Event Marketing Research: Pre Event, Onsite and Post Event Marketing Best Practices

UBM. All rights reserved; pg 1, POP Event Marketing Research, Jan 2016UBM Technology Portfolio l CreateYourNextCustomer.com

Event MarketingPre-Event, Onsite and Post-Event MarketingStrategies to help you connect and engage your target audience

UBM Technology Marketing Research Jan 2016

POP


POP Event Marketing Research UBM Technology Group’s 2nd Annual POP Event Marketing Research was developed to help marketers gain critical insight into the habits and preferences of technology decision makers before, during and after an industry event.

Pre-Event

• Why tech professionals attend industry events

• What they do to prepare prior to an event, and how event marketers can get ahead of the game

Onsite

• Why attendees stop and visit you

• Types of content and speakers they want to see and hear about

Post-Event

• Things to avoid as a tech marketer: reasons why tech professionals would or would not engage with you

• Types of follow-up attendees want from you

This survey of 403 business technology professionals provides tech marketers with comprehensive data and insight to enhance and improve their event marketing strategies.

METHODOLOGY• In the late fall of 2015, UBM

conducted an online survey of business and technology professionals to understand their actions and preferences around industry events.

• Final data is based on a total of 403 qualified IT and business respondents in North America.

• The margin of error for the total respondent base (N=403) is +/- 4.8 percentage points.

• UBM was responsible for all programming and data analysis. These procedures were carried out in strict accordance with standard market research practices.


• Marketers need to seize every opportunity to start a relationship, generate goodwill and earn the trust of prospective buyers

• Event marketing is not just about logistics

• An integrated marketing mix that is critical to the success of your overall strategy –to generate maximum ROI, you need a mix of paid promotions to get the biggest bang for your buck

• Significant spend: B2B marketers allocate between 15–20% of their overall budgets to events

POP Event MarketingWhy It’s Important To Your Overall Marketing Strategy


Common Goals

Whether you’re in corporate, field or event marketing, your goals are the same ─working together will only serve to increase your results across the board.

• Branding and awareness

• Generating leads

• Engaging with prospects and existing customers

• Educating prospects and existing customers

UBM. All rights reserved; pg 4, POP Event Marketing Research, Jan 2016

POP Event MarketingWhy It’s Important To Partner with Event Marketing


Pre-Event Marketing• Ensures your company is top of mind to get on attendees’ “must-see

exhibit” list• Helps target the best prospects to visit your booth• Side benefit: pre-event content marketing can serve as a means to

check the pulse of your target audience

Onsite Marketing • Reinforces your overall marketing message and gets your marketing

materials in the hands of engaged prospects • Fills your sales pipeline

Post-Event Marketing• Extends the value of the face-to-face event• Enables your company to nurture relationships with top prospects

POP Event MarketingThe Overarching Benefits


Why Your Pre-Event Marketing is CriticalAttendees’ Pre-Show Preparation

50%Schedule time

to meetwith vendors prior to the

event

What do you do to prepare for an industry show before you attend?

56%Create schedule

based on sessionsmost relevant to me

51%Research exhibitors

by visiting theirwebsite

46%Review thefloor plan

45%Prepare a list ofsponsors I would

like to visit

36%Download thetrade show’smobile app

34%Research exhibitors

by visiting atechnology media

website

24%Get advance

access to content


Make Your First Impression

23%Interviews with

speakers who willbe at the

exhibitor booth

54%Access tech

vendorcontent

on independentthird-party sites

Prior to attending trade shows, what types of information from exhibitors(technology vendors) would make you more likely to stop at a tech vendor's booth?

82%More likely

to visit your booth if they’ve heard or read

or connected withyou beforethe event23%

Editorial coverage ontechnology websites

11%Digital radio or podcasts

31%Webcasts

42%Website content

(e.g. sponsored content on a site)

52%White papers

26%Video

Have a Strong Pre-Event Content Marketing Plan


Your Onsite Booth StrategyContent Connects

POP Best Practice“I like ‘the stuff’ but without the experts I just move on.”

