did not undertake any form of measurement.

“These findings, more than ever, prove that meetings are the solution not the problem at a time when the industry is facing challenging times,” said MPI’s president and chief executive, Bruce MacMillan. “Meetings continue to be a powerful marketing tool that can directly impact on a businesses bottom line.

“The fact that 43% of the marketing and sales executives interviewed in EventView 2009 chose event marketing as a discipline that best accelerates and deepens relationships demonstrates the value of our media. It is crucial for us, as the meetings and events largest and most vibrant global community, to equip our members with the solutions and appropriate tools to help them succeed and thrive.” 

EventView 2009 is the largest and longest-running annual survey of corporate sales and marketing executives and is produced through collaboration between the MPI Foundation, the Event Marketing Institute (EMI) and George P Johnson (GPJ).

More than 1,000 senior executives and marketing managers in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific were surveyed via a telephone survey with the aim of illuminating the value and role of events in the marketing mix.

EventView 2009: Western Europe – Initial findings
– 23% of respondents choose event marketing as the marketing discipline that provides the greatest ROI followed by public relations 19%

– Among Western European respondents, companies that measure are over two and a half times more likely to receive increases in their marketing budget than those that do not measure

– 62% of respondents state that they engage in some form of post-event measurement with 38% measuring to demonstrate marketing ROI

– 43% choose event marketing as the discipline that best accelerates and deepens relationships followed by public relations 25%

– Event marketing (30%) and web marketing (26%) are the first marketing channels to benefit from an increase in the overall marketing budget; Events (28%) and print advertising (28%) are the channels first affected by a decrease

– 48% of respondents indicate that event marketing is considered, along with other mediums, and 25% characterise events as a vital component of the marketing plan, with 11% saying events are a lead tactic

– 13% of the overall corporate budget is dedicated to marketing with 26% of the average marketing budget spent on event marketing

– The majority of respondents rank the influence of procurement in marketing decisions as low, with 21% of respondents indicating that the role of procurement/purchasing is increasing in their organisations

– 58% of respondents plan on implementing or have already implemented green initiatives within the event function; 48% are doing so as a result of a corporate responsibility mandate and report that these initiatives account for 15% of their event budget

– 33% of respondents say they will move from event marketing to experience marketing in the next 12 months; 23% already transitioned.