0 -#12+%&3456& · opportunities event organizers see, what concerns they face, what...

Event Industry ResearchReport 2018 Event Industry ResearchReport 2018

The Pulse of the Industry

2018 Event Industry ReportWhat is the pulse of the event industry in 2018? What are event professionals’ hot buttons? Where do they need the most help with their meetings and conferences?

Attendify, a leader in the event technology space, set out to find out what opportunities event organizers see, what concerns they face, what activities take up most of their time, and how they measure event success.

To accomplish this, Attendify delivered an online industry survey to more than 27,000 event management professionals in late 2017 and early 2018 to get a pulse on the industry. 1,320 of the people invited took the survey.

In addition to the core areas, much emphasis placed on event technology and data management, so this survey delved into those subjects, particularly to find out what types of technology causes the most challenges, and what’s most helpful to them.

22018 Event Industry Report


62%

cited attendees as the most important stakeholder group.

Of planners

35%

that use mobile event apps to collect data are 35% more likely to have an event data management strategy in place.

Event organizers

25%

identified online registration as the most frustrating event tech category.

of subjects

56%

don’t use a major online registration system.

of respondents

In this report, you will find the results of this survey. The 2018 event industry research report will summarize the findings and provide main takeaways about the most important topics facing event planners and organizers. Here are a few intriguing insights we pulled out for you.


Change has been a constant over the past few years in the event management industry, but this year it feels like we're approaching a tipping point. Event planners’ jobs are becoming more demanding, they’re handling more events and consequently, the stakes for the technology they use are ever higher. It’s clear that these findings point to the event attendee as the primary focus. And that means that one of the main concerns for planners is implementing technology that will elevate the attendee journey, not get in the way.

More events, more budgetary challengesPeople who run more than 10 events produced per year show distinct differences compared to the overall group. Just 29% of event organizers who run 11-20 events cite budget as their single biggest challenge, compared to 39% of planners who run 21-50 events, and 36% of respondents who plan more than 50 events.

All Respondents

19%

13%

15%

42%

11%1 event

2 - 10 events

11 - 20 events

21 - 50 events

More than 50 events


Attendee experience comes firstBased on the responses from this group of event industry professionals, it’s obvious that the event attendee is the primary stakeholder planners focus on during their events. Reinforcing this finding is the fact that the most popular success metric for live events is feedback from attendees on the quality of the event. It should be no surprise then, that the main focus of event planners during their events is directly interacting with attendees and helping them out.

8%

2%

7%

5%

7%

8%

62%Attendees

My company’s executives

My company’s employees

Speakers

Sponsors

Vendors

The events team

The biggest stakeholder group at events is attendees by a wide margin.


Their role determines how they rollWhen looking at roles and job functions, there are variations as well. For example, compared to event organizers who cited attendee feedback as their top success metric, Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) and VPs of Marketing reported that hitting specific return on investment targets was the most important outcome of events.

5%

17%

6%

9%

36%

7%

18%Number of attendees

Coming in at or below budget/breaking even

Feedback from attendees on the quality of the event

Hitting specific ROI targets

Internal feedback from company stakeholders

Commitments from sponsors and attendees

Other

How does your organization measure the success of your event?


CMOs and marketing leaders exhibited behaviors that differed from the rest of the sample, identifying success measurement/ROI as their biggest challenge while all other groups said budget was the #1 problem they faced.

When marketing and event teams collaborate efficiently, it goes a long way toward delivering an outstanding event experience. But that collaboration is fraught with challenges. Both teams measure success in different ways, so finding common metrics is critical to success. Engagement and the concept of “Return on Engagement” can be the glue that binds marketing and event teams and helps align them both around a common goal. Whether it’s a customer, partner, internal, association, or public-facing event, measuring and improving attendee engagement is a universal goal, and one that event technology can help.

5%

14%

16%

5%

7%

34%

19%Lack of time

Budget

Staffing/volunteers

Marketing

Technology

Data

Success measure/ROI

Budget is the single biggest challenge faced by event planners/organizers


Technology opportunities aboundThere is certainly room for improvement in the event technology space. Almost two-thirds of respondents don’t use a major online registration system, but rather utilize an in-house solution, event website or Excel/Google Docs. The group identified online registration as the biggest area of frustration when it comes to event technology, followed closely by mobile event apps. This indicates strong demand for better online registration software.

Cvent

Eventbrite

RegOnline by Cvent

Bizzabo

Eventsair

Ungerboeck

eToches

Tito

Other 56%

1%

3%

2%

1%

1%

4%

22%

10%

Which Event Registration Software do you use?


16%

8%

24%

13%

12%

25%

Other

RFID/Beacon tracking

Event Apps

Lead retrieval

Event website

Online registration

In what ways do you collect event data?83% of people surveyed said that they are not able to utilize their event data to the fullest extent possible. The most popular data collection tool is online surveys for attendees to complete. Surprisingly, 30% of people still use paper surveys as their primary data collection methodology.

12%

25%

We're able to act on our data to some extent, but not to its fullest potential

We find it to be a constant struggle to use our event data

Online registration tools and apps are the technology solutions that cause the most frustrations for professionals


Most event organizers collect data from surveys, followed closely by registration systems and mobile event apps.

