SOURCE: Event Marketing Institute

 

NORWALK, CT--(Marketwire - February 5, 2008) - A just-released report from the Event Marketing Institute, the leading authority on event marketing, offers data that indicates the real reach of events is over three times more than the actual attendance. How is this possible? Word of Mouth.

This recently completed exclusive study, "THE VIRAL IMPACT OF EVENTS: A Study on the Power of Word of Mouth Strategies to Increase the Impact of Your Events," reveals the details and analyzes the responses of more than 1,100 individuals, with additional analytical breakdowns by gender and age.

Among the pertinent findings of the report:

--  78% of attendees told friends and family about the event; 90% of them
    did so within two days of the event, and 69% mentioned the sponsor of the
    event;
--  Nearly 50% of event participants purchased sponsoring products
    (especially food & drink);
--  98% of those exposed to a product will recommend that product to
    others after a positive experience.
    

The study, part of the ongoing EMI Strategic Insights Report series, sheds new light on many important event-marketing metrics, including what events people are drawn to, how and when they share their experiences with others, how many people they tell, and most significantly, the impact their opinions have on those told.

But there's more: Over three-quarters of respondents (77%) said their purchase decisions are at least partly influenced by recommendations from friends and family. In fact, the study confirms that such endorsements proved more persuasive than all other outside purchase-decision influencers, including TV, magazines, the Internet and radio spots.

Put another way, if an event draws 10,000 engaged people, and 78% of those attendees go on to gush enthusiastically to at least four others about the great time they had while there and about your product or service, that translates into tripling the zone of influence from 10,000 individuals to more than 31,000, while simultaneously shrinking your cost-per-touch.

"THE VIRAL IMPACT OF EVENTS: A Study on the Power of Word of Mouth Strategies to Increase the Impact of Your Events" spells out how you can harness the power of Word of Mouth. This report will show you why having an effective Word-of-Mouth program that's part of your overall strategic event marketing strategy is critical to achieving the goals of building brand awareness, cementing customer loyalty, and attracting new customers.

For more information or to purchase a copy of the report, go to the Event Marketing Institute's website at http://www.eventmarketing.com. Start spreading the word about your brand today.