The study has three main objectives:
1. Determine the key ROI drivers for event exhibitors
2. Determine extent to which a detailed audit report of verified attendance including demographic data (or lack thereof) would compel or impede exhibitors to add an event to their plan
3. Determine extent to which exhibitors hold show organizers accountable for delivering on promises of audience quantity and quality

KEY FINDINGS

First and foremost, it is clear that the number of tradeshow and event attendees has decreased in the past decade. In fact, 40% of the survey respondents indicate that traffic to exhibits has decreased in the past year (2008).

That point is further backed by data from Exhibit Surveys, Inc. that shows “traffic density” (the theoretical number of people who could have occupied every 100 square feet of paid space for the duration of an exhibit) has shown a consistent downward trend to approximately 2.3 attendees in 2007 from a high of over 3 a decade earlier. However, ESI reports “audience interest factor” (the percentage of attendees who stop, talk or acquire literature at exhibits) has increased significantly to near 80% in 2007 from an interest factor of around 50% during the same period above.

These statistics state a clear case for event audit data. While overall attendance may be down at tradeshows, organizers can show that quality is being sustained, i.e. the key buyers and decision-makers continue to attend events in spite of the overall decline in attendance (those not attending were of lesser value to exhibitors).

To download the full report – go to BPA Worldwide website here

According to this article from Steve Smith that simple reference “doubled their page visits for that day”. Let’s get smarter and make better use of the device that is in everyone’s hands.

Newsmax CTO Gregory Marchwinski already knew that many of his site’s most loyal readers were viewing their daily email newsletter on mobile phones, smartphones and PDAs. But until last month, when he ran a test of the upcoming Newsmax Mobile service within this e-newsletter, he had no idea just how powerful mobilized email could be. “In our Breaking News we put a reference to the mobile site and asked people to try it out,” he says. “We about doubled page visits for that day.” Now, users who receive the daily email on their phones will be redirected to the mobile version of any content on which they click.

As we reported last week, Newsmax went mobile in a formal way in January in partnership with mobile content enabler and ad network Quattro Wireless. According to Marchwinski, several thousand readers were already pulling Newsmax content onto their phones via RSS feeds. “It was plain Jane—no images—and we heard from several people that they had a smart device and we wanted to take advantage of that. Marchwinski customizes an RSS feed for Quattro, including select pieces of the main site and images. The partner handles the many conversions necessary to make the raw feed adapt properly to the many hundreds of available handsets. “It’s pretty much just feed management [for us] and watching the statistics.”

There is little evidence yet at the main Newsmax site that a mobile version is available, but Marchwinski says a print promotion will begin in March. Nevertheless, the early returns are encouraging without any marketing push. The mobile site is generating 10,000 to 12,000 page views a day. Most articles run about four pages on a mobile device, and a good number of people are reading through the entire piece. The most surprising thing so far for Marchwinski is the popularity of the pundits. The mobile page that collects columnists from around the conservative mediasphere is the third-best-rated section of the mobile site.

Newsmax is discovering patterns of mobile media access that started taking shape throughout last year. According to the most recent comScore metrics, by summer of 2008, 33.5 million U.S. mobile subscribers were consulting their email on handhelds, a 4.5% increase over the same period in 2007. When it comes to accessing information via a mobile browser, the reach of the mobile Internet is now 36.1 million. Anecdotally, email providers report an increasing number of clickthroughs coming from mobile devices as people come to expect a landing page experience that conforms to their device. And while mobile users do tend to use their mobile email and browsers to triage content for later use on the desktop, it is also true that they are willing to drill into content that really interests them and stick with it despite the small form factor of the device. The myth of mobile is that people only use the device for short grabs of content. In fact, they are just as likely to use the mobile screen as a window into content they crave.

We’re bombarded by it every day of the week. The news media is shoveling a constant stream of bad news to us in the form of economic reports, surveys of plummeting consumer confidence levels, company layoffs, negative earnings announcements and decimated marketing budgets. This drip, drip, drip creates a tremendous imbalance in our perspective. And since the news is fueled by a very real economic crisis, many of us are prone to see the glass as not just half empty, but 98% empty. But that’s not a recipe for success, or even survival.

The answer lies in seeking a balance—anchoring yourself to reality while focusing on every glimmer of hope and opportunity you can find. Here are few practical things you can do to achieve this balance, for your sanity and your business.

1. Understand Your Locus of Control

To paraphrase feel-good guru Dr. Wayne Dyer: “There’s no sense worrying about the things you can’t control, because you can’t control them. There’s also no sense worrying about the things you can control, because you can control them.”