7%

30%

66%

17%

20%

26%

48%

60%Registration system

Mobile event apps

Audience response system (live Q&A)

Lead retrieval tools

Session tracking technology

Online surveys

Location-based tools (RFID/Beacons)

Paper surveys

23%

17%

We have no strategy for event data management

We are able to collect and utilize our data to the greatest extent possible


Main takeaways

For more information, please visit www.attendify.com

Also, event registration is an area of opportunity being that event planners haven’t gravitated toward one industry leading system, and most use low-tech ways to handle registration. According to this research, the industry needs a registration platform that easily integrates with other systems, is affordable, and can be customized to each individual event.

We hope you found value in this research study and invite you to continue to check in with us for more industry research, eBooks, videos, and other relevant resources for event planners and organizers.

About one half of event planners surveyed need the most help with finding new ways to engage and enhance the experience of attendees.

This clearly shows that there is a need in the event industry for new ideas and tools to help event attendees personalize their experience, engage with event content and create meaningful connections with other attendees. Event organizers are looking for ways to gather feedback from attendees and use that data to personalize experiences, promote future events, and generate more event revenue and ROI.

https://attendify.com/


About AttendifyAttendify is the only event technology platform that helps you elevate the entire attendee experience at conferences, trade shows, exhibitions, corporate meetings and other events. Attendify helps companies like Google, Bloomberg, Amazon Web Services, Informa, Phillips, Paypal, and Harvard set up event registration that simply works, create elegant event apps, and unlock the power of event data. For more information or to get started building your app visit

www.help.attendify.com www.attendify.com [email protected]

orCreate an Event Request a Demo

http://www.attendify.com

https://attendify.com/

https://hub.attendify.com/account/signup/

https://attendify.com/company/contact


Demographics and additional findingsThe days of event planners managing just one large event per year are nearly over, with about 90% running more than one event per year and about half managing more than 10 events per year. Plus, they are producing a wide variety of events, from internal corporate meetings to large conferences and expos.

Appendix

15%

5%

11%

45%

7%

5%

12%

Attracting compelling speakers and content

Create meaningful connections between attendees

Helping sponsors get value out of their participation

Finding new ways to engage and enhance the experience

Selecting and using the best event technology

Picking vendors and negotiating contracts

Demonstrating the success of events

Enhancing the attendee experience is the biggest area where event planners need help


Ensuring the attendee experience is delightful and making sure the event is financially successful top the list of event planner concerns(1 = least important; 5 = most important)

1

3

2

4

5Ensure the attendee experience is delightful

Making sure the event is financially successful

Attracting as many attendees to your event as possible

Get recognized for executing an amazing event

1 2 3 4 5

1.71% 1.23% 4.84% 20.04% 72.17%

3.80% 3.99% 11.49% 27.92% 52.80%

3.99% 6.93% 14.25% 29.72% 45.11%

10.73% 13.77% 23.46% 24.41% 27.64%


14%

15%

6%

7%

9%

5%

9%

35%

Other

Managing team members/volunteers

Vendor management

Meeting with sponsors and exhibitors

Logistical activities

Solving technology problems

Working with A/V and speakers on program execution

Interacting with attendees and sponsors

The primary focus of an event planner duringthe event is interacting with attendees and sponsors


50%

20%

53%

50%

72%

47%

55%

Gauge overall sentimentof attendees

Turn attendees into paying customers

Promote future events to past attendees

Identify popular sessions and speakers

Improve future events with insights gathered

Better target your audience

Measure attendee engagement

What do you use your event data for?The majority of event planners use their event data to improve their events, while many use it to measure attendee engagement or promote future events to attendees.


13%

Wearables

18%

Robotics/Drones

9%

Location-based

tools (Beacons, etc.)

21%

Mixed Reality (AR/VR)

15%

Artificial Intelligence

and Machine Learning

5%

Event data

management

10%

Mobile event apps

15%

Blockchain

What do you think is the single most overhyped event technology tool in 2018?The most over-hyped event technology tool is virtual/augmented/mixed reality (followed by robotics/drones and artificial intelligence/machine learning).


Most respondents want the ability to build and update event apps themselves

1 2 3 4 5

3.34% 4.41% 11.10% 24.87% 56.28%Ability to build and update the event app yourself

Interactive maps to help guide attendees 3.61% 6.15% 18.32% 29.81% 42.11%

Real-time attendee feedback tracking to evaluateevent success

2.27% 5.08% 16.04% 35.29% 41.31%

Ability to make immediate changes to app during the event 2.01% 2.67% 8.82% 18.58% 67.91%

Deep analytics and performance tracking to demonstrate ROI 3.48% 7.89% 23.40% 30.88% 34.36%

Push notifications to instantly update attendees on changes and enhancements

2.01% 3.48% 8.02% 25.67% 60.83%

2

0

4

6

8

10

Activity feed where attendees can share photos and read news 3.61% 8.42% 18.85% 36.50% 32.62%

Live polls and surveys 3.21% 6.02% 20.99% 32.62% 37.17%

Sponsor promotion features 8.96% 7.35% 19.79% 29.14% 34.76%

Live Q&A with attendees and speakers 5.08% 8.96% 21.79% 34.09% 30.08%

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