Event Marketers Bet on Data, Tech, Personalization

For AccuList's trade show and conference marketing clients, the good news is that, even in a digital world, live events and face-to-face experiences retain their power, with over 40% of marketers saying live events are their most important marketing channel. Plus, event marketers have more tools (and challenges) as they move into 2020. A post by marketing guru Michael Brenner for Marketing Insider Group cites a number of technology trends that event marketers can use to boost attendance, engagement and ROI, including artificial intelligence (AI) for everything from ticketing and sales to personalized promotions and automated event follow-up; augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) for immersive and engaging experiences; and interactive video. Meanwhile, as marketing technology provides access to real-time event data, many marketers find their biggest problem is being overwhelmed by a flood of data, ranging from audience attraction (website visits, social media clicks, registrations); on-site engagement (RFID metrics, mobile app engagement); post-show follow-up (attendee opinions, costs, ROI); and auxiliary data (CRM, membership data, attendee interests). The key to prioritizing and analyzing, notes event marketing and tech agency Freeman, is to 1) centralize, standardize and integrate data; 2) decide on goals (such as attendee satisfaction, exhibitor ROI, or reduced attendee and exhibitor churn); and 3) define the metrics that best measure achieving those goals. Based on analysis of attendance or exhibitor patterns, marketers can then segment data lists for better targeted response and ROI. For all marketing channels, personalization is the new requirement. As Brenner’s post notes, because they believe it’s so effective at increasing event marketing ROI, 9 in 10 event planners use some form of personalization. His article includes a useful infographic from a 2017 Eventsforce study on the ROI of personalization which shows that not only do 73% of event planners believe that personalization and data-driven marketing are a priority but 89% personalize event invitations via names, content and links; 71% personalize event communications via e-mail content and landing pages; and 58% personalize registration via different forms for different audiences. As far as collecting the data needed for personalization, the most effective tools are rated as registration systems (84%), CRM/marketing systems (62%), surveys (29%) and event apps (29%). For more, see our website blog post at https://www.acculist.com/data-technology-personalization-top-event-marketing-trends/

Museum Industry Trends Buoy Marketing Efforts

Museum marketers can take heart from a number of trends that are boosting their appeals to visitors and donors, according to a recent report on the museum industry from ticketing solutions provider Acme Technologies. Demographics favor museum marketers, for example. The baby-boomer generation, the most populous generation still living today, is made up of the most loyal frequenters of museums and galleries among generations, while data shows the tech-savvy millennial generation, which demands interactivity, is being wooed by modern museums' innovative tech and design. Museum appeals are even benefiting from our contentious politics as conflicting media, heated partisanship, and rapid social change drive the public to seek out museums as safeguards of knowledge, culture, and history. Finally, technology trends are transforming museums into efficient institutions using novel and interactive solutions to improve visitor experiences, with digital systems integration, VR, and greater disabled accessibility for example. The Acme report notes a number of tactics that will help museum marketers leverage those trends. For one, galleries, zoos and other foundations can integrate traditional displays with innovative tools that allow audiences to experience collections in new ways. For example, the Netherlands' Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is using Virtual Reality to provide a unique view of the famous painter’s works, while the Cleveland Museum offers a digital map that visitors can access via their smartphones to navigate exhibits. Social media is another boon for savvy marketers, such as making Instagrammable selfies intentional features in museum tours. An example is a San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's interactive hit with an artwork that encourages visitors to snap a selfie with their head in a freezer, and tag the museum in the resulting Instagram post. Finally, data analytics offer insight into museum-goer trends for strategies that widen audiences and increase donations. The report cites the example of The Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, Spain, which hired data analytics provider Synergic Partners to analyze tourist visitation trends for a special Picasso exhibit. Information gathered showed the most common nationalities of visitors, and allowed the museum to better cater to them. For more marketing ideas, see our website blog post at https://www.acculist.com/positive-industry-trends-buoy-museum-marketing/

