Apr 1, 2006 12:00 PM, Betsy Spethmann

Event marketing spending neared $171 billion in 2005, up an estimated 3% for the year, per PROMO research.

But the average event-marketing budget fell 12% in 2005 to $795,147, according to PROMO's Event Marketing Trends Report survey.

That means more brands are using events, but keeping tighter reins on spending and driving hard for ROI. In fact, 96% of marketing execs use events in their mix, according to The George P. Johnson Co.'s annual survey, EventView '05/'06 (formerly The Global Event Trends Survey).

Budgets are spare: 32% of marketers spend less than $50,000 a year on events; 15% spend between $50,000 and $100,000, and 19% spend $100,000 to $500,000, per PROMO's 2006 Industry Trends Report. (Another 24% spent upwards of $500,000; 10% didn't answer.)

“All brands are stepping closer to consumers,” says Brad Nierenberg, CEO of RedPeg Marketing. “Good event execution is just table stakes now.” So are results. Half (54%) of marketers measure event results by sales volume, per PROMO's Trend Report. Half (50%) track headcount; 41% measure purchase intent; 38% track sales data; and 35% count Internet hits after an event.

Some shops query audiences as a research plus-up. “We're pushing down to the grassroots with better service, and pulling up from the grassroots with better consumer insights,” Nierenberg says.

The push for higher ROI has marketers cutting street-team budgets. That pressures agencies to keep staffs lean — and makes well-trained, reliable street crews a hot commodity.

Most brands rely on buzz marketing to drive event traffic; that's likely to grow as marketers co-opt pop culture (think film screenings and concerts) and recruit brand ambassadors. Watch as brands' desire for entertainment content increasingly informs event planning.

“There's so much competition for mind share — podcasts, social networking, socialized content via new media,” says Civic Marketing Group Co-CEO Stuart Ruderfer. “How can brands distinguish themselves? The only things working now are physical and digital.”

Many marketers are supersizing events, especially to reach young adults. “They're taking over entire hotels, not just hosting a Spring Break event on the beach,” says Alloy Media + Marketing Executive VP Derek White.

Could that also mean the return of the big rig? GMR Marketing is building out four this spring, despite a shift to smaller, nimble vehicles the last few years. “It could be a coincidence as a few clients go all-out,” says GMR President Craig Connelly.

Watch events evolve through cell phones and social networking. Verizon Wireless gave away 10,000 tickets to its Grammy-week Fugees concert via street teams and text messages: Verizon Wireless subscribers who responded quickest got a “ticket” via MMS, then showed the bar code on their phone screens to get into the show. Phones (and the Internet) foster follow-up, too: “The ‘what's next,’ continuing the conversation with consumers is built into nearly every program,” Connelly says.

Watch this year as event marketing segues into retail as more brands adopt “assisted selling” training models as brand experts talk with shoppers in the aisles — like the Science Diet experts who stroll through pet stores at peak traffic times.

SNAPSHOT 2005

Spending hit $171 billion, up 3%

Average budget fell 12% to less than $800,000

Buzz, cell phones drive traffic

Lean street teams stretch margins

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