Promo - February 2008 - (Page 21)

The Players EXPERIENTIAL Larr y Jaf fe e MARKETING AT CONVENTIONS Trade shows can be effective for reaching both customers and non-customers in terms of participation level lifts. Customers Active 35% 28% 28% 20% 16% 17% Non-Customers All Active 9% 24% 12% 24% 10% 20% 5% 14% 5% 10% 4% 10% Discussed exhibitor’s products seen at show with peers Looked up exhibitor’s Web site Read exhibitor’s literature collected at show Passed exhibitor’s literature collected at show to supervisors Passed exhibitor’s literature collected at show to someone else Recommended exhibitor’s product(s) or technology seen at the show All 17% 17% 16% 10% 9% 9% SOURCE: ARF EVENT AND SPONSORSHIP ENGAGEMENT WHITE PAPER the attendees, large numbers whom also influence their peers, something that most advertising does not do. Like pass-along audiences in magazines and TV, event reach calculations should go beyond just direct attendees,” the report said. Jonathan Cox, CEO of Exhibit Surveys Inc., noted the importance of handing out marketing materials at a convention booth because such literature is then disseminated to co-workers back at the office. Follow-up on the back-end is key to leveraging the “feeling” toward the event sponsorship. ARF suggests that marketers could, for example, try to re-establish those feelings with photos of customers, or of celebrity activities along with sales collateral sent following the affair. NEXT RESEARCH STEPS The answer to the question: “how do events and sponsorships fit into the larger marketing mix?” is unanswered here, the report concedes. “I think it’s a good start,” Belmont said. While the research made great strides in demonstrating the value of experiences, more work needs to be done in further measuring effectiveness, ROI and intent, the researchers admit. “But to be done correctly, this sort of analysis would need to be completed on an individual client basis and would require multiple years of data, which is not conducive to the multi-client studies the ARF supports,” the report states. At the council meeting where the findings were first made public, Belmont pressed the researchers for models from the report that would enable it to favorably compare itself with other forms of advertising. The surveys, as conducted, would not allow for such comparisons, they concurred. Raymond Pettit, the author of the white paper, cautioned that one of the problems in making such generalizations is that attendance at an event is miniscule to the reach of a mass medium such as a television commercial. That, for example, would be like comparing apples and oranges and not be valid. Belmont pointed out that another area ripe for further examination is how long event impact lasts. “Is it six days, or six weeks or more permanent?” “I can say that events do drive engagement with brands,” responded Marianne Foley, senior vice president of Harris Interactive, basing her assertion on the data. “Driving awareness of an event can be almost as good as driving attendance.” While she was non-committal on the possibility of establishing cross-media models, Foley thought it was possible to analyze some of what’s been already learned in the study against previous benchmark studies. But the most important thing for marketers to keep in mind is “what’s relevant to your brand in the marketplace. That’s what really matters,” the report said. Belmont estimates that the first round of the research cost between $250,000 and $300,000, and was underwritten by about 16 companies. Conspicuous by absence were major packaged goods companies, banks and pharmaceutical marketers, all whom could benefit by such knowledge, and are likely to be approached about support for follow-up studies, he notes. l P The ARF report on experiential marketing is available free of charge by e-mailing marc@thearf.org. W For more articles on experiential marketing, go to http://promomagazine.com/eventmarketing/ Newsletter Web RSS Webinar Conference Podcast Promo / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / February 2008 21 http://promomagazine.com/eventmarketing/ http://www.promomagazine.com

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Promo - February 2008 Contents Editor's Note Reality TV Products Rebound - Soon? The Real World Young But Not Stupid Social Tease Health Quencher How Effective? Big Game in Big Easy Commentary Mailbox Marketing Q&A: Coke's Kruse Control Gift-Card Monte Room Service The Agency Center Resource Center Can't Beat Loyalty Index of Advertisers

Promo - February 2008

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