You could put the economy in the first bucket. Very few of us can do anything to directly remedy the global downturn. As for the second bucket—the things that fall directly under your control—realize that worrying about them won’t actually make things any better. In fact, worrying will likely keep you immobilized. Instead, just get on with what needs doing. Eyes on the task.

2. Tighten the Spigot

To alleviate the imbalance, make a practice of limiting your reading of business and economic news, particularly the negative kind, to only that which promises to edify, inspire or instruct you in ways that can enhance your business, or at least keep you in a positive, forward-moving frame of mind. Does it really help your situation to dwell on the detailed misfortunes of other companies or leaders, whether in your industry or not? Choose to read the article about Amazon’s remarkable 18% rise in revenues during the past quarter, and how they did it. Skip the one about Home Depot laying off thousands (unless you’re Lowe’s).

3. Focus on the Opportunities

Use all that time you’ve freed up by not reading doomsday articles to explore opportunities amid the obvious problems. In fact, for every challenge you’re facing, there is probably a corresponding opportunity or two lurking beneath the surface. If your marketing budget is slashed, for example, how can you use this as an opportunity to eliminate or reduce programs, vendors or even people, a move that in flusher times would be harder to justify? Now is the time to eradicate the marginal and double-down on the core.

It’s time to answer the question, “Which are my best bets for sustaining revenues and achieving return on investment?” OfficeMax’s holiday season Elf Yourself campaign came from the need to creatively promote the business supply store, when Bob Thacker, SVP of advertising and marketing, knew he couldn’t match the spending of bigger rivals Staples and Office Depot. Now among the most famous viral campaigns, Elf Yourself was one of a dozen quirky experimental Websites Mr. Thacker set up to engage consumers. The sites cost about the same as producing one 30-second TV spot. And Elf Yourself is such a hit that for three years running, millions of Americans have been putting their face on an animated elf’s body and creating a viral sensation. The campaign was inspired by research showing that consumers saw the business supply category as “lifeless” and undifferentiated. Mr. Thacker sought to differentiate his business in ways that engaged consumers in an intimate and fun experience.

4. Leverage Data to Construct Opportunistic Experiments

You can generate more opportunities for your business by immersing yourself in data. Relentlessly mining data nuggets can lead to powerful insights, and eventually (if acted upon) successful programs. Direct your staff to pore through primary internal research, especially customer and Web analytics data, as well as secondary market research and trend data, with the goal of identifying potential opportunities, both large and small. Use the data to build hypotheses that can be tested inexpensively, often online. Through relentless iteration, and of course careful measurement, you will discover new ways to move the needle.

Interestingly, 39% of marketing professionals in a Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG) survey in January 2009 expected to increase their use of market research this year. The same number expected to hold market research steady, and 22% were looking at cuts. In a separate study, by Booz Allen Hamilton and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), only 24% of marketers defined their firms as digitally savvy. Tellingly, the No. 1 reason given for being behind the digital eight ball was lack of experience, cited by 59% of respondents. But we all know the best way to gain experience is to go out there and do something.

5. Invest in the Future

The tendency in crisis times like these is to hunker down and focus all attention on the here and now. Prudence, however, would suggest spending a little time each week planning for the future—for when the economy picks up (and yes, it will, eventually). There are two benefits to this tactic. First, it will help keep you focused on the positive, even if it’s in anticipation of future success. Second, you and your company will be in a much stronger position to take action at the first signs of an uptick. While others, including your competitors, are scrambling, you will be two steps ahead and ready to take advantage as the economic momentum shifts.

The five steps above can help you stay balanced, positive and open to opportunities as they arise. Don’t let yourself succumb to the pervasive negativity, which can easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy. In this economy, your business’s or brand’s market share may—or may not—go up. But you will assure yourself of the latter result if you do nothing but wallow in the mire of ugly headlines.

“I don’t care how hard this period is. You have to have the combination of believing that you will prevail, that you will get out of this, but also not be the Pollyanna who ignores the brutal facts. You have to say that we will be in this for a long time and we will turn it into a defining event, a big catalyst to make ourselves a much stronger enterprise.” —Jim Collins, management guru, as quoted in Fortune, February 2, 2009

Marathon runners and Tour de France racers know it is on the steepest hill, when the challenge is most difficult, that leadership changes hands.

Such is our opportunity now.

The good news is that there are things marketers can do, steps they can take — even in this inhospitable market — that can help them survive, and possibly even thrive, as they weather the storm. This whitepaper highlights some of the most compelling of those strategies and tactics, many of which involve the Internet.

