Even in lackluster economic times, companies still place importance on face-to-face events, according to a recent study conducted by the George P. Johnson Company and the MPI Foundation. Forty-seven percent of organizations plan to increase their use of events as a marketing tool in the rest of 2003, according to the MPI Foundation/GPJ Event Trends Report 2003, compared to 40 percent in 2002.

The annual benchmarking study also found that in-person events were ranked on a par with direct marketing and advertising by exhibitors surveyed. Having a good show significantly increases the likelihood an exhibitor will spend more at next year's event, as 51 percent of those surveyed that reported a positive return on investment are planning increases in their event budgets, compared to 33 percent overall.

Tradeshows and sponsorships generated the best return on investment, according to 29 percent of exhibitors respectively, while seminars and proprietary road shows were best buys for 17 percent of exhibitors respectively.

The report also found that event budgets have remained relatively unchanged during the last year, but the number of shows exhibitors participate in with the same budget is increasing, especially in the automotive and healthcare industry. The average number of shows attended by automotive exhibitors is 47 in 2003, compared to 18 in 2002. Healthcare exhibitors expect to participate in an average of 41 shows this year, compared to 13 last year.

The automotive and healthcare industries were particularly affected because of industry changes.

"We believe the increase in health care events is related to the new, more restrictive regulations that have emerged in the health care industry. Seminars are emerging as the best ways to educate doctors on new products in this sector," explains Michael Westcott, Vice President of Marketing for The George P. Johnson Company. "In the automotive sector, as the market is tightening up, companies are looking for ways to get face to face with their customers as economically as possible. We are seeing a proliferation of smaller, regional shows that are cost-effective and powerful in their personalized approach. Examples include GM's Auto Show in Motion, a regional road show that allows consumers to test drive all of GM's brands."

This year's study surveyed 350 senior executives from major companies in a wide variety of industries.

Contact: Tracey Parry, George P. Johnson Company, (313) 887-7204, or e-mail: parry@airfoilpr.com.

Links: http://www.gpjco.com, http://www.mpiweb.com