2014 VEI Report Reveals Online Event Adoption and Attendance Growing

The 2014 Digital Event Benchmark Report collected findings from more than 200 event producers and offers data and insights for online methodologies, business goals, marketing strategies and measurement approaches.

“Online engagement is growing in importance as organizations strive to extend their reach and capture a larger global audience,” says VEI’s Carolyn Clark. “VEI’s study helps the meetings industry gain insight into best practices for hybrid extensions and digital events and ultimately improve their event marketing and deliver results against business objectives.”

Selected Key Respondent Takeaways:

• 55 percent of hybrid producers and 61 percent of digital event producers indicated their attendance was trending up
• 35 percent are charging hybrid attendees 50 percent of the face-to-face registration fee
• 31 percent of hybrid attendees spend more than 5 hours in the event, while 47% of digital attendees spend 1-2 hours in the event
• 65 percent indicate their goal for producing online events is to serve constituents by providing education to those who cannot attend the physical event
• 57 percent of respondents work to monetize their events, a decline of 19 percent from 2013
• Monetization tactics are shifting; in 2013 67 percent ranked ‘advertising’ as successful, while only 28 percent indicated ‘advertising’ success in 2014

“Now that the face-to-face cannibalization myth has been debunked, hybrid and digital event producers are challenged with measuring the impact of their events,” says Clark. “Many survey respondents are now tracking subsequent face-to-face attendance; regrettably, 64 percent do not track this metric – this is a business intelligence gap that must be addressed.”

The 27-page report is free. Click here to download the insights directly from the Virtual Edge Institute website.

About Virtual Edge Institute®

The Virtual Edge Institute® (VEI) is an international organization dedicated to advancing engagement around events, meetings, learning and marketing programs through technology. VEI supports and contributes to research, education, thought leadership, promotion, and professional networking. VEI also produces the Digital Event Strategist® educational program and accompanying DES Certification designation. For more information, visit virtualedgeinstitute.com.