Industry Trends Help Business Print Magazines

New print publishing trends and innovative marketing options offer good news for business periodical publishers seeking to boost subscribers and advertising for their print versions. The growth of digital readership has not doomed all printed periodicals to declining circulation and revenues, as some predicted. In fact, a recent What’s New in Publishing article cites multiple ways print magazines are adapting for growth. For example, publishers are focusing on niche audiences willing to pay more for a higher grade product and cutting down on frequency. Consider the Harvard Business Review: It grew its subscriber base 10% by reducing print frequency from 10 issues to six a year and using smart positioning, creative new digital benefits, and heavier investment in the quality of the six print issues to increase audience appeal. Printed information is also seen as more reliable by readers and advertisers, according to research, creating a "halo effect" for business publishers with a print edition. "The good news for printed business magazines is that their credibility has a halo effect on their websites, too, which gives them a competitive advantage over digital-only competitors. People may be buying fewer magazines, but they still associate them with quality and reliability," explains the publishing industry’s Dead Tree Edition blog. Plus, despite fears that younger business readers were turning mainly to digital sources and social media for information, publishers can take advantage of continued print readership popularity. For example, the Association of Magazine Media’s "Magazine Media Factbook 2018-2019" shows that, in the United States, "the top 25 print magazines reach more adults and teens than the top 25 prime time shows." Meanwhile, new print technologies and a revival of traditional marketing tools offer business periodicals options for boosting audience and advertiser appeal. A recent article from media agency Mediaspace Solutions cites some ideas that publishers can leverage. With the digital space crowded, noisy and less trusted by potential readers, direct mail campaigns have increased in effectiveness, the post notes. Plus, many publishers have returned to sending printed newsletters to subscribers. Print technologies (QR codes, augmented reality, etc.) are not only tools for better direct mail response but also a way to attract print advertisers by boosting print advertising effectiveness, the post points out. For example, augmented print stacks digital content over a print ad so that when the print ad is scanned by a smartphone, a new digital ad springs to life. Personalization is a must in today’s marketing, and business publishers can combine list segmentation with variable data printing to personalize direct mail campaigns for audience building. Plus, subscriber list segmentation can be offered to print advertisers to help them craft more targeted messages. See the full post on our website blog at https://www.acculist.com/industry-marketing-trends-help-grow-printed-business-publications/

Digital Data Fuel Publishers' Subscription Growth

For business periodicals to grow audience via direct marketing, good digital customer and prospect data is now essential. Consider a case study from The Economist, named one of the eight best business magazines of 2019 by The Balance reviewers. It isn't only content that makes The Economist stand out. It's a data-based audience-building strategy that has quadrupled subscription revenue over the last three years. Facing challenges in growing subscriber and advertising revenue, The Economist contracted with a customer data platform, Lytics, to shift from a print-focused to a digital subscription strategy based on customer data management, per a recent What's New in Publishing (WNIP) post. For example, the publisher used data analytics to create content hubs, or individual pages that display digital content based on a reader’s interest for particular news topics. Tactics also included displaying offers based on the reader’s subscription status and predictive engagement score, meaning their likelihood to subscribe, derived from other readers with behaviors like theirs. In addition to a 4X bump in The Economist subscriber revenue, the data-centric effort decreased cost per acquisition by 80%, tripled digital subscriptions, and increased time-on-site and engagement measures. The development of ongoing and adaptive customer profiles using machine learning allowed for individually tailored and timed advertising and engagement strategies, such as predicting when a reader is more receptive to certain kinds of advertising or content, or when subscribers were likely to stop visiting or subscribing. The Economist is not alone in embracing a digital subscription and data-management publishing model. The New York Times used similar strategies to boost digital subscriptions and revenues last year via AI-based data tools, analytics and segmentation. Data-driven strategies generated more than $709 million in digital revenue in 2018, with online subscription revenue up nearly 18% from 2017 and digital advertising up 8.6%. Out of its 4.3 million paid subscriptions for digital and print in 2018, more than 3.3 million people paid for its digital products, a 27% jump from 2017. For more, see our onsite blog post at https://www.acculist.com/digital-data-feed-publishers-subscription-growth/

