The CMO Guide: Event marketing 2019

The recently concluded Super Bowl LII was a technological marvel of truly immersive live streaming and in-person experiences, with 115 cameras providing a 360° view of the action, 8K cameras for hi-definition, drones, technology innovations like an AR- assisted 3D view of the venue and more.

1. Live events have certainly come a long way since the early years. It’s no surprise, then, that most organizations still consider events to be the single most effective marketing channel for their business. In a recent survey done by Bizzabo, 41% of respondents said that out of 10 channels, including content and email marketing, they considered live events to be the most critical marketing channel in helping them achieve business outcomes. This is an increase of 32% since the last survey in 2017. Further, a majority of the respondents (85%) indicated that events are essential to their marketing strategy.

2. According to a Gartner CMO report, it’s one of the top four spending areas, ahead of social media, customer intelligence and email marketing.From conferences and product launches to trade shows and virtual meetings, events are an integral component of the modern marketer’s arsenal of tools. According to Forrester Research, events comprise 24% of the B2B marketing budget,3 which is a fairly significant portion of the marketing mix. Events provide businesses with unique opportunities to raise brand awareness, generate leads, build equity with customers and partners, upsell, cross-sell, generate demand and more — all under one banner. Done right, live events could potentially deliver returns for years.