What makes you more likely to stop and visit a vendor’s booth during a trade show?

64%Subject matter

experts at booth

57%Presentation orlive demo beingconducted at

the booth

47%There was an

incentive offeredat their booth

43%I read about

them on businesstech sites

41%Vendor

communicatedwith me prior to the show

34%Vendor speaking

at the event

32%I have seen ads or other

content from them onbusiness technology websites

20%Games or activities

20%A large booth


Engaging Booth VisitorsDo’s

POP Best Practice“At large conferences,make it more obvious

what product/marketyou support.”

What kinds of information or content do you find most valuableor would make you likely to actively engage with the vendor at their booth?

69%Tech demos

43%New product

announcementsor new launches

57%Technology specs

or other “howto” materials

51%Industry-specific

information

45%Business case

information

28%Opportunity to speak

with an executiveor other key person

from vendor

25%White papers

23%Case studies or peer-perspective


Engaging Booth VisitorsDon’ts

What would make you less likely to actively engage with a vendor at a trade show?

63%Too much of a salespitch or only sales

people were availableto engage with

46%They only had

product brochuresavailable; content

was not robustenough

44%Content did not giveme a clear indication

of how the technologycould help with the

business

46%It was not obvious

to me what thevendor’s solution was

50%Lack of demos

53%Lack of subject

matter experts orno one there to

answer my questions

Lack ofindustryspecific

information

Lack of casestudies

No ROI and/or TCO

information

I was not familiar withthe vendor

Contentwas not

validated bythird-party

35%

22%

22%

10%

8%


Staffing Your BoothProduct Managers and Customers Are Most Useful to Tech Pros

What types of vendor representatives at exhibitors’ boothsprovide the most useful information for you?

77%Product managers

43%Customers whoprovide world

examplesor case studies

18%Sales executives

22%Executive leadership

13%Marketing executives


The Expo Floor PlanFocused Areas Make It Easy for Attendees to Find You

Thinking about the show floor, does havingtechnology zones help you to organizeyour time at the show?

Yes

86%

No

14%


An Integrated Approach to the EventLeverage Your Event Presence With Additional Activities

POP Best PracticeLeverage your booth for broader reach by hosting or sponsoring breakout sessions and other activities withinan event for deeper engagement.

87%Would attend a vendor

sponsored breakout event

76%Would participate ina vendor-sponsored

focus group

85%Would consider attending

smaller, more targetedevents within a larger

trade show


Keeping Your Presence Social

Top 5 ways attendeesshare trade show content

while onsite

Top 5 ways attendeesfollow exhibitors and the

trade show producer

LinkedIn

Twitter

The trade show app

Facebook

Google+

LinkedIn

Twitter

Facebook

The trade show app

YouTube


Evaluating Your ImpactWhy Tech Pros Would Continue to Engage With You Post-Event

Now thinking about after you return from the trade show, what would make you more likely to engage with a trade show exhibitor (tech vendor) post-event?

59%They demonstratedhow the technology

could help withmy business

58%The vendor

demonstrated thatthey understood

my specific business challenges

51%The vendor was

knowledgeable aboutmy industry and

industry-related challenges

37%Networking with afellow attendee of

the trade show piquedmy interest/curiosity

in the vendor

44%I heard from subject

matter experts at theirbooth and wanted

more info

29%The vendor suppliedvaluable marketing

materials

27%The vendor providedinformation to showROI of their solution


Evaluating Your ImpactWhy Tech Pros Would NOT Engage with You Post Event

POP Don’t“They talked too much and listened too little.”

What would make you less likely to engage with an exhibitor after the show?

They gave too much of a sales pitch

The vendor did not demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of my specific business challenges

They were not knowledgeable about my industry

The representatives at their booth were not knowledgeable

They did not demonstrate how the technology could help with my business

They didn’t provide sufficient content

The vendor’s marketing materials didn’t demonstrate the value of their solution

They didn’t have subject matter experts speak

They could not show the ROI of their solution

The vendor spoke at the event, but they did not demonstrate a value to me

12345678910


Keeping the Connection AliveRelevant Information Tailored to Their Needs; Nurture the Relationship

What are the preferred ways for a company to follow-up with you after a trade show?

