Four Pillars of Successful Executive Events

Four Pillars of Successful IT EventsHow to Forge Long-Lasting Customer Relationships

By Brian GilloolyVP and Editor In Chief of Events

2014 Executive Event Research Report

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Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved

Tech Marketing Best Practices from

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UBM TechEXECUTIVE SUMMARYLast year, UBM Tech surveyed several hundred IT professionals to better understand their thoughts about the effectiveness of executive events that they’ve attended over the years. The survey revealed that such events are a potent marketing tool that can help you build rela-tionships with new customers, and deepen long-term relationships with existing ones. It also provided valuable information on how to ensure success and get the most out of the executive events you sponsor as a way to stay close to your customers.

Following up on last year’s survey, we conducted a similar research project early in 2014; this time, querying nearly twice as many IT professionals—almost 600 in all. This white paper shares some of that research, and also provides valuable tips that will help you build lasting relationships and achieve high-impact customer conversations at executive events.

Following up on last year’s survey, we conducted a similar research project in early 2014; this time querying nearly twice as many IT professionals—almost 600 in all-to determine their views.

ABOUT BRIAN GILLOOLYBrian has spent more than 25 years establishing a trusted and significant presence in the business technology

community. One of the most recognized personalities in IT media, he has built valuable relationships with the most

influential practitioners in the technology industry and counts among his closest contacts CIOs from Fortune 500

companies and small businesses alike. As the vice president and editor in chief of events for InformationWeek and

UBM Tech’s Create, Brian is responsible for developing a vision that provides both the audience and the client with

clarity and insight into today’s most challenging business technology issues.

http://www.createmarketingservices.com

http://www.createyournextcustomer.com

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Before we dive into the results of our 2014 survey, a few words about the nature of our research are in order. We conducted an online survey of 595 business technology professionals who attend IT industry face-to-face events. Here’s a breakdown of their job responsibilities:

Other 2%

Line of Business Mgmt. 14%

Consultant 12%

18% C-level or VP

28% IT Director/Manager

26% IS/IT Staff

Slightly more than half of these respondents work in large companies with over a thousand employees; just under a quarter are with firms that employ 100-999 people, and the remaining quarter work in small companies with less than a hundred employees.

The survey revealed that most of these IT professionals attend only a few events each year, underscoring the importance of building a proper event framework to capture their attention. Two-thirds of respondents said they attend 1-3 events per year, while 20 percent said they attend 4-6 events. Only one in nine people surveyed—fewer than 12 percent—attend more than six events annually. In light of these statistics, it’s important to make your executive events count in order to maximize your return on investment.



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1. Content Is King

Executive event attendees are straightforward

about why they make time in their busy schedules

to attend marketing events. First and foremost,

learning about a focused subject matter that

pertains to their specific needs. Two-thirds of

respondents said that interest in the subject mat-

ter is why they attend IT industry events such as

roundtables or conferences, and well over half said

they attend to learn about specific technologies.

Given this, it’s clear that content is king. In partic-

ular, quality content is king, as it enables IT pro-

fessionals to educate themselves on a technology

and product category while also gaining additional

information about your solutions in an informal

setting. It pays to spend the time and resources

to provide compelling content that speaks to

the specific pain points your attendees face,

and then discuss potential solutions that solve

those challenges.

Equally important, you need to structure your

roundtable or forum in a way that seeks input

from your attendees and creates meaningful

conversations among all participants. We’ve

discovered that successful events are built

around great conversations—and not just

presentations. It’s these unscripted face-to-face

conversations that, more than anything else, build

long-lasting trust between technology buyers

and solution providers.

The insights respondents provided align with the results that UBM Tech has seen with our events over the years.

As such, we’ve learned the importance of building the right framework to ensure success, and we’d like to share

four key cornerstones that support those efforts:



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2. Attendees DO Listen To You

Conventional wisdom holds that people who

attend executive events are looking for objective

information—and just barely tolerate the

marketing messages from vendor sponsors. But

that’s simply not true. Almost two thirds of those

interviewed in our 2014 survey revealed that the

best kind of content was a combination of industry

trends followed by vendor-specific information.

Leading with objective industry analysis

establishes that you understand what’s going

on in technology—and, more important, that you

understand the pain points that your potential

customers are facing. Once done, a discussion

about how your products and services fit into

the industry framework that you’ve established

becomes much more palatable. Your attendees

will welcome your message if it educates them and

helps them stay on top of technological trends. On

the other hand, the overwhelming majority

of respondents in our survey—more than 80

percent—said that overt sales pitches often

prevent them from engaging with an event sponsor

afterwards. Clearly, a proper balance needs to be

achieved in order to attain best results.

In any case, industry analysis on the one hand

and client-specific content on the other are of

interest to event attendees; combined together

in the right mix, they make for a truly potent

marketing message.

3. Hot Topics: “SMAC” Rules The Roost

Another important factor in producing an

effective and well-attended live event is selecting

the right topics. When we queried our audience as

to what IT topics they would most like to see UBM

Tech feature at our events with vendor sponsors

in 2014, an acronym we call SMAC ruled the

roost—namely, Security (including cyber threats),

Mobility (including BYOD and device management),

Analytics/business intelligence, and Cloud comput-

ing/virtualization.



