Key Takeaways From The State of Conferences 2023 Report
Beginning in March 2020, virtual events dominated calendars because they were the only viable and safe option. But that all changed in 2022, when an appetite and willingness returned to attend and send speakers to in-person gatherings.
The past two years have clearly changed the game, bringing virtual options to the forefront. And while in-person events are back to near pre-pandemic “normalcy,” organizations now have more choices to make as to the kinds of events they prioritize.
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Now that we’re deep into Q4 planning, with economic uncertainty impossible to ignore, we felt the time was right to find out how all aspects of events are being handled this year — and will be handled next year — by communicators and marketers. In doing so, we also sought to get a clear picture of your organizations’ and clients’ expectations on this front.
Seven out of eight respondents expect an increase in conference participation next year. The same percentage of respondents anticipate the number of speaking engagements taken by their company’s/client’s spokespeople to increase. So, it was quite surprising — jarring, actually — that more than 90% of our respondent pool does not know how much money they’re spending on the conference line of work, though it is clear that most comms pros do indeed have at least some purview over this.
Conferences are vital to your business. They build credibility for your organization, manage your brand’s reputation, deliver targeted messages to your key stakeholders, and secure partnerships or investments. Whether asked about leaders speaking at events or simply having their brands represented at them, well more than 80% of respondents understand the importance, but still have much to discover to make the best decisions in this regard.
What is driving those decisions? Where will PR pros go and send their speakers? How much do in-person events impact key business metrics? Have you seen and do you expect to see business-moving impact from such efforts? How do or how will you measure success for your event participation? Seeking the answers to these queries and more was the impetus behind this first annual survey.
Part of the job
The fact that comms professionals have more responsibilities than ever before is well understood. Where does working with company/brand spokespeople on their speaking engagements fit into that?
Our research found that 73% of comms professionals’ jobs involve determining speaking engagements for spokespeople. 56% of respondents told us their job responsibilities include booking the speaking engagements for spokespeople. 77% of respondents say they also have to prepare the spokespeople for their speaking engagements, and 57% say their responsibilities include gauging the ROI from conference participation — including attending, sponsoring, and arranging for speaker(s) to be on the agenda. Overall, though, it is clear that speaking engagements are a part of the majority of our respondents’ purview.
When asked how many company/brand spokespeople they currently work with in at least some capacity to determine speaking engagements, our overall respondents indicated that 53% of respondents — the majority — work with 1 to 5 spokespeople. 23% work with 6 to 10; 11% work with 11 to 15 spokespeople; 3% work with 16 to 20; and 10% work with 21 or more spokespeople. PR agency respondents work with more spokespeople than their counterparts in-house. 27% of them work with 6 to 10 (18% in-house do), 17% with 11 to 15 (10% in-house do) and 13% with 21+ (10% in-house do). Those who focus on comms/PR similarly work with more spokespeople than their marketing counterparts. 25% of them work with 6 to 10 (14% or marketers do), 12% with 11 to 15 (8% of marketers do) and 12% with 21+ (8% of marketers do).
Where have you been?
Numerous queries in our survey asked respondents to share with us what they’ve done this year (as well as broader sentiments) in terms of both speaking engagements and conference attendance (in-person and virtual).
Whether in-person or virtual, it does appear that in-house teams will have had more spokespeople at events this year than their agency colleagues (36% versus 28% saying 11+ for both in-person and virtual events).
The discrepancy is even larger — notably so — as it pertains to having at least one person from the organization attend an in-person conference by year’s end (29% of in-house respondents saying 11+, while only 11% of PR agency pros saying so).
We listed six major annual events and asked respondents to prioritize, based on their experience, the two they would have their brands attend. Two topped the list — South by Southwest (SXSW), with 49%, and World Economic Forum, with 34%. While SXSW topped every list, the event chosen second differed among groups. PR agency (29%) and marketing (36%) respondents chose CES second; In-house (39%) and comms/PR respondents chose the World Economic Forum second; while nonprofit respondents (37%) chose Advertising Week second.
Where are you going?
After two years of virtual events being the only option for most, 2022 saw the return of in-person industry gatherings. What does that mean for 2023 plans?
Seven-eighths. That amount overwhelmingly underscores our respondents’ intent to send both more speakers and more general attendees to events in 2023 than this year. And events’ objectives, themes and agenda will be the predominant factor when they choose the events at which they will participate, with audience makeup a distant, but still strong second.
What are the factors that will help comms professionals determine the events they send speakers to next year? We found out.
Respondents were asked to rank all five options: the event’s objective, theme and agenda; the audience makeup; other participating speakers; audience size; and location of conference. The scores below are on a scale of 1-5. A score of 5 would indicate that every respondent selected that option as their top one:
● The event’s objective, theme and agenda: 4.4
● The makeup of the audience: 3.6
● The other participating speakers: 2.5
● The size of the audience: 2.5
● Location of conference: 1.9
The top two choices, as well as the bottom choice, were exactly the same in all groups of respondents, as well as the overall pool, with basically the same scores for all three. The only differentiation among groups is nonprofit and marketing respondents, who placed “the size of the audience” ahead of “the other participating speakers.”
The business impact of events
From specific tactical matters to broader factors, survey respondents revealed just how important events are to their brands as a whole, as well as to their roles as communicators.
We presented respondents with 18 different metrics by which the ROI of attending conferences could be gauged. We asked them to choose the five most relevant to their brands. The results are here. Note: Percentages reveal how many respondents placed that option among their top five.
Overall:
● Audience reach: 64%
● Earned media placement: 54%
● Social media engagement: 43%
● Strategic partnerships secured: 43%
● Website traffic: 41%
Audience reach is clearly the key metric by which ROI of conference participation is gauged, with five of the six groups — PR agencies, in-house, marketing, comms/PR, nonprofit, and overall — placing it in their top five more than any other option. Earned media placement also ranks well,being the first or second choice among four of the six groups (and placing third in another). Meanwhile, our in-house comms and marketing respondents certainly see relevance in strategic partnerships secured, while social media engagement rates well with our PR agency and comms/PR respondents.
When asked how important it is for respondents and their comms teams to attend in person events, 45% said "very important," while 43% said "somewhat important." The numbers are very similar among all groups, as well, with all of them indicating the importance of event attendance at either 88% or 89%. 83% of respondents believe that participation at in-person conferences has greater potential to impact their business than virtual conferences. The numbers are very similar among all groups, as well, ranging from 81% to 86% saying YES (with nonprofits coming in lowest at 81%). 45% of respondents say it's "very important" for their company's leadership and spokespeople to speak at in-person events, while 2% said it's "not important at all," 10% said it's "minimally important," and 43% said "somewhat important."
The vast majority of our respondents share similar sentiments about speaking at and attending in-person events. Differences come to light, however, when it comes to the business impact of the speaking engagement. All groups see the potential business impact, but in-house and marketing pros seem to value them more than PR agencies and comms/PR pros do.