David Doe

Designer - Redshoe

Product

Services

Resources

Customers

Support

About

Request Demo

Try for Free

← More Articles

Get these in your inbox every week!

A Visual Guide to the State of Event Marketing in 2018

Jump to:

I. Investment and Growth

II. Measurement and Results

III. Technology and Data

IV. Habits of Event Optimizers

V. Appendix

Harvard Business Review Analytic Services just released a study on event marketing, and let's just say, the findings are eye-opening... 👀

In the following infographic, we summarize them for you: all the benchmarks, budgets, and trends from the 739 enterprise brands surveyed in the report, plus the crucial differentiators of those outshining the rest of the industry.

What 739 Global Brands Have Taught Us About Events

Jump to:

I. Investment and Growth

II. Measurement and Results

III. Technology and Data

IV. Habits of Event Optimizers

V. Appendix

We're sharing top insights from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services' event marketing study -- including stats, findings, and takeaways from 739 enterprise brands around the world.

Read on for benchmarks, budgets, and trends in event marketing, plus the crucial differentiators of those paving the way for the rest of the industry.

Page Optimized for Desktop Viewing

Investment and Growth

Most brands are investing in events.

of orgs prioritize

hosted events.

of orgs prioritize

SPONSORED

Industry Trade Shows (54%)

One-Day Conferences (43%)

Business or Channel Partner (41%)

When it comes to hiring, 1:4 is the most common ratio of event roles to other marketing roles.

FIGURE 2

Employees in Marketing Department vs. Employees Responsible for Events

10,000 +

EMPLOYEES

1,000 - 9,999

E MPLOYEES

FEWER THAN

1,000 EMPLOYEES

Mean number of marketing department employees

Mean number of marketing employees responsible for event planning

The future looks bright. Most plan to invest more on events next year.

FIGURE 3

52% of brands say events drive more ROI than any other marketing channel.

1/3 spend more than 20% of marketing budgets on events.

4 in 10 plan to spend more on hosted events next year.

Especially the fastest-growing companies, the event tech adopters, and those who find it easiest to measure ROI.

FIGURE 4

Key Attributes of Those Increasing Event Activity in the Past Two Years

HOSTED EVENTS

30% + Revenue Growth

Event Tech Adopters

1000 - 9999 Employees

Measurement and Results

When it comes to proving event ROI, most companies are struggling.

FIGURE 5

Only 23% of event marketers can measure the ROI of

their events.

Note: ROI matters to budgets. The brands who find it easy to measure ROI are increasing their event spend the most.

The top event metrics they're tracking are number of attendees and qualified sales leads.

FIGURE 6

Top 5 Event Metrics Tracked

Number of attendees

# of qualified sales leads

Brand awareness

Social / press mentions

# of sales pipeline generated

Technology and Data

Brands who use event tech are better at measuring full-funnel metrics and event ROI.

FIGURE 8

ROI Measurement Comparison

Tech Adopters

ABLE TO TRACK ROI — 37%

UNABLE TO TRACK ROI — 45%

DON'T KNOW — 18%

Non-Adopters

ABLE TO TRACK ROI — 23%

UNABLE TO TRACK ROI — 67%

DON'T KNOW — 11%

"We like to focus on the amount of pipeline that's generated by our events, and track that pipeline right down to actual sales."

– Eric Stahl, Salesforce

But it's not just ROI. Tech adopters also share 5 additional benefits to the entire event process.

FIGURE 9

Top 5 Benefits of Event Tech

Improved ability to track and measure events

Improved event registration and attendance