Despite Sluggish Travel and Economic Trends, Events on the Increase in 2003-2004; Annual Trend Results Released

MPI Foundation/GPJ Event Trends Report 2003 reveals marketing trends and increasing role of face-to-face meetings in business

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Sept. 9 -- Despite sluggish travel and economic trends, 47% of organizations will increase the use of events as a marketing medium in 2003-04 signaling the importance of doing business face- to-face, according to a report released by The George P. Johnson Company and the MPI Foundation.

The MPI Foundation/GPJ Event Trends Report 2003 is an annual benchmark study that reveals important event marketing trends in North America. Combined with data collected in 2001-2002, this year's research documents the changing role, investment levels and effectiveness of event marketing. Among the study's key findings was the fact that 47% of surveyed companies expect events to increase in importance -- compared with just 40% projecting greater importance in 2002. Also notable, events were ranked on par with advertising and direct marketing when it comes to return on investment (ROI). ROI was cited as having a significant impact on event expenditures, with 51% of respondents who experienced successful ROI expecting to increase event budgets (vs. 33% overall).

"The importance of events to the marketing mix continues to be on the rise -- no other part of the marketing mix has the same power to deepen customer relationships," said Robert G. Vallee, Jr., chief executive officer of The George P. Johnson Company.

This year's study surveyed 350 senior marketing executives from major companies in the following vertical industries: automotive, technology, healthcare, financial services, and other industries, including consumer, manufacturing and associations. The study was co-sponsored by the George P. Johnson Company, a global event marketing agency and The MPI Foundation -- the supportive research and development entity for Dallas-based Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the global authority and resource for the meeting industry. As media sponsor, Event Marketer Magazine provided additional support for the research. The Sprint Corporation and AVSC also provided funding.

Event Priorities

Overall, event types seen as providing the greatest return on investment were tradeshows and seminars (32% and 22% respectively). While event sponsorships captured 20% of the priorities smaller, more targeted events like road shows fell to fourth place with 16%. For the second year in a row, respondents indicated that increasing brand awareness and brand preference were the top objectives of their event marketing programs.

Measurement is critical; more tools available

As successful ROI is tied into event decision making as never before, the ability to measure ROI is critical. The research findings suggest that measurement tools are becoming more widely available than before. A significantly lower percentage cited lack of effective measurement tools (35% vs. 53% in 2002).

Spending constant, but number of events increasing

Another noteworthy finding from the study was the fact that while marketers did not allocate larger proportions of their budgets to events this year, many industry sectors expect to conduct more events and expect greater productivity in return. Event budget allocations remained close to those of 2002 (23% vs. 22% last year). At the same time, the automotive and healthcare industries indicated sharp increases in the number of events each expected to execute in the coming year (the automotive sector predicted 24 major events vs. 18 in 2002; healthcare predicted an average of 37 major events vs. just 13 last year).

"It appears that companies will be looking more closely at the productivity of the events they invest in this year," said Robert G. Vallee, Jr., CEO of The George P. Johnson Company. "The study also suggests that marketers may be placing greater emphasis on smaller, more proprietary events, such as seminars and conferences."

Internal vs. External

Internal events are also assuming greater prominence in the event arena. 49% of those surveyed said they expected internal events to increase in importance to their companies. Key priorities for internal events were education and training (58%); followed by marketing meetings (14%).

"Meetings and events mean business, so it's encouraging that in an economy like this, the number of events are actually projected to increase," said David A. DuBois, CMP, CAE, executive vice president for the MPI Foundation. "In addition to the immediate boost to the economy generated by business travelers and meeting attendees, events can stimulate business activity, strengthen company brands, motivate and educate employees, help build market share, and much more."

Industry-Specific Differences

Inherently, events are planned, executed and evaluated uniquely in every industry, and accordingly, the trends research reported distinct findings between automotive, high tech, healthcare and financial services sectors. While the automotive vertical is much more likely to define the role of event marketing in terms of sales support, healthcare marketers most frequently think of event marketing in terms of educational programs and seminars. Auto industry respondents are planning to significantly increase the number of events but the budget allocations are not increasing proportionately.

In the high tech industry, 42% of respondents expect budget allocations to increase for event marketing, however when positive ROI is perceived for event marketing, 80% see increased budget allocations. Of all the sectors surveyed, financial services professionals are likely to see the importance of internal event marketing increase, with external events seen as important to increasing brand awareness by 94% of the respondents. Similarly, 90% of healthcare respondents point to brand awareness and 88% to brand preference as the most important objectives for their event marketing activities, with 91% rating customer and employee satisfaction as a critical measure of success for their events.

The MPI Foundation and GPJ expect to release the findings of its European findings in October and its Asia-Pacific research release will follow in November.

About The George P. Johnson Company (www.gpjco.com )

Established in 1914, GPJ is a leading provider of global event marketing solutions, helping clients forge better customer relationships through strategic marketing integration; creative brand experiences, events and exhibits. GPJ has full-scale production facilities in Auburn Hills, Mich.; Torrance, Calif.; and Stuttgart, Germany, as well as marketing offices in Boston, and San Jose, and international operations in London, Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, Sydney, and India.

About the MPI Foundation (www.mpifoundation.org )

Founded in 1984 by Meeting Professionals International, the MPI Foundation conducts research and develops projects annually to ensure growth and recognition for meeting professionals and the industry. A self-sustaining, self-governed organization operating solely on the voluntary contributions from individuals, corporate suppliers, MPI chapters and other affiliated organizations, the Foundation's focus is ongoing research and development of new ways to improve the meeting planning process, function and management. The Foundation also directs the research and development of the Women's Leadership Initiative and Multicultural Initiatives. A board of trustees, comprised of industry leaders, provides guidance to ensure all work promotes the MPI mission.