BY Kathy Crosett
After a slow recovery period from the COVID-19 pandemic, the event industry is back. Accounts may spend between 8% and 11% more on events in 2026 than they did last year, reports eventmarketer.com. The target audiences for events, both consumers and business professionals, have expectations. Here’s what the experts expect to see for event marketing trends.
The audience for events
Your accounts should know that consumers expect to attend more events in the coming year. They are craving in-person experiences.
AudienceSCAN from AdMall contains detailed profiles for many event audiences.
- For example, nearly 13% of U.S. adults plan to visit a home/garden show in the next year. That figure is up nearly 31% from the previous year.
- Likewise, 16% of U.S. adults have put a beer/wine festival on their calendar for the next year. And that figure is 35% higher than last year.
Remind your accounts to advertise in the media channels that will attract the attention of their target audience. Nearly 50% of beer/wine festival attendees have responded to a streaming TV ad in the past month. Meanwhile, around 48% of home/garden show attendees have taken action after seeing an ad on a social network.
What consumers want at events
How can your accounts make the best impression at an event? Nearly 70% of event attendees expect to receive a free sample, and close to 60% want discounts or special offers. Making an impression is critically important as 34% of attendees weren’t aware of the brand previously.
After encountering a brand at an event, 60% of consumers are more inclined to make a purchase. In addition, around 82% of attendees will share information about a brand or experience after meeting them at an event.
B‑to‑C brands and marketers
Between 30% and 40% of B‑to‑C brands will “lean into” entertainment sponsorship activations and festival activations in the next few months. And about 10% of brands will engage in pre-event promotion and social media promotion.
This activity represents an opportunity for you to sell media space and services. Around 45% will have content to give to event attendees to extend the connection with these consumers. In general, around 37% of marketers say their ROI from experiential programs is increasing, while 61% say it is the same.
B‑to‑B brands and marketers
In producing events, 50% of B‑to‑B marketers hope to generate more media coverage/PR for their brands. 60% aim to engage their target audience and start a relationship with them.
The events will not be filled with long presentations by industry professionals. Presentations were a big feature in the past. Now, to engage attendees, 40% of marketers will offer “fun” activities. They will also offer shorter content sessions and use non-traditional venues.
In addition, the focus will be all about networking. While sales may have once been the ultimate and immediate goal of investing in events, marketers now say that connections are more important.
What you should know about the B2B audience
A prospect may not be ready to buy when they attend an industry event. But they will keep a vendor’s name in mind. The B2B BuyerSCAN survey indicates that 20% of these buyers are reluctant to do business with a company they have ever heard of.
Appearing at an industry event can be the beginning of the buying process for a prospect. They’ll become aware of the vendor. If they walk away with content such as a special report or industry study, the vendor makes a great first impression.
Trade show outlook
B2B marketers will spend more on trade shows this year. But driving sales will not be their top focus. They aim to generate press coverage and engage their target audiences. They do want to collect leads and generate meetings as a result of their investment.
Our B2B BuyerSCAN data shows that these individuals will consider a vendor’s products in the following cases:
- Brand sponsored an industry conference/event 28%
- Brand representative met them as a conference/trade show exhibit space 28%
These are great data points to offer as you discuss event marketing trends with accounts and prospects. If they haven't checked out this form of marketing, offer your expertise to help them succeed.
Image by Matheus Bertelli on Pexels.
