Data has been top of mind for the event industry over the past few years, particularly as the pandemic has prompted wider adoption of event technology and platforms, leading to more robust data collection than ever.
In general, events are one of the best vehicles for data collection for marketers and planners, but they will be even more important in the near future thanks to the nature of that data: first-party attendee and customer data that has been voluntarily shared.
First-party data has always been valuable, but in a digital world where cookies follow users’ every internet move and third-party data abounds, many marketers don’t necessarily prioritize it. And while this may not be a welcome development for some, the golden age of third-party data is coming to an end — Google will be phasing out its third-party cookies by 2024, for example, which is just around the corner.
This will force marketers to rely more heavily on first-party data, and, in turn, events. This transition has already been fast-tracked in many organizations due to the digitization and virtual revolution that has taken place.
“I think the pandemic accelerated the innovation and operational maturity in our industry by probably about 10 years,” says Greg Higgins, General Manager EMEA & Head of Global Partnerships at Splash. “When we saw our customers first pivot to virtual, there was a consolidation of what had previously been a disparate process between event teams and webinar/virtual teams. They had to figure out how to collaborate. That alone was a great improvement in collecting first party data and eliminating some redundancy.”
Once event teams began deploying engagement tools to help keep virtual audiences interested and engaged, they looked at how to incorporate all of that engagement data into their marketing automation platforms and CRMs to get a more robust view of the attendee.
“Most companies had to start solving those problems,” notes Higgins, “and they're significantly further along than they were beforehand as far as being prepared to collect and leverage first-party data when third-party data starts to go away.”
Virtual events may currently be taking a backseat to in-person as the world continues to try to get back to normal, but Higgins emphasizes that events of all formats will be important in first-party data strategies. For many organizations, that will likely take the form of hybrid programs, he explains. “It’s a mix of in-person experiences that also have virtual components. Not necessarily hybrid events, but combinations of different formats unified in one program with a specific function.”
The push towards first-party data will “put more onus on marketing teams, and companies in general, to think of ways to create value and experiences to earn that information,” explains Higgins, which is also likely to accelerate a trend that has been taking shape throughout the pandemic: the increased integration of event and marketing teams.
Since events are one of the best ways to create that value, he notes that they will have to be an integrated part of companies’ overall growth strategy. He describes the integration of the two teams as a beautiful marriage that leads to the consideration of how events and experiences are performing as a marketing channel, instead of just focusing on individual event ROI.
They both bring something to the table, which creates a positive experience for prospective buyers and nurtures them through the buyer’s journey. “It’s the events team with their background in facilitating experiences, and then the marketing function that ties it together from a more holistic journey standpoint,” says Higgins. “And frankly, they have to be able to do that with less data being available to them from external resources.”
When it comes to challenges that organizations will face amid this transition, Higgins notes that some of the biggest will be not having the right event tech in place to consistently capture data, and not having a tech stack that speaks to each other, so that event data can easily be transferred to sales and marketing platforms.
In addition, as always, a proper strategy will be key. This will include not focusing too much on infrequent, large-scale events like trade shows and conference, but having a balanced event mix. “When third party data goes away,” he explains, “progressive profiling becomes really important again. When you have a balanced portfolio of event types and formats, you can learn something about an individual — for example, that they got a promotion — and then you can add a little bit more color to the picture. You can consistently learn who your community is and do the proper marketing that you need to do with first party data, which then increases the conversions and brand loyalty.”
Many companies will need to start small, particularly as a potential recession looms and resources are tight. Higgins’ advice is to be very intentional around the event purpose — perhaps the goal is to create brand awareness at the top of the funnel or to drive customer retention — which will in turn help measure results and justify spend.
As organizations continue to navigate the transition, Higgins is keeping an eye on several trends, including an increased focus on capital efficiency, an emphasis on smaller, repeatable everyday events, and a growing budget being attributed to events and experiential marketing in general.
For many of Splash’s customers, capital efficiency translates to templatizing certain events to make them more efficient, as well as capturing some events that other teams outside of marketing may be hosting and incorporating them into a consolidated event portfolio. “That focus on efficiency is something that I expect to influence how companies approach their event strategy in 2023, and how we see some of the event data that's being measured come out,” says Higgins.
For their part, smaller, repeatable events will enable marketers to strategically place intentional events along the buyer’s journey, while reducing costs and pandemic-related risks. “I think ultimately, all of that is going to make everyone realize that the bottom line here is that brands have to earn first party data more than ever now, and experiences need to be a core part of that strategy,” concludes Higgins. “In a cookieless world, marketers are going to need to consider what their unifying a brand experience is across all interactions and touchpoints, and how they can make sure that it is valuable and compliant.”