Download the report here:

emarketer_seven_strategies2

Fascinating conversation with technology expert, consultant, teacher and author Mark Pesce. Pesce recently spoke at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York, and in this discussion he provides his thoughts and opinions on where we are with web and mobile technology, and most importantly, on its critical social and political impact on us all today.

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The implication for the event industry is clear: the ability to maintain two-way communication with your target market via mobile phone is rapidly becoming imperative – or risk missing the opportunity to effectively market to key visitors, especially those people who are ‘on the go’.

A breakthrough solution developed by Info Salons is set to revolutionize how event organizers register their visitors and delegates. Whether riding in a taxi, sitting in a café or waiting to board a plane, people can register for an event quickly and conveniently on their mobile phone via Mobile Web Registration.

This new service, which allows visitors and delegates to register and even pay for an event using a web-enabled mobile phone, is designed to meet the needs of people who are increasingly relying on their mobile devices for communication and business activity.

“The trend towards increasing use of mobile phones for all forms of connectivity is clear. From chefs to landscapers, from hairdressers to mining engineers, there are so many people who have come to depend on mobile phones because they don’t have easy access to a computer,” said Jo-Anne Kelleway, CEO Info Salons Group. 

“Mobile Web Registration fills an important gap in industries where internet access is not always readily available.”

Info Salons’ user-friendly service gives people direct access to the online registration page for any event – right from their mobile device. The page is designed to fit perfectly on the screen of their mobile, so they can register instantly instead of having to wait to get back to the home or office.

Mobile Web Registration enables organisers of events to save costs and speed up visitor and delegate “check-in” onsite, reducing congestion at venues. Organisers can even use Mobile Web Registration to promote their upcoming events to potential visitors free of charge.

The ground-breaking service is part of the Info Salons suite of event specific database and registration applications, and integrates with the company’s other registration solutions.

“Pre-registration check-in solutions such as e-badge, are now a priority for many organisers,” said Kelleway.

“Our Mobile Web Registration solution improves the visitor experience, making registration for events more accessible, easier and faster – a real bonus for time-constrained corporate buyers who are attending events.”

To access Mobile Web Registration, users need a PDA mobile device that connects to the internet via a browser. While there is no cost to access the service, if data submitted is intensive users may be charged by their wireless provider for data usage.

About The Info Salons Group

Info Salons Group is the leading online event management solutions, database and registration company throughout Australia, Asia and the Middle East. Over 20 years of experience working with the most recognised event organisers in the industry, has given Info Salons the expertise, integrated technology and track record to guarantee the success of events. With offices in Sydney, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Macao and Dubai, Info Salons provides organisers with solutions to better market their events, serve their customers and operate efficiently. The Info Salons Group was founded in 1990. For more information visit www.infosalons.com.au

MOBILE WEB REGISTRATION – FACT SHEET

Publish an event

Info Salons will provide event organisers with the URL “www.mobilewebregistration.com/your event name” for publishing on the event website so that potential visitors can register using their mobile phone.

Info Salons will also provide event organisers with a “Send Link to My Mobile Phone” request registration page. Visitors simply type in their mobile phone number and an SMS is sent immediately to their phone with a link to connect them directly with the event’s mobile web registration page.

Find an event

From January 2009, visitors can also browse directly from www.mobilewebregistration.com for a listing of all the events Info Salons service. Organizers’ event logo, name, dates and website link will be promoted free of charge.

Checking In

Visitors and delegates using Mobile Web Registration are sent their barcode confirmation via their web-enabled mobile phone immediately upon registering. The barcode confirmation is emailed to their inbox and can also be accessed by all devices that receive emails. Visitors will also be able to request the SMS Check-In function. This functionality allows visitors to receive the registration confirmation barcode or number via a short message text.

At the Event

At the venue, visitors or delegates proceed to the e-badge kiosk and scan their barcode to receive a print-out of their name badge, which they can use to go through security and into the event.

For those of you who don’t know me…I am the Founder and CEO of The Info Salons Group, the leading database and registration company throughout Australia, Asia and the Middle East. The Group has offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Dubai and is involved in over 500 events annually, working with major event organizers such as Reed Exhibitions, dmg world media, Diversified Exhibitions, Deutsche Messe, IIR Middle East  and CMP Asia. I am a Board Member of IAEE, and EEAA (in Australia) and also serving on the Asian Exhibition Council and the International Committee.

For those of you who do know me…you recognize my penchant for voicing my views and my enthusiasm for our wonderfully exciting events industry…hope you find this interesting too!