The tides are turning according to the latest Bellwether report
There’s nothing like a spot of good news to lift the spirits at the start of a new year. And that’s what we’ve been dealt with by the Institute of Practitioners In Advertising's latest Bellwether report.
The new report shows figures for Q4 2013, revealing that the first signs of recovery for the event marketing sector came towards the end of the year.
Event marketing spend increased by 1.8% during this period, marking the first rise in spend for the whole of 2013. Overall, growth in marketing budgets has now been on the up for a fifth quarter. The report also signalled that optimism regarding financial prospects remains high and that marketers signal confident plans for the 2014 budget year.
There’s no doubt that there’s been increasing optimism in recent times felt across the sector.
Our own experience reflects the turning tide towards a brighter outlook with many long-term clients renewing contracts. Telecommunications firm Infinera has signed up for a sixth year, oil & gas champion Parker Hannifin is with us for an eighth year and AB SCIEX, the world leader in life science analytical technologies, has just signed up for a second year of tours.
We’ve also been working with a new B2B brand that’s set to launch in the coming months and which will be taking to the road with us for three years, marking another long-term commitment to roadshow truck tours as part of a core marketing strategy.
Optimism isn’t just reserved for the B2B arena. Consumer brands are making headway too. Samsung recently ran two long-term tours to promote their technology across the UK. And we’ve just embarked on an exciting project to support a film premier, boosting awareness and driving engagement with movie lovers across Europe.
Watch this space as the year unfolds. We look forward to a successful and prosperous 2014 for EMS, our colleagues and the sector.
