How Organizers and Sponsors Evaluate the Outcome of Sponsorships
DALLAS, 11 February 2020 – Today, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released the third in a five-part series providing a comprehensive overview of business-to-business (B2B) exhibition sponsorship practices in North America. The B2B Exhibition Sponsorship Playbook Series compiles organizer and exhibitor practices in a unique format, comparing organizer offerings and practices to those of exhibitors. It provides valuable industry benchmarks and insights on what is working to help organizers and exhibitors adjust programs to enhance their success.
“This report signals the critical importance of investing in an evaluation process,” said CEIR Vice President of Research Nancy Drapeau, PRC. “Organizers and sponsors are cautioned to select performance metrics wisely. Results suggest that tying performance metrics to the business goals, or objectives for exhibiting sponsorships aim to support, provides the most actionable results for planning moving forward.”
“This research finds there are gaps between how organizers and sponsors perceive sponsorships,” added CEIR CEO Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE, CEM. “It also finds that too many sponsors are unable to determine if their sponsorship investments were worthwhile. Dissatisfaction is not the issue, neutrality is – meaning they do not have a feeling one way or the other on the success of the investment. Consultative selling will naturally close those perception gaps.
“By using this approach, organizers will have a more precise understanding of what sponsors want to achieve, and can link prospective sponsorship buyers with options that will help them succeed. Though it does not stop there; organizers need to help sponsors define performance metrics at the outset and, where possible, provide the data that demonstrates the investment was worthwhile.”
Part Three: Evaluating the Outcome of Sponsorship Sales and Purchases offers organizers and exhibitors a range of industry benchmarks, including:
- Organizer: Percentage that have a process in place for evaluating the outcome of sponsorship programs, metrics used, which metrics are most effective in generating results.
- Exhibitors who have purchased sponsorships: Percentage that have a process in place for evaluating the outcome of sponsorship investments, metrics used, satisfaction rates with outcomes, which overall goals for exhibiting sponsorships aim to support, for which sponsorships are most effective.
This report compares organizer and sponsor results and pinpoints where perceptions are in alignment and where there are gaps. This comparative exercise is of particularly high value to organizers, to identify gap areas meriting consideration and determining how to assure their events have a tighter alignment with sponsorship needs and expectations.
About CEIR
The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) serves to advance the growth, awareness and value of exhibitions and other face-to-face marketing events by producing and delivering knowledge-based research tools that enable stakeholder organizations to enhance their ability to meet current and emerging customer needs, improve their business performance and strengthen their competitive position. For additional information, visit www.ceir.org.
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Media Inquiries:
Mary Tucker
+1(972) 687-9226
mtucker@ceir.org
