Marketing News
Why live events are a key driver to building brand trust
A new report powered by media company Edelman reveals the impact of face-to-face interactions on brand loyalty and trust with over three quarters (77%) of all respondents, saying they trusted brands more after going to a live event.
The new research by the people behind the respected Edelman Trust Barometer,also revealed it’s most personal for millennials with 8 out of 10 placing their trust in brands they have interacted with at ‘in person’ events.
Two-thirds of respondents (64%) reported that brand awareness and recognition lasted at least a month after the event.
It’s a people thing
The need to interact with others, particularly at professional events where attendees mingle with peers in the same field, has even been proved scientifically, thanks ironically to the COVID19 events restrictions.
This enabled researchers, who were already polling conference participants, to follow-up and asses the effect of not meeting professional colleagues, giving an unwitting ‘control group.’
Supplementary research conducted back in the UK found that the lack of conferences hampered building relationships, as well as engagement with like-minded colleagues and consequently meant research and new lines of thinking were actually stunted when carried out purely virtually rather than at events.
It also found that younger employees were affected the most as they did not have established contacts and found it hard to build them, relying on the networks of their bosses.
Green shoots
What is also coming through loud and clear in all the research is that there is a new appreciation for live events. Absence has made the heart grow fonder.
In fact, the annual ‘UK Conference and Meeting Survey’ (UKCAMS), found in 2021 there were circa 440,000 conferences and meetings, compared to just 195,000 in 2020. In 2021, the live event industry generated £4.9 billion of income compared to £1.17 billion garnered in 2020.
And with the new survey currently being compiled for 2023, UKCAMS are confident these green shoots of recovery in the conference sector will have rapidly grown.
Almost half of venues (45%) said that they expect their conference and meetings business to recover to 2019 levels by 2023 whilst the IPA Bellwether Reporter predicts that the global event marketing sector is forecast to be worth over £2 trillion by 2028.
Trust in people
But perhaps the biggest takeaway from all the recent research of the event industry is the impact of human interaction on trust.
Not only have the studies shown that professionals work better together, vibing with their industry colleagues (and competitors), but customers also want the human touch.
Brands they interact with face-to-face, are the ones they trust and will buy from. A lesson all companies can learn from.
Sources:
Freeman Trust Report 2023 Demonstrates Face-to-Face Interaction Is Key to Building Brand Trust PR Newswire
Scientific conferences: Why meeting face-to-face still matters LSE
LAUNCH OF NEW RESEARCH: ‘THE UK CONFERENCE AND MEETING SURVEY 2023’ UKCAMS
The Events Industry’s Top Marketing Statistics, Trends, and Data Bizzabo
Companies’ total UK marketing budget growth hits one-year high IPA
