Why the Rising Importance & Impact of Events in Marketing?

We’re all starting to see the signs and efficacy behind the ROI of Events. But why?

That answer may be obvious to event marketers, but why are events becoming a more critical component to the overall strategy of CMO’s today?

I thought it would be fun to sit down with a variety of folks I really trust in the industry to get a little context from the trenches.

Here's what they told me:

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Lisa Day, Sr. Event Marketing Manager, Amazon Business

"Events are all of the hype right now, which is both exciting and exhausting. There is an overwhelming response from face to face meetings where people feel more comfortable being vulnerable and sharing their stories, best practices, and learnings with one another, leading to new opportunities and learnings to apply to their own work. Virtual events are fizzling to this same effect, with the exception of real learning opportunities where a new skill or takeaway can be acquired."

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Huong Nguyen, CEO & Founder, Shiloh Event Management

"Our clients continue to invest in events because it is the ONLY platform for (1) the marketing team to create enhanced engagements with personalized experiences, and (2) for the sales / product team to deeply connect with the customers with content that matters, ultimately yielding more ROI than any other marketing efforts."

"Our job as an event agency is to create the perfect platform for our clients to deliver and for the attendees to receive key content that drives impactful action such as closing deals ONSITE for net new sales and for renewals."

"For example: one of our tech clients spent $900,000 on an event for 400 customers, prospects, and partners, and will have achieved net new sales of $2M, on top of $1M renewals for their SaaS product, all within a 2.5-days user conference."

"It is also important to note that if leveraged effectively, events can be the perfect platform to facilitate brand advocacy by building community and networking opportunities."

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Liz Lathan, CMO, The Community Factory

"I wouldn't say that events are "becoming" a more critical component. I think that more marketers are understanding how to look at events as another activity in a campaign, where previously they were often viewed as stand-alone campaigns that just pulled in messaging from the digital campaigns."

"When the world went 100% digital in 2020, and events became digital campaigns, it shined a light on the opportunity to include events in the campaign map."

"Now that we're back to in-person programs, we carry those learnings into the new world of modern marketing."

"Digital marketing's impact is declining. Social media reach is declining. There is a fear that AI-generated content will flood the airways. But talking to people face-to-face is authentic, real, physical, and (if done correctly) can foster relationships that transcend business."

"Side note: Here's the challenge that I'm already feeling: Audience acquisition was already hard. Now that literally everyone is doubling down on events, getting people to say yes to YOUR event will be even harder."

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Mike Rizzo, CEO, MarketingOps

"In our professional community for Marketing Ops practitioners, events are the best-performing offer we have. Whether that’s virtual workshops, webinars, small meetups, or our larger MOps-Apalooza conference, each of these options is the most sought-after and enjoyed by our members. People are tired of being remote. We crave connection, and any format that helps deepen the bonds and relationships with others is the solution."

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Jonathan Kazarian, CEO, AccelEvents

"Events are becoming a bigger focus as brands lose trust in 3rd party platforms and seek to build an ‘owned audience’. Coupled with raising CPCs on ad platforms and a fear of losing search traffic to AI, brands want to be "searched for’", not "found"."

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Chris Carver, CEO, Sessionboard

"In my mind, there are a number of things driving this strategic priority of events in the eyes of a CMO. But as I think about where I as a CEO will spend our money, along with my everyday conversations and the supporting research, one of the obvious reasons is the impact events can and are having on Demand Generation."

"For example: Demand Gen report found that 75% of B2B Buyers consider personalized content highly effective."

"While Forrester Research found that 92% of B2B marketers believe that ABM (Account-Based Marketing) is crucial for their overall marketing strategies, making it a powerful approach for demand generation."

"A study by Content Marketing Institute, 87% of B2B marketers consider demand generation as their top priority, emphasizing its significance in achieving marketing goals."

"Clearly this is right in the cross-hairs of event marketers. And what better way to drive demand than to accompany your digital content strategy with a very targeted and personalized event strategy. The high touch event tactic paired with a disciplined lower touch digital strategy creates an optimal marketing mix in today’s highly desensitized digital environment."

"That said, beyond the impact on demand generation, the other powerful aspect of a diverse event strategy is that events can have a significant impact up and down the sales funnel."

"And at every step of the way, there’s your speaker network. Your speakers are the champions, subject matter experts, influencers and content creators who can truly connect and accelerate the marketing message across every tactic and channel in your marketing strategy."

"As CMO’s start to make that connection, and marketing teams can more easily track and trust the KPI’s of events and the impact that each speaker has, there is only going to be more interest in events and in turn a need to better integrate event tech into the marketing tech stack of an organization."  

ABOUT SESSIONBOARD

Sessionboard is a next generation speaker & content management platform that simplifies the complex workflows and disjointed communications that exist around speaker and content management. From call for papers, abstract evaluation, awards, applications, agenda building, speaker onboarding and communication, Sessionboard helps event organizers work smarter, move faster, and improve their ROI.

The results? A faster-growing event, more productive staff, seamless collaboration with speakers and more time back to do what you do best—building epic experiences.

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Ready to see for yourself what sets Sessionboard above the rest when it comes to Speaker & Content Management? Schedule a free demo with us today!

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