E-mail, Social Lead Nonprofit Event Marketing

AccuList’s direct marketing services support both event marketers and nonprofit marketers, and, of course, there’s an overlap since many nonprofits use events for fundraising. In that arena, a recent survey of 500 nonprofits by Eventbrite, a leading event management and ticketing services provider, offers some interesting benchmarks. The "2019 Eventbrite Pulse Report" found that nonprofits use multiple event formats besides those geared exclusively to fundraising; in fact, just 32% reported hosting galas and fundraisers aimed at tapping donors. Instead, events for cause, community and educational promotion were cited by 78%, as well as networking events, training and workshops, food and drink events, and arts and entertainment events. Of course, revenue production was still seen as key to success regardless of event goal. And when it comes to event revenue, ticket sales, sponsorships and grants/donations were the top sources reported. However, while ticket sales were seen as a key revenue driver by most (75%), the portion of revenue delivered by ticketing varied widely—from 80%-100% of event revenue for just 15% to less than 20% of revenue for a larger quarter of those surveyed. This underscores the need for both diverse revenue sources and more effective marketing to deliver attendance. On that point, nonprofit event organizers said their most effective marketing tactics were e-mail (34%); word-of-mouth and referrals (24%); and social media marketing (22%). In social media, nonprofits relied most on organic posts (23%), paid Facebook ads, and video (9%). Among the tactics deemed less effective in the survey were third-party listings, search engine optimization (SEO), and display ads. Looking at the year ahead, the top 2019 challenge, cited by 73%, was reaching new attendees. And that is the kind of targeted marketing issue AccuList can help address! For more from the survey, see https://www.acculistusa.com/e-mail-social-lead-nonprofit-event-marketing/

Targeting, Value Win for Performing Arts Marketing

Performing arts marketers face many challenges in competing for attention and share of wallet in a noisy multi-channel marketplace. AccuList USA recently found some good basic advice on winning audience response in a blog post by Dave Wakeman of the Wakeman Consulting Group. Wakeman noted that creating a sense of scarcity is key to performing arts marketing--even lacking a hot-demand show like the current musical "Hamilton." Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd! Offering all tickets prior to marketing-generated demand undermines that desired sense of urgency, but marketers can still use the secondary ticket market, such as StubHub or TicketsNow, to produce a feeling of scarcity, he advises. Performing arts marketers also need to define the audience target of a show/event and then tailor a value message that appeals specifically to that audience. Targeting and creative messaging will be very different for a family show, a political commentary, a well-known classic, or a one-off by a famous author. New attendees will need a different approach than members and donors. Certainly, many shows don't have the time for the sort of traditional agency advertising that waits for reviews to come out and then creates ads around positive lines from those reviews. Plus, that kind of reactive, critic-centered promotion can miss a more persuasive value message to win over the target audience. Finally, Wakeman notes that in today’s market, people often aren’t just going to "see a show." They are likely looking to make a night of it and are attracted to events with multiple value offers. He lauds the successful audience-building efforts of the Chattanooga Symphony & Orchestra, which promotes multiple ways to engage even for those without a dedication to the symphony. Pairing a wine tasting, art show or discussion group/lecture with a performing arts event may be just what it takes to attract a new audience or convince an existing audience to try a new entertainment option. See our on-site blog post at http://www.acculistusa.com/scarcity-targeting-value-woo-performing-arts-audiences/

