EVERYTHING ELSE

We re just now getting around to giving the Event Marketing Institute s latest EventTrack study a look-see (shame on us this thing dropped in May), and

For those of you who aren t familiar with EventTrack:

The Event Marketing Institute and experiential marketing agency Mosaic released the fourth-annual EventTrack, the largest research on event marketing ever fielded. This groundbreaking annual study monitors the continual growth and expansion of the event and experiential marketing industry. Unique to EventTrack is its dual-channel format. Two research studies are created and fielded, one to brands across the Fortune 1000 and the other to thousands
of consumers. The result is an incredible pool of data that connects what experiential marketers are doing and why with how consumers react and buy.

Here s what caught our eye:

Good news: the industry is growing

A significant 79{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} of the brand respondents say they will execute more event and experiential programs this year compared to last year. There s also this: Companies and brands are increasing their event and experiential marketing budgets by a healthy 6.1{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} in 2015. This is up from an increase of 5.4{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} found in the 2014 EventTrack study.

Event planners really, really need to facilitate social media

It s no surprise that 85{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} of brands that they measure event success in total attendance and 58{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} said they measure that success in leads, a whopping 61{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} of brands said that event success is measured in Facebook likes and social media posts. That means that regardless of whether or not more social media activity means more sales (we think it does, but hey), clients perceive it that way. The more your attendees post, the happier clients will be.

Young men are more likely to buy during an event

Sixty-five percent of consumers purchase the product or service promoted at the event or visit. This finding is up significantly from the 54{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} found in the 2014 survey. Males are more likely to buy at events and experiences than women, according to the cross-tabulated survey findings. The age range most likely to buy on-site are those between the ages of 25 and 35.

Free samples are king

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know, people like free stuff; in fact, 81{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} of consumers said that giveaways are the primary motivator for event participation. But 78{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} of also said that trying a product increases their liklihood of buying it. Combine those two statements, and we feel this confirms that freebies are still a powerful tool for driving sales at events.

Thanks EMI and Mosaic, we look forward to next year s write-up.