CMO views on ‘ NextGen ’ events
Mike Fletcher looks at the findings of a CMO Council report and hears from chief marketing officers on their future-facing event strategies
Arecent report from the
CMO Council , a global network for chief marketing officers , has found that 64 % of its 16,000-plus members admit to only being moderately effective or not effective at all at executing virtual events that deliver value to their organisations .
Worse still , 36 % of marketers are experiencing severe virtual event registration fatigue and a loss of connection with customers .
The value problem is likely the result of mismanaged expectations . When the pandemic forced events online , marketers wanted virtual events to deliver the same outcomes as in-person events . But virtual and in-person events play different roles .
The study , sponsored by Cvent , urges CMOs to take advantage of what it calls the ‘ NextGen ’ event channel by ensuring that virtual , in-person , hybrid and webinar formats are firmly aligned with individual business outcomes such as brand awareness , lead generation , retention and loyalty .
“ When it comes to top of the funnel and you want to reach more people , digital events will stick around ,” says Gonzalo Garcia Villanueva , global CMO at GfK . “ The ratio of digital to live will be skewed toward digital , because digital has proven it will get you those numbers . Audiences are enjoying the flexibility of being able to register for a virtual event and then choose whether to watch ‘ live ’ or to play the recording at a time that is more convenient to them .”
Yet , after nearly two years of virtual-only events , marketers seem to be champing at the bit to restart in-person events , with 60 % of CMO Council respondents stating it ’ s very important , even critical , to restart in-person or hybrid events in order to nurture face-to-face customer relationships for higher conversion rates .
“ Virtual events are about presenting knowledge to a wide audience , whereas in-person events are about interactivity and are good for executive briefings and product rollouts ,” says Tony Arnold , CMO North America and head of strategy at HCL Software .
. Lesson from the pandemic One positive to have come from the pandemic years appears to be that event planners and marketers no longer operate in silos . When virtual event technology and digital marketing practices came together in order to execute digital-only events , so too it seems did organisers and CMOs .
According to the CMO Council study , 57 % of marketers now say events are owned and managed by marketing , orchestrated across the company and aligned to a