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It’s also clear from our experience that the four

are merging. While UBM Tech produces numer-

ous events that focus on one of the big four SMAC

topics, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to talk

about one without touching on the others. For

example, it’s difficult to focus on mobility without

also talking about the cloud—or, for that matter,

security and analytics.

This means that, regardless of what your

place in the IT universe might be, or what the

specifics related to your products and technology

are, couching your message within the context of

SMAC ensures that your audience will be

interested, engaged and in attendance.

4. Stickiness Leads To Success

The final cornerstone for ensuring the success of

executive event marketing is what we call the

“stickiness” factor—namely, having attendees

take something away from the experience that

helps forge ongoing relationships. It’s not just

about creating and maintaining relationships with

individuals; it’s also about forging relationships

with companies. It’s important to note that two-

thirds of survey respondents said they attended

events with colleagues. That, along with the

opportunity to network with other peers in the

industry, presents a real opportunity for you to

engage in interactive conversations that sustain

existing relationships and promote new ones

moving forward.

In addition, many respondents said that the best

events are the ones where they have “takeaways”–

action items they can incorporate at work right

away (or immediately). Deliverables such as white

papers or product collateral that attendees can

take with them are great ways to continue the

dialogue and deepen your relationships with pros-

pects. What’s more, close to half of those surveyed

said that they like to engage with post-event online

communities that enable them to exchange ideas

with fellow attendees. In light of that interest, UBM

Tech has been very active over the last few years in

creating and fostering these communities.



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How UBM Tech Can Help

Perhaps the most important finding of our 2014

survey revealed that 62 percent of respondents said

that their perception of a sponsor changed in a

positive way after attending an event. By contrast,

only a mere four percent said that their perceptions

became more negative following the experience. This

speaks loudly to the efficacy of a well-designed and

well-promoted event.

Every year UBM Tech promotes hundreds of events

that draw in many thousands of registrants. While

conferences and summits are a significant part

of what we help produce, forums and executive round-

tables (usually featuring 20-50 participants in

an interactive, conversation-friendly environment),

represent the core of the events we promote for

our clients. Content—aligned with editorial brands

and credible, trusted expert voices—is at the center

of our strategy. More than anything else, it draws

quality attendees to our events. We acquire those

attendees by leveraging our extensive database of

technology decision makers, as well as drawing on

our relationships with the specific kinds of prospects

you want to engage. Our staff knows how to stage all

manner of events—large and small—to provide

turnkey delivery, consultation and development

expertise. This all translates into a way to engage your

prospects and turn them into valued customers, now

and in the future.

For more information on how UBM Tech can help your

company host quality events for technology execu-

tives, please contact us at [email protected] or visit

us at createmarketingservices.com




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UBM TechVALUE OF EXECUTIVE EVENTSEducation and Peer-Based Networking are Key in Attracting Your Audience

What are the reason you attend IT industry face-to-face events like roundtables or conferences?

Desired location / venue

Vendor offerings

Interest in subject matter

66%Learn about specific technology

56%Peer networking or seek peer advice

51%

Learn about new products, services or technologies

51%

Interest in the speaker(s)35%

Learn about general IT issues and friends

32%

General education, regardless of my area of expertise

31%

31% 28%



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UBM TechCONTENT FORMATS THAT WORK BESTHands-On Sessions Coupled with Peer-Bases Sharing Tops List

Which event formats do you find provide the best experience?

68%

67%

65%

64%

56%

55%

53%

50%

41%

41%

40%

27%

Workshop

Product training sessions

Roundtables with peer-to-peer discussion

Tech demo/teardown

Networking events with a few vendor sessions

Product roadmaps/future technology direction

One-on-ones

Destination event (e.g. a multi day event at a resort)

Informal dinner

Event that includes networking activities (e.g. wine tasting, gold outing, etc)

Product launches

Simulcast “watch parties”

%Good / Very Good



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UBM TechESTABLISHING STRONGER RELATIONSHIPSBuild Time Into Your Agenda for One-on-One Meetings

What event format do you find to be the most conductive to establish a relationship with a solution provider?

One-on-OnesProduct training

sessions

Roundtables with peer-to-peer

discussion

Networking events with a few vendor

sessions

WorkshopTech demo/

teardownInformal

dinner

Event that includesnetworking activities

(e.g. wine tasting,

golf outing, etc.)

Bad Event:“I walked out with just SWAG and nothing else.”

Great Event:“I learned valuable information.”



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Storage

30%

Internet of Things (IoT)

30%

PredictiveAnalytics

27%

Data Center Consolidation

19%

Outsourcing

11%

Compliance

28%

HOT TOPICSSecurity, Cloud And Mobility Top List

What IT topics would you like to see UBM Tech cover at events in 2014?

Security, including cyber threats

56%

Cloud Computing/Virtualization

56%

Mobility, BYOD and device management

43%

Business Intelligence

38%

Big Data

36%

