Those constraints, coupled with an increasingly digital and complex buyer journey and the need to prove events' impact on the bottom line, according to the survey, drive more event marketers to experiment with different event formats. The everyday event — an event designed to be replicated multiple times across regions, verticals, formats (virtual/hybrid/in-person), and stakeholders — is on the mind of at least one-third of marketers who are refocusing their strategies around these more frequent, scalable events over flagship events, such as conferences and tradeshows.
Kate Hamittt, chief marketing officer said the latest research demonstrates that event marketers are, once again, adjusting their strategies to create more connection points with attendees and positively impacting ROI. And, she said, “we're continuing to see evidence that everyday events — at scale— can drive significant financial impact to a company's sales pipeline year-round."
The 2023 Events Outlook Report from Splash shows that 81% of event practitioners would hold more events if they had the right tools. Other report findings show that:
- Everyday events prove their worth: Nearly one-third (27%) of event marketers plan to host 11-20 of these event types.
- Untapped revenue potential: With the majority of events (84%) targeting existing customers, there's a significant opportunity to expand event programs to bring in new buyers. Substantially fewer than half (41%) of events are directed at the prospective buyer - showing an impressive potential for growth!
- Virtual events are still a paradox: while just 6% of event marketers host only virtual events now, 38% say they are cost-effective.
- Investment in event tech remained largely unchanged from 2021, with half (53%) of event marketers saying their tech budgets stayed the same.
- The event mix is changing: large "flagship" events aren't going away, but only 13% of marketers say they're focusing on them in 2023. Instead, more marketers are looking at everyday events to reach their target audience at multiple touchpoints throughout the year.
Image: Shutterstock