Many Publishers Not Fully Mining Audience Data

Business periodical marketers come to AccuList USA for help with audience building via multi-channel campaigns, but as data experts, we'd like to remind them that their audience data offers other revenue streams worth mining. Most publishers know that targeted audience data is key to competing for ad dollars; for improved subscriber response via personalization; and for better targeted content marketing. A recent Adweek article by Jason Downie suggests several other ways to monetize audience data. Downie urges publishers to build “off-the-shelf” audience segments that can be sold directly to advertisers, for example. Consider how a seminar promoter could use a business magazine's data if the publication built an audience of people interested specifically in his topics or proven seminar buyers; the advertiser would be able to enjoy the benefits of tapping not just a business-engaged audience but a strategically targeted set of potential buyers more likely to convert. Audience segments can also offer insights that can be further monetized. For example, analytics could show that seminar attendees are four times more likely to share content online. That makes them online influencers, and since influencers are extremely valuable, the publisher can demand a higher CPM. Additionally, an audience segment can open the door to new advertisers and marketers, including non-endemic spending. A business publisher's analytics may show a subscriber segment visits golf sites as well as the magazine site, for example. The publisher can now woo clients looking to target "golfers." Another way publishers can take advantage of data is in the RFP process, according to the Adweek article, noting that the average publisher spends up to 1,600 hours per month, or 18% of revenue, responding to advertiser RFPs. Publishers can develop a customized response to an advertiser RFP, starting with first-party data to build out the RFP-requested audience and then enriching that database with third-party data appending. Digital campaigns can expand targeting by adding lookalikes. Author Downie advises running a portion of an ad campaign without audience or contextual targeting to identify additional audiences, interests, actions and behaviors of those who respond well to the campaign but were not included in the initial targeting. Still another option for publishers with high-quality audience data is to sell it as "second-party data," either directly to another company through a second-party data exchange or through a programmatic data exchange. And, of course, subscriber lists can be monetized as "third-party data," earning regular rental revenue on the open market and via data brokers. For more detail, see http://www.acculistusa.com/many-business-publications-fail-to-fully-mine-audience-data/

Performing Arts Win in Social Video Ticketing Growth

Performing arts marketers have more tools this year for reaching ticket buyers, fans and supporters via partnerships that link online ticketing and social media videos. The latest entry in the competitive social media ticketing race is Google-owned YouTube, which has partnered with Ticketmaster to show viewers upcoming U.S. tour dates and nearby concert listings on artists' YouTube videos and then allow viewers to jump directly to Ticketmaster to purchase tickets. YouTube is actually a latecomer to the social media ticketing world. Ticketmaster started promoting ticket sales on Spotify and Facebook in 2016. YouTube's end-of-2017 move is one reaction to Spotify's growth in the streaming market with integrated data and artist information. For Ticketmaster, its global roster of concerts and lock on the concert-ticket industry can only be enhanced by access to YouTube's 1.5 billion user base, driving more fans to pay Ticketmaster prices and service charges. But competitive social video ticketing is a win for performing arts promotion, too. YouTube is leveraging one of its strengths with the ticketing partnership; music videos account for 30% of all time spent on YouTube and represent 94% of the 250 most-viewed videos on the platform, per the Video Advertising Bureau. And that means performing arts promotions can look forward to generating additional ticket sales from the platform's added feature. The YouTube ticketing feature also addresses a running feud between YouTube and the recording industry. Some record labels have argued that YouTube hasn't paid enough in fees for music videos hosted on its platform, but now ticket sales will provide another revenue stream for labels to monetize and boost royalties. This kind of partnership may even help cut the sales drain from pirating since the increased ability to monetize videos via ticket sales is likely to push performing arts promotion to drive as much traffic as possible to official videos and be more proactive in flagging unofficial channels. See our website post: http://www.acculistusa.com/performing-arts-boosted-by-social-video-ticketing-partnerships/

Targeted CTAs Drive Arts Marketers' Digital Wins

While direct mail continues to be a sturdy workhorse for performing arts marketing, digital campaigns--via online display ads, e-mail and social media--are required in a multi-channel world. Digital subscription drives offer cost-effectiveness, off-season branding, audience segment targeting, and synergy with direct mail. But with more competition for attention in the crowded digital space and with less room for persuasion than "snail mail," digital promotion success is especially dependent on a well-designed and targeted call-to-action (CTA), as pointed out in a recent blog post by strategists at MogoARTS, a digital marketing agency for arts and cultural organizations. An effective call-to-action will differ by targeting, the post points out. With renewals, the targets are lists of current season subscribers, so the CTA messaