Snail Mail Rules, but Online's Catching Up

Attendee marketing is a key driver in a tradeshow's success. Our recent show producer surveys have helped shed light on what's working.

Today, marketing techniques evolve rapidly. New technologies open new marketing channels, allowing consumers to spread news faster. This quick flow of information, coupled with more events competing to attract the same attendees, makes getting the right message out more important than ever before.

If a marketing plan doesn't connect with its target audience the first time, the second message could be tossed in the trash (physically or electronically) before it's ever opened.

Everything's real-time these days — webcasts, cell phones, text and instant messaging. So what media piece do most show producers still believe hits home with exhibitors? Mail delivered the old-fashioned way, through the U.S. Post Office.

In a recent survey, event producers were asked which pre-show marketing methods they use to contact potential attendees. Predictably, direct mail (93 percent), the event Web site (90 percent) and e-mail (83 percent) were all named as integral tools in the marketing plan.

But when asked which one is the single most important method that they use, the response was definitive. Almost three-quarters (73 percent) selected direct mail (postcards, brochures, etc.) to attendees. Event producers believe the printed and mailed brochure is their most important marketing tool. It is the call to action that most effectively motivates prospects and turns them into attendees.

On the other hand, only 10 percent of show producers surveyed chose their event Web site as the single most important method to reach potential show attendees. Respondents said marketing via Web sites or other alternative mediums simply yields lower response rates.

It probably shouldn't be a complete surprise that traditional mailed brochures have staying power. In some respects, a brochure delivered through the mail mimics the continued success of the events industry itself: It's tangible. It literally goes into the hands of a potential attendee. It's not part of the endless Web pages and pop-up ads that many people have become desensitized to.

Our event organizer surveys do indicate that Internet marketing (meaning Web sites and e-mail) is more effective today than two years ago. But with mass-mail blockers like Postini becoming commonplace among larger corporations, it's unrealistic to rely on e-mail alone.

On average, show producers send five pre-show e-mails. Response rates for these e-mail blasts are usually low, but do offer some advantages over old-fashioned direct mail.

One is their low cost compared to postage-paid mailers. Another is their ability to test a targeted message efficiently, quickly and cost effectively. For example, a medical event organizer could target doctors with one e-mail and nurse practitioners and physician assistants with another.

It also appears as if Web sites are becoming more attractive to show managers as marketing tools, even if they're not yet the favorite method. Sixty-five percent of event managers told us they had significantly redesigned or formatted their shows' Web sites in the past six months. Another 21 percent said they hadn't, but plan to in the next year. In other words, 86 percent of event producers have significant changes to their Web sites on the agenda.

Blogs are becoming a popular enhancement to many show sites. In the context of tradeshows, blogs can create value by allowing event management to extend its event community beyond the show's few days by making the event Web site, and ultimately the event itself, the place to go for industry professionals.

The hidden value of blogs for show managers is that they can also act as viral marketing tools. Readers often place links in their comments that lead other readers to other sites. So, a reader on one blog who leaves a link to a comment on your blog is essentially marketing your site to readers that your event might not have reached on its own.

While new marketing methods and mediums have created buzz in the past few years, all indicators suggest more changes are to come. As one surveyed event producer noted, advertising channels will change drastically for consumer events as newspapers lose readers to other media. For the event producer, this simply means there are more ways to reach potential attendees than ever before.

Still, attendee needs, at their core, remain unchanged. Marketers should already know the right message to send. Attendees are looking for what anyone looks for when they're trading their time: What is the value? What is the benefit to attending?

And while it's a whirlwind trying to keep up with what's hot, some things haven't changed:

• On average, event producers expected to spend $124,000 on attendee marketing at their largest and most important shows in 2005. The high and low ends of the spending range were fairly equal, with 34 percent planning to spend more than $100,000 and 38 percent looking to spend less than $25,000.
• In aggregate, event producers send an average of three pre-show mailers — not including e-mail.