CEIR Research Council Spotlight: Jeff Calore

CEIR Research Council Spotlight: Jeff Calore

CEIR is highlighting the dedicated members of the Research Council. Read the CEIR Research Council Spotlight on Jeff Calore of SmithBucklin.

Jeff Calore, Event Portfolio Director of SmithBucklin

Hometown: Currently live in Chicago, IL. Hometown is Wilkes Barre, PA

University of Education: University of Maryland, College Park, MD

How long have you served on the CEIR Research Council?
Two years

Why did you volunteer to work with CEIR on the Research Council?
I am passionate about the value of data, and how the insights generated from CEIR research can advance the events industry and tradeshow and event performance for association client organizations at SmithBucklin. Working with volunteer leaders daily, I understand the positive impact it can have on achieving an organization’s mission, and I wanted to contribute to CEIR’s mission. My Council learnings are also a great opportunity for me to engage my client teams in exhibition-related research.

What have you learned through your work with CEIR?
We have a very diverse and committed group on the council. Each member brings unique perspectives and experiences that inform and prioritize the council’s research agenda and survey/report designs. In addition to the value SmithBucklin and our clients gain from research outputs, the insights and learnings from fellow Council members has informed my own decision making.

How has CEIR research helped your organization?
It helps SmithBucklin on many levels. Strategically, the Outlook, Trends and Economic Data inform and guide our business planning, and Index data and targeted reports assist our client teams with event strategy, experience design, planning, budgeting and more.

How can CEIR research help our industry?
In addition to helping us advance the events industry and advocate for the powerful business value derived from exhibitions, I believe that CEIR insights help us collectively accelerate event innovation. This leads to the design and delivery of more meaningful event experiences, and greater results for stakeholders.

Is there specific CEIR research/report that has helped you?
There have been many. Pre-Covid, our teams were deriving ongoing value from The Total Index and Event Performance Analyzer to benchmark our performance, and the Marketing Spend Decision, Attendee ROI and B2B Sponsorship Playbook reports. More recently, the Global Virtual Event Trends series has been instrumental in helping us guide our client organizations and deliver successful virtual and hybrid experiences.

What can peers and colleagues learn from CEIR research?
Stakeholder expectations from events are evolving. Understanding the impacts of COVID on participant needs and expectations, and in turn, how our teams design and deliver “next- generation” experiences to meet these needs will be informed by use of CEIR research.

How do you plan to use CEIR research in the future?
SmithBucklin serves a large set of association client organizations who operate across diverse industry sectors. Each has a unique set of needs, with events both large and small. A focus for our teams is to analyze both the broader CEIR industry trend data, and sector-specific insights to deliver synthesized guidance and a point of view that is specific to each client.

Is there an area of study that particularly resonates with you?
I am very excited about the work underway on our new Omnichannel Marketing Study. As we emerge from COVID, it will provide insights to show organizers on how and what channels their attendees will use to access and consume information, and measure exhibitor’s channel activities and preferences, including how they are considering allocating their marketing budget.

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