The latest figures released by American Business Media show a mixed bag of economic reports. Trade show revenue is down 8.4% in Q1 2010 year-over-year. Disappointing news. Until you compare it to last years’ 19% drop and suddenly, the future looks rosy again.
Up-again-down-again stories like this make it difficult to pinpoint just where the economic recovery is headed, but new realities are emerging. Here are five trends that savvy event marketers will want to explore.
• The “AIG Effect” is receding. Investment in meetings and conferences has started to revive. At the same time tenuous market conditions mean that many companies are still approaching live events conservatively. It’s no surprise, then, that some are calling hybrid events the trend of the year. Hybrid events is a broad definition that applies when live and virtual components come together in a single event. Benefits abound for both hosting organizations, and sponsors with increased audience exposure. Making events accessible to participants who aren’t able to attend due to budget or travel restrictions can also result in improved member care and customer loyalty.
• For those in southern and southeastern coastal areas, expect more than your fair share of negative publicity. Recent warnings have predicted slowed economic recovery due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Expect concerns about health and safety near polluted areas. The upshot? If you’ve been working to improve the “green-quotient” of your venue to potential buyers, you may have an ace in the hole. Attention is going to be focused on the Gulf region for years to come and you’ll have a compelling benefit that may outweigh any downside risks.
• Print isn’t dead, though it is evolving. Much like the trade show turnaround, compare the 26.1% drop in Q1 2009 to the limited 2010 6.4% decline in print ad revenue. Naturally, negative numbers are still less than ideal, but there is hope! Last month’s IPEX in Birmingham, England put a spotlight on new print technologies such as variable demand inkjet printing. The potential for this digital print technology extends not only to the publishing world but to advertising and marketing, as well. The good news for events: look for new, cost-effective ways to personally engage prospects and participants. Marketing is about to change…again.
• Thanks to low cost of entry, mobile device marketing and content is hot right now, and expected to get hotter. Few marketing tactics deliver as high a response rate as prudently used SMS messages. As more users adapt to the format of text message marketing (with 27% of Americans reporting clicking on a mobile ad versus 21% just under a year ago,) SMS is a great resource to engage potential audiences and market face to face events.
• Social media is still the darling of most marketers. It’s inexpensive, topical, and cutting edge. all positive aspects in an uncertain market. Yet with the exception of Foursquare, there aren’t many new contenders in the social networking scene. While this could mean that the Next Big Thing is just around the corner, we suggest focusing on the current leaders. Stick with the big four for your meetings and conferences; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Youtube. If you must try new platforms, be wary of development snags.
Keen to any other trends? Have a split opinion on our suggestions? Send us an email at [email protected], or reply to us at @GetSynch!