B-to-B Event Marketers Anticipate Better Times Ahead

In 2008, $13 billion, which was 34.5 percent of U.S. business-to-business companies’ overall budgets, was spent on marketing events, according to research firm AMR International.

By 2009, as the economy took a nosedive and marketing budgets were slashed, that event marketing spend considerably shrunk to $11.1 billion, which was a drop off of 15.5-percent, compared with the same time period the year before.

In the eye of the storm, were several B-to-B event marketing firms that were hit hard when companies and associations that had trade shows tightened their purse strings and began scrutinizing every dollar spent.

“I always call 2009, ‘The year of doing more with less,’” said Denise Paccione, president and CEO of San Diego-based Marketing Design Group. “We saw everyone cutting budgets and staff.” She added that several of her 20 or so clients are consumer/retail-oriented shows and cut their marketing budgets up to 50 percent, with an average dip of 30 percent. “I really can’t think of a client that didn’t cut their budgets in 2009,” Paccione said.

Roger Haligan, CEO of Chicago-based H+A International, said his company, too, saw decreases in marketing spend of up to 20 percent on the seven shows his company works with. “Unfortunately, we certainly witnessed the downturn last year,” Haligan said. “Some (clients) cut back 5 percent, others up to 20 percent, depending on the client”

Kevin Miller, president of Bethesda, Md.-based Frost Miller Group, said he saw similar decreases in marketing spend, ranging from 5 to 20 percent, among his company’s six trade show clients. “Budgets generally are down, forcing organizers to be much more strategic,” he added.

Not every event marketer saw cuts last year. Jean Whiddon, president and CEO of Bethesda, Md.-based Fixation Marketing, said of her company’s 12 trade show clients, “I think that most of our clients aren’t spending much less. They haven’t cut budgets less than they are being really smart with their money.”

Even with the tough times experienced by most B-to-B event marketers, there were some upsides to the downturn, mainly changes in strategy for getting the message out.

“There are some fundamental shifts going on,” Haligan said. For example, he added, virtual trade shows used to be a dirty word in the industry, with fears live trade shows would be replaced. “Now, some of the smarter shows are doing things in the virtual arena,” Haligan said.

Social Media also has come to the forefront, mainly for two reasons: accessibility and the low cost. The key, though, is not doing a blanket approach and making sure the key audience is being reached. “Everyone is very excited about social media, especially because of the fact it is considered inexpensive,” Paccione said.

Liz Johnson, Frost Miller’s director of public relations, said, “We’ve also seen a lot more social media. This year, it seems like the response we are getting is, ‘Yes, we’re definitely going to do that.’ The biggest challenge is keeping up with it. It’s really time consuming.”

Whiddon added, “I think (social media) is one of those areas that still is under development. I feel like we’re at a stage where everyone is doing it, but they’re not sure why. I’m not sure it’s generating bodies yet.”

One of the marketing surprises that have come out of the struggling economy is that old has become new again – particularly in the case of direct mail and telemarketing – two things that seemed close to obsolete – according to Miller.

“Direct mail still is really effective because people shifted to e-mail so quickly it has become so overwhelming and less effective,” Miller said. Even so, don’t expect to see 24-page brochures any time soon. “They are not necessarily big, flashy, multi-page pieces,” Halligan said. “They need to be more targeted.”

The telemarketing also might consist of one larger broadcast call urging people to register for a show, but then the calls are honed down into more specific groups to try and get a certain kind of attendee on the showfloor, Miller said. “(Direct mail and telemarketing) are so old-fashioned, but they have become very effective with a couple of our shows,” he added.

Mass marketing just won’t work anymore, Whiddon said. In fact, marketers are being tasked even more with helping their clients make their messages as strategic and tailored as possible to get qualified attendees to show up for the event. “Campaigns have all these moving parts now,” she added. “There are so many balls in the air, especially for the big events.”

Paccione added, “One very exciting development is our industry is being forced to have a more sophisticated level of marketing. There is more awareness of trying new tactics that they wouldn’t have before. I think it will only benefit the industry.”

There is some good news on the horizon: by 2013, AMR International predicts B-to-B event marketing spend will climb back up to $12.8 billion, which is a compound annual growth rate between 2009 and 2013 of 3.7 percent.

Paccione said she already is seeing more optimism. “There is so much more excitement and energy on the showfloor, compared with 2009,” she added. “People are saying, ‘I am sick and tired of being sick and tired, so I came to this show.’”

Haligan said his company’s business started to see an uptick in business in the third quarter of 2009. “I think there is going to be an increase in spend building throughout the year,” he added. Typically, trade shows are a lagging indicator, Miller said, so he hadn’t seen too many changes as of yet. But, as the year goes by and more shows are held, he added, there will be a better indication of what the future might hold.

There is a bright side to it all, according to Whiddon. “I think coming out of this, everybody’s marketing programs will be smarter,” she added.