This document is a benchmark report on event marketing that was sponsored by Cvent and conducted by Demand Metric. The report provides an executive summary of its key findings from surveying primarily B2B and B2C marketers about their event marketing strategies and effectiveness. It finds that events are considered a medium to high priority investment, with the primary goals being customer engagement and demand/lead generation. More effective events with higher attendance and value for attendees lead to higher ROI and more leads. Measurement of event marketing metrics is important for satisfaction levels.

1. © 2014 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Benchmark Report
Event Marketing:
Sponsored By:

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Introduction
Executive Summary
The State of Event Marketing
Attending & Hosting Events
Event Marketing Budgets
Goals for Hosting Events
21
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Event Marketing Challenges
Analyst Bottom Line
Acknowledgements
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Event Marketing Metrics & ROI
Lead Volume Satisfaction
22
The Future of Event Marketing
13
Event Marketing Effectiveness
25
About Cvent & Demand Metric
14
Event Marketing Tools & Technologies
27
Appendix – Survey Background

3. INTRODUCTION
Events are a time honored way to connect with customers, prospects and partners. They serve a myriad of functions, most notably for demand and lead generation, lead nurturing, customer engagement and building brand awareness. In today’s digital environment, the manner in which events are being perceived and utilized by organizations is rapidly changing. Events are no longer silo’ed; they are reaching across business units and having a real impact on the entire organization. For this reason, companies are putting greater emphasis on their event strategies and programs with a profound focus on getting the proper return from hosting events. Event marketing programs are typically comprised of a selection of the following types of events: tradeshows, conferences, roadshows, webinars, trainings, seminars, galas, user conferences, networking events, field marketing and virtual events. There’s little doubt that all event details, from logistics to marketing to management, are changing rapidly and that marketers need to be aware of these changes as they market events. In a study sponsored by Cvent, Demand Metric conducted a survey to find out about the current state of event marketing. The study’s goal was to understand the interest in and success with event marketing, gaining insights from which to derive best practices.

4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This study’s participants were primarily marketers in both B2B and B2C organizations. Participants represented a wide range of industry affiliation, company sizes and job roles. Responses were collected from those who both attend and host events. Our analysis focused on the effectiveness and ROI of events as well as degree of satisfaction with events. Furthermore, we examined the strategies, tactics, tools and metrics used to produce successful events. The analysis of this study’s data provides these key findings about the current state of event marketing:
Participants consider events to be valuable as an attendee or as a host. Three-quarters of respondents indicated that events are a medium (38%) or high (41%) priority or area of investment.
The two primary goals of event marketing are customer engagement and demand/lead generation. 71% and 70% of respondents, respectively, chose these two options as leading objectives for event programs.
More effective events lead to higher ROI and lead volume. Events that are well attended, provide value for attendees as well as new leads for sales drive more revenue than those that do not.
ROI is related to hosting more events. Companies that host 6 or more events annually, are more likely to report getting better ROI from their events. Best practice holds that event planning and management requires strong strategies and tools.
The importance of marketing events to demand and lead generation is growing. 60% of those surveyed see events becoming more important in the next year.

5. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The right tools make a big difference in satisfaction with lead volume generated. The primary tools that lead to greater satisfaction with lead volume are event management software, mobile apps, mobile marketing and CRM system integration.
Measurement matters. Those who are not using metrics to track events performance are less likely to be satisfied with the volume of leads that marketing events produce annually. This report details the results and insights from the analysis of the study data. For more detail on the survey participants, please refer to the Appendix.

6. ABOUT CVENT
Cvent, Inc. (NYSE: CVT) is a leading cloud-based enterprise event management platform, with more than 1,450 employees and more than 12,600 customers worldwide. Cvent offers software solutions to event planners for online event registration, venue selection, event management, mobile apps for events, e-mail marketing and web surveys. Cvent provides hotels with a targeted advertising platform designed to reach event planners looking for suitable venues. Cvent solutions optimize the entire event management value chain and have enabled clients around the world to manage hundreds of thousands of meetings and events. For more information, please visit www.cvent.com.

7. ABOUT DEMAND METRIC
Demand Metric is a marketing research and advisory firm serving a membership community of over 50,000 marketing professionals and consultants in 75 countries. Offering consulting methodologies, advisory services, and 500+ premium marketing tools and templates, Demand Metric resources and expertise help the marketing community plan more efficiently and effectively, answer the difficult questions about their work with authority and conviction and complete marketing projects more quickly and with greater confidence, boosting the respect of the marketing team and making it easier to justify resources the team needs to succeed. To learn more about Demand Metric, please visit: www.demandmetric.com. To read the rest of this report, become a Demand Metric member today!