72 Event Marketing Statistics for 2024

Event marketing today looks so much different than it did last year or the year before.

With new data, new trends, and new event strategies, it’s time for a new list of event marketing statistics.

From the rise of event-led growth to the continued importance of event ROI and event design, these updated numbers can help you run more successful events in 2024.

In-Person & Virtual Events

• 60% of companies that hosted a blend of in-person, virtual, and hybrid events noted in-person get-togethers have been the most effective for generating revenue. (Source: Splash)
• 80% of respondents to Freeman’s 2024 Attendee Intent and Behavior survey say that in-person events are the most trusted marketing channel. This is a 5% percent increase from 2023. (Source: Freeman)
• 96% of US event marketers and 93% of UK event marketers hosted in-person or hybrid events on their home turf in 2023. (Source: Splash)
• 52% of attendees want to go to networking events where they can discuss challenges with others in their industry. (Source: Freeman)
• Respondents to AMEX’s 2024 Global Meetings and Events survey said three-quarters of their meetings and events next year will be either entirely in person (59%) or hybrid (20%), with the remaining (21%) virtual. (Source: AMEX GBT)
• 82% of attendees prefer to attend in-person events, while 17% say their preference depends on the event topic. (Source: Freeman)
• 73% of companies held in-person events in 2023. (Source: Splash)
• 70% of attendees prefer to receive training and professional content in person. (Source: Freeman)
• 51% of leaders prefer to promote thought leadership at in-person events. (Source: Bospar)
• 92% of attendees expect to attend more in-person events in 2024, while 8% plan to attend fewer events. (Source: Freeman)
• When it comes to learning, 56% of attendees prefer hands-on interaction or participatory activities at in-person events, and 48% prefer informal meetings with subject-matter experts. (Source: Freeman)
• 35% of attendees say that the biggest value of online events is having easy access to educational content. Only 15% say the biggest value is being able to connect and network. (Source: Freeman)

Event Attendance, Engagement & Sustainability

• Nearly 67% of marketers report that attendance is one of the most important metrics to their business. (Source: Splash)
• 56% of respondents on Freeman’s Trends Report believe that drops in attendance at in-person events are temporary, while 10% believe it to be permanent. (Source: Freeman)
• Over 50% of marketers say sustainability is very or extremely important to their organization. When it comes to implementing sustainable practices, budget and minimizing waste are two of their biggest challenges. (Source: AMEX GBT)
• Attendees cite decreased travel budget and inflation as the top two reasons impacting their ability to attend events. (Source: Freeman)
• 63% of marketers admit that they fail to maximize the value of event content, with large enterprises facing an even higher figure of 72%. (Source: Forrester)
• Around 24% of respondents to AMEX’s 2024 Global Meetings and Events Forecast report said some of their biggest challenges for implementing sustainability into events is their lack of knowledge, skills, and resources. (Source: AMEX GBT)
• 85% of event planners use email marketing to promote their events. (Source: Zipdo)
• 32% of marketers said that attracting the right attendees is a challenge. (Source: Splash)
• 74% of attendees agree that their opinion of a company/brand improved after attending an event. (Source: Zippia)
• 84% of events serve current customers, while only 41% target prospective buyers. (Source: Splash)

Event-Led Growth

• 80% of companies agree their company would benefit from an event-led growth approach. (Source: Splash)
• ​​Businesses using event-led growth are noticing benefits like better brand visibility (63%), stronger customer relationships (63%), and stronger or new partnerships (52%). (Source: Splash)
• 93% of US-based companies that use event-led growth are meeting their company pipeline and/or revenue goals, while only 76% of marketers who don’t use event-led growth are able to meet the same goals. (Source: Splash)
• 86% of US-based companies that use event-led growth are able to directly attribute events to company revenue, while only 64% of companies who don’t use event-led growth are able to directly attribute company revenue. (Source: Splash)
• CEO Jessica Sibley grew TIME’s total event revenue +70% YoY and international event revenue +14% YoY in one year. (Source: TIME)
• US-based teams that adopted event-led growth were 75% more likely than those who didn’t to see a growth rate of over 50% in 2023. (Source: Splash)
• 46% of marketing teams in US-based companies that use event-led growth are consistently meeting their quarterly goals, while only 32% of teams who don’t use event-led growth are able to consistently meet goals. (Source: Splash)
• 53% of marketers say their company’s events are underperforming because they lack an event-led growth strategy. (Source: Splash)
• UK-based companies are 62% more likely than US-based marketers to say they use organic social media as their primary marketing channel for customer acquisition and retention. (Source: Splash)
• More than two-thirds (69%) of event marketers expect to plan more events this year, and those who use event-led growth were 43% more likely to say this than those who do not. (Source: Splash)
• 44% of marketers who haven’t yet implemented event-led growth strategies said they have plans to incorporate them in 2024. (Source: Splash)

