Exhibition News Supplements EN Elite List 2016 | Page 13
ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE
Digital Dividends
Why now is the time for exhibitions to invest
People are spending more time online now than ever
before. It’s a fact. You may have heard the stats: adults in
the UK spend more than 4.5 hours per day on internetconnected devices.
In the Netherlands, there are almost four times more
such devices than humans. And in developed countries,
smartphone owners check their precious pocket machines
over 100 times per day. Always on, always connected; this
is the new normal.
Contrary to what many feared in the first decade of this
millennium, the internet does not pose an existential
threat to the business of face-to-face. In fact, it may
present the best opportunity for growth.
THE LOW HANGING FRUIT ATTENDEE ACQUISITION
The Center for Exhibition
Industry Research (CEIR)
reported in 2014 that events
spent 30 per cent of their
marketing budget on direct
mail and 10 per cent on print
ads, vs only six per cent on
digital advertising and five
per cent on social media.
But if your attendees are
spending more and more
time online, that is where you
should engage them!
From website analytics
to social listening, referral
marketing to programmatic
advertising, promoting your
event online has never been
more effective or more
measurable than today.
Until recently, the
complexity and cost of these
technologies outweighed
the potential gains for most
organisers.
The tools were primarily
designed for the needs of
retail or e-commerce, and
pioneering event marketers
often found themselves
trying to fit a square peg in a
round hole.
But now, a new crop of
event technology companies
have developed solutions
specifically for exhibition
organisers: Vivastream
is making waves in event
analytics, while Gleanin has
made it easier than ever to
leverage social referrals.
Our company, Feathr, has
built a full suite of behavioural
marketing tools to help
events know, grow, engage
and monetise their audience
online.
The takeaway? Using
technology to drive attendee
acquisition is easier and
more effective than ever
before, and there’s never
been a better time to invest
in your digital strategy.
But growing attendance is
just the beginning.
Tools like Feathr’s ‘Lookalike
Modeling’ and Gleanin’s ‘Social
Registration’ can help you turn followers
and likes into attendees
THE UNTAPPED GOLD MINE DIGITAL MONETISATION
In 2016, B2B marketers will
spend 52 per cent of their budget
on digital initiatives. And yet,
only two per cent of exhibition
industry revenue comes from
digital sources. Why aren’t
exhibitions reaping the benefits
of the online advertising boom?
Facebook makes a fortune off
allowing advertisers to target
based on what we ‘like’. Google
makes a fortune off allowing
advertisers to target based on
what we “search”. Exhibition
organisers could allow digital
advertisers to target based on
the fact that we pay the full
cost of attendance (including
travel and lodging) to spend
multiple days in person learning
and connecting about a very
specific topic or industry. This
is a considerably stronger
demonstration of interest and
buying power than a ‘like’ or
a ‘search’, meaning events are
extremely well poised to deliver
on B2B marketers’ digital desire.
Just as with attendee
acquisition, organisers need to
be equipped with the right tools
to capitalise on this opportunity.
New solutions are beginning
to surface: Feathr’s suite
includes Sponsored Retargeting,
enabling organisers to sell
valuable pre- and post-event
exposure online. Mobile event
app firm DoubleDutch, recently
unveiled targeted offers, giving
exhibitors more options for paid
promotion within their mobile app.
These new tools allow
organisers to expand their
offering to sponsors and
exhibitors, extending an
exhibition’s value far beyond
the few days of the in-person
event and unlocking new digital
revenue streams in the process.
It’s a brave new online world,
but face-to-face is here to stay.
The only question is how long
will we keep leaving money on
the table?
[email protected]
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