Top Event Marketing Tools: Direct Mail & E-Mail

Direct mail and e-mail marketing are the most popular -- and the most effective -- forms of attendee promotion, according to the Center of Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) “Cost to Attract Attendees” study released earlier this year. Direct mail and e-mail together accounted for 56% of the event advertising budgets of survey respondents. The popularity of the two marketing tools held steady across a variety of different metrics, including event size, event cost, marketing reach and event organizer. So it's no surprise that respondents also judged direct mail and e-mail as the most effective forms of advertising in drawing attendees. On a five-point scale, 87% of those surveyed gave direct mail a rating of “4 – Effective” or “5 – Highly Effective.” E-mail marketing scored a four or five rating in 86% of cases. The CEIR study was based on 137 responses from executives and event coordinators for many different industries and for events with revenues ranging from under $250,000 to over $10 million. Respondents reported more variation in cost per attendee depending on event metrics. Cost per attendee showed a relatively stable decrease as overall event costs rose but remained in the low $20.00 range. Cost per attendee was more skewed by total attendance; median cost per verified attendee for events drawing fewer than 1,500 guests soared to $46.70, for example. For access to the whole report, go to http://www.abmassociation.com/News/3314/Direct-mail,-e-mail-best-event-marketing-methods