Event Budgeting

• Lack of budget is one of the top three challenges marketers face for planning events. (Source: Splash)
• 70% of companies are planning to increase their total marketing budgets in 2024. (Source: Splash)
• On average, 14% of a marketing budget goes toward event marketing. (Source: AMEX GBT)
• More than half (59%) of buyers expect to have more money for each attendee in 2024, and almost two-thirds (64%) expect more funds in 2025. (Source: Skift Meetings)
• 71% of CMOs believe they don’t have sufficient budget to fully execute their strategy. (Source: Gartner)
• Lodging prices, regardless of scale, have risen 12% compared to prices in 2019, with a 23% increase in airfares and a 25% increase in food and beverage bills. (Source: Skift Meetings)

Event Goals, Data & ROI

• 83% of marketers say events are critical for their business growth. (Source: Splash)
• 77% of marketers say events are the most effective marketing channel for their company. (Source: Splash)
• 49% of US B2B marketers say they use events to generate leads. (Source: Marketing Charts)
• Lack of event data to prove impact on goals is one of the number one challenges for B2B marketers. (Source: Splash)
• Marketers cited misalignment between marketing and business goals as the second biggest challenge they face. (Source: Splash)
• Custom Market Insights predicts that by 2032, the event industry will be valued around 1,752.9 billion USD. (Source: Custom Market Insights)
• 26% of marketers say they cannot accurately track their team’s progress toward event goals. (Source: Splash)
• 21% of marketers noted it isn’t easy for them or their team to report on event program performance.  (Source: Splash)
• 55% of marketers confess that they are failing to extract the full potential of zero and first-party data from their events. (Source: Forrester)
• 20% of marketers aren’t able to directly attribute events to company revenue. (Source: Splash)
• When it comes to measuring success, 54% of marketers track event registrations, 53% track opportunities created, and 40% track attendance rates. (Source: Splash)
• Companies experience 10x the ROI from attendees versus non-attendees. (Source: Splash + GTM Partners)

Event Technology & AI

• 31% of B2B buyers attend industry events as part of their purchase process. (Source: Marketing Charts)
• 63% of marketing leaders are planning to invest in generative AI in the next 24 months according to a Gartner study. More than half of the respondents to the survey (56%) see greater reward than risk in generative AI. (Source: Gartner)
• 30% of respondents to MPI’s Meeting Outlook survey believe they have a better-than-average ability using AI to help deliver meaningful experiences and events. (Source: Meeting Professional International)
• 87% of marketers say they’re in learning mode when it comes to AI, but a majority believe that AI will fundamentally transform how they plan and execute events within the next 24 months. (Source: Forrester)
• According to an AMEX study, mobile apps, QR codes, and on-site check-in tools are the top three technologies marketers are expecting to implement this year. Virtual reality, digital photo booths, and AI are also at the top of the list for 2024. (Source: AMEX GBT)
• 61% of marketers reveal they have encountered a technology and/or process change in the past 12 months. (Source: Gartner)
• 81% of event professionals would host more events if they had the right tools. (Source: Splash)
• More than 85% of event organizers use event management software. (Source: Zipdo)
• In MPI’s Meeting Outlook survey, 22% of respondents say they use generative AI regularly, but 48% say they don’t use it at all. (Source: Meeting Professional International)
• 42% of respondents to AMEX’s 2024 Global Meetings and Events Forecast report say they plan to use AI in 2024. (Source: AMEX GBT)

Event Design & Branding

• 46% of companies agree that brand consistency is extremely important, while 42% think it’s very important. (Source: Splash)
• 83% of marketers say events help their company stand out from the competition. (Source: Splash)
• On average, the highest-performing event pages feature five blocks of content. (Source: Splash)
• While 85% of organizations have brand guidelines, only 30% are consistently enforced. (Souce: Marq)
• It takes 7 seconds for customers to make an impression about a business. (Source: Forbes)
• 71% of younger generations say their trust increased following their interaction with a brand at a live event, and 85% say trusting a brand is critical for purchase. (Source: Freeman)
• B2B buyers who trust a company are almost twice as likely to recommend that company externally or to pay a premium to work with that company than those who do not trust a company. (Source: Forrester)
• 58.3% of venues appear in the first or second block of an event page. (Source: Splash)
• B2B organizations that reported 20% or more in revenue growth assigned significantly more value to brand and communications growth objectives than companies that reported flat to declining revenue growth. (Source: Forrester)
• 47.1% of registration buttons on high-converting events appear at the top of an event page. (Source: Splash)
• 94.6% of high-performing events ask fewer than 20 questions in their registration forms. (Source: Splash)