41%Additional

research orinformation

41%A link to a

website for more

information

37%An invitation

to a webinaror virtual

event

32%Informationfollowing upon specific

eventcontent or

discussions

27%An email

from a salesperson

27%Call or email

from aproduct

Managerdiscussions

18%An invitationto another

face-to-faceevent

14%An invitation

to join anonline

communityrelated tothe show

14%I prefer to

takeinfo awaywith me

fromthe event

5%A callfrom aSales

person


Building the Case to AttendAre Your Materials Meeting These Requirements?

What types of information do you need to return from a trade show with in orderto justify your expenditure?

62%Information

that can helpme in my job

51%Solution

to abusinessProblem

information

46%Information

where I learned

something

41%Information

thathelped me

makea decision ona vendor foran upcoming

purchase

37%Learned

abouttech problemthat I did notrealize I had

35%Content thatfocuses onmy business

painpoints

16%A vendorshort list

15%Anything as

longas it’s more

than justBusiness

cards


Actions Taken Post-Event

What actions have you taken as a result of a trade show visit?

80%Visited anexhibitor'swebsite

56%Contacted

an exhibitor

55%Purchased a productor service based on

information I gatheredat the show

43%Set up a post-show meeting


Pre-Event Onsite Post-EventExpose Your Brand Profile• Be “present” consistently

• Review your media strategy to ensure that your brand and products are getting exposure across all platforms

• Content connects – no matter the platform, relevant content is your brand’s biggest attraction

• Audit your content – make sure you have ample, up-to-date content that addresses different information needs

• Syndicate your content

• Remember: 82% of tech professionals are more likely to visit the booth of an exhibitor they’ve heard/read/engagedwith beforehand

Focus on Your Customers’ Needs

• Sales pitches always fail; do less talking and more listening

• Have knowledgeable subject matter experts at your booth

• Ensure you have the right content at your booth: customer testimonials, business case builders, etc.

• Attendees want to see your solution at work; have demos to share and make your discussion as hands-on as possible

• Attendees want to hear from you! Consider hosting a smaller breakout session in addition to your booth at an industry event

Keep Conversations Alive

• Again: content is your biggest attraction; keep attendees interested and engaged with relevant, targeted content

• Attendees go to industry events to find solutions: almost half want exhibitors to send them a post-event email with additional research or information –continue to educate prospects until they are ready to buy

• Nurture relationships with localized in person or web-based events with attendees that stopped by your booth

Recap: POP Event MarketingStrategies to Help You Connect and Engage Your Target Audience


Add POP to Your Marketing StrategyLeverage Our Industry Leading Event and Media Brands

UBM Americas has created engaged technology communities that cover core tech areas including Enterprise IT, Enterprise Communications, Information Security, as well as IT Service and Support, and Game Development.

The breadth of the interactions we have with these communities enables us to gain unique knowledge on challenges and breakthroughs. This perspective allows us to provide the best experience and results for customers and clients. Use our experience to your advantage. We are a trusted resource because of our community approach, our expert editorial teams, and our established, industry-leading events and digital resources.

If you’re interested in learning more about our audience, and how you can generate real engagement with them in 2016, please contact us at [email protected] www.CreateYourNextCustomer.com for more tech marketing insight and research.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.createyournextcustomer.com/


Event MarketingAppendix

UBM Technology Marketing Research Jan 2016

POP


Respondent Profile


Respondent Profile


Launching Your Pre-Event MarketingWhere Attendees Find Out About Industry Events

Where do you go to find out about and get information abouttechnology events?

66%Alerts emails

or e-newsletters

51%Peers or colleagues

49%General search engines

49%Business technology

websites

29%Webinars from the

trade show sponsor or partner

16%Social media

(e.g. Twitter, Facebook,YouTube)

43%Vendorwebsites