Marketing
Success starts with seeing the full journey
Ashleigh Cook, CMO of RainFocus says there’ s a marketing shift from campaign-based thinking towards journey-based measurement because success is no longer about isolated engagement spikes
or years, marketing
F success was measured by the performance of individual campaigns. When evaluating a campaign, marketers found themselves asking the same common questions: Did the email drive clicks? Did the booth attract foot traffic? Did the webinar get enough registrations? Because these metrics were easy to track, they became the default indicators of performance.
But the reality, especially in the exhibitions space, is far more complex. The buyer journey today doesn’ t follow a neat, linear path. Attendees don’ t convert on the spot and it’ s now more about the long game. Decisionmakers don’ t operate in silos. And one touchpoint rarely tells the whole story.
As a result, we are seeing a shift from campaign-based thinking to journey-based measurement. It’ s not about abandoning campaigns, but about connecting them. Instead of evaluating each activation in isolation, marketing leaders are beginning to ask how a touchpoint influenced the overall journey. Did it accelerate the path to purchase? Did it increase the time to impact? Did it build advocacy? This shift is also accompanied by the advent of new tools and technologies.
Rethinking metrics for a nonlinear buyer journey Events are no longer standalone experiences. They’ re strategic moments within longer, more intricate journeys. A compelling booth or session might not result in an immediate sale, but it could spark a conversation that leads to a pipeline opportunity six months later. That should be measured and to do so, marketers need to move beyond vanity metrics. Clicks, registrations, and badge scans still have a role, but they’ re early indicators and not the final outcome. More meaningful metrics include: conversion momentum( how quickly someone moves from interest to intent) and customer lifetime value( whether the event influenced longterm retention).
This evolution in measurement is enabled by technology, especially the combination of unified data platforms and AI-powered insights. With the right tools, marketers can now connect the dots across the buyer journey, both online and offline, physical and digital, and identify the moments that actually signal future success. This allows them to ask more meaningful questions, such as which session did high-value attendees gravitate toward and what kind of engagement patterns show up in customers who convert quickly.
Above: Ashleigh Cook
These aren’ t guesses anymore, they’ re patterns we can see and analyse.
Visualise the journey to influence outcomes In B2B, the journey is rarely a straight line. It loops, detours, and involves multiple stakeholders. Creating a visual map of that process helps teams identify friction points, spot high-performing content, and prioritise the right follow-ups. It also ensures that sales and marketing are aligned on what a‘ qualified’ journey really looks like.
As an industry that thrives on experiences, events are uniquely positioned to lead this shift. They generate rich engagement data, they attract decision-makers, and they offer high-impact moments that can shape the trajectory of a deal. But only if we’ re looking at the full journey.
Success isn’ t about isolated engagement spikes anymore, it’ s about sustained momentum that moves buyers forward. When marketers can trace how event touchpoints lead to follow-ups, internal alignment, or faster sales, they see what truly drives revenue. The advantage now goes to teams who connect those dots and tell the full story. EW
www. exhibitionworld. co. uk Issue 3 2025 31