CMOS Perceived as Lacking Commitment to Event Programs Even Though They Understand Potential Value, New CMO Council/CEMA Study Finds
Event Marketing Managers and CMOs Disagree on Executive Involvement in Event Planning and Level of Integration With Overall Marketing Mix

PALO ALTO , CA February 15, 2005 - When it comes to event programs, Chief Marketing Officers seem to be of two minds. On the one hand, they say events are a vital part of overall marketing plans, but on the other, there's a big question mark when it comes to using them as a strategic marketing vehicle. And hanging over the whole issue is a major disconnect: A clear majority of CMOs polled say they play an active role in mapping and evaluating event programs, while only 39 percent of event managers say their CMOs play such an active role.

Those are just some of the details from a new study fielded by two leading executive organizations, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and the Computer Event Marketing Association (CEMA). The study, titled "Staging & Gauging: Do Events Pay Off?" examines the role, value and effectiveness of event marketing from both the CMO and event manager points of view.

The study confirms that events are high up on marketers' lists: Despite a drop-off in events after the tragedy of 9/11 and the subsequent slowdown, event marketing has rebounded significantly. In 2003, spending on event marketing grew by 15 percent to over $150 billion, and industry insiders expect 2004 numbers to be even stronger. Nearly 70 percent of CMOs view event management as a vital marketing function . While public relations holds down the No. 1 slot as the most important function, CMOs rank events as the third most important, behind interactive efforts. Nearly one third of CMOs say 20 percent or more of their budgets are allocated to events.

However, less than half of the CMOs polled say they are "very committed" to centrally managing and using events as a strategic marketing vehicle. Even more telling, only 33 percent of event managers feel their CMOs are "very committed" to events. Asked how integrated their events are with other marketing functions, just 36 percent of CMOs claim they are "tightly integrated."

For the record, nearly 70 percent of CMOs polled believe they're actively involved in mapping and evaluating event programs. Event managers, however, see it very differently: Only 39 percent of managers say their CMOs are active in mapping and evaluating event programs.

"The differences in perception of event marketing between CMOs and Marketing Managers have been difficult to measure until now," says Mitch Ahiers, President, CEMA. "This survey provides a clear roadmap for our industry to move forward, and serves as a platform for our members to initiate a strategic discussion with their executive management on this critical issue."

Staging & Gauging is based on online surveys of 190 CMOs and 230 event marketing managers. The study was fielded by the CMO Council, a leading research and advocacy organization whose members include more than 1,200 top decision makers at high technology companies, and CEMA, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving marketing professionals in the high technology industry. The study was sponsored by Carat, an independent media agency network, Envision Media, an integrated event marketing firm, and Corporate EVENT Magazine , a new B2B-focused event marketing publication.

"As this study shows, even seasoned marketing executives have trouble gauging the value of events," says Scott Van Camp, Editorial Director, CMO Council, and the author of the report. "What's surprising is that there's even debate on the role CMOs play, the role they should play and their ability to fully integrate events into their strategic marketing mix."

Also among the survey findings:

• The majority of CMOs and event managers polled see events as "expensive and time consuming," and cite "identifying and following up with leads" and "analyzing ROI" as top challenges. The biggest risk: "unpredictable outcomes."
• While number and quality of leads generated is the top barometer of an event's success, just 31 percent of CMOs believe they are supplied with sufficient information to truly evaluate event marketing value and return. About 34 percent say their annual budget for event measurement is less than $10,000, and 1 in 5 CMOs admit to having no money at all budgeted for event measurement.
• Only 46 percent of CMOs say that event program effectiveness is consistently measured against marketing objectives. That number is even lower for event managers, at 35 percent.

"If CMOs and event managers utilized an event management toolkit as part of their marketing strategy, they would have the ability to overcome these significant challenges," says Sean Tabatabai, CEO of survey co-sponsor Envision Media .

"This research confirms the need for more formal measurement, training and research within this growing segment of corporate events," says Lee Knight, founder and CEO of Corporate EVENT Magazine , a survey co-sponsor. "Companies need to learn how to use corporate events to deliver strategic initiatives and ROI."

"As an industry, we need to establish a common event marketing language, so when marketers assess measured event results, they understand the overall value of the medium, beyond just ROI," says Geoff Poli, Sr. Vice President of survey co-sponsor Carat Brand Experience.

The full report is available online at www.cmocouncil.com .  A free webinar will review and discuss the findings on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 from 11 AM PST to Noon PST.  To register go to: http://www.cmocouncil.org/REGISTRATIONS/StagingGauging/StagingGauging_register.html

About the CMO Council
The CMO Council is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior marketing and brand decision-makers in the global technology industry. Based in Silicon Valley, the Council works to further the stature, credibility, influence, and understanding of the strategic marketing function among business executives, opinion leaders and critical stakeholders in the technology sector. Nearly 1,200 technology companies are currently represented on the CMO Council, accounting for well over $500 billion in aggregated annual revenues. These include top decision-makers controlling more than $45 billion in global marketing expenditures for many of the world's foremost computer systems, software, networking, communications, consumer electronics, component, distribution, and consulting brands. For more information, please visit our web site at www.cmocouncil.org .

The CMO Council is represented through regional chapters which convene in technology centers worldwide under the auspices and administration of GlobalFluency, the Independent Network of Influence. Spearheaded by Silicon Valley-based Neale-May & Partners, GlobalFluency consists of 84 offices employing over 350 professionals in 65 countries. Together, these organizations represent more than $50 million in billings from scores of clients across the information technology, communications, systems integration and Internet service sectors. More information is available at www.globalfluency.com .

About CEMA
The Computer Event Marketing Association (CEMA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving marketing professionals in the high technology industry for over 15 years. Initially dedicated to serving Event Marketing professionals, CEMA has grown to represent the interest of marketing communications professionals in the information technology industry. CEMA's specific focus revolves around raising the strategic importance and awareness of marketing in its member organizations and in the industry as a whole. www.cemaonline.com

About Carat
Carat is the only independent media agency network in the world and as we are free from agency ties, we can focus totally on what's best for our clients. To help our clients' businesses to succeed, we can create integrated communications solutions that produce results. Carat's event marketing group, Carat Brand Experience, specializes in experiential marketing and provides event strategy, event development and production and speaker placement for some of the world's leading brands.   www.carat.com

About Envision Media
Envision Media, an award-winning, integrated event marketing firm, delivers exceptional results through a unique synthesis of insightful strategy, compelling creative and powerful event management tools. For over 13 years, government and Fortune 500 companies have entrusted their mission critical trade shows, partner summits, user group symposiums, road shows and CXO events to Envision Media. Their suite of web-enabled applications for the event and trade show industry has revolutionized the way their clients have measured their events and integrated events into their overall marketing plans. www.envisionmedia.com

About Corporate EVENT Magazine
Corporate EVENT is the first magazine devoted exclusively to business-to-business event marketing case studies. Corporate EVENT provides senior marketing executives, corporate event managers and B2B event producers with in-depth case studies, hard data, serious analysis, relevant tools, and uncompromising commentary on companies using proprietary customer events to support CEO goals and initiatives. Corporate EVENT is published by EXHIBITOR Publications, which has provided educational tools for producing high-performance B2B marketing programs with measurable results since 1982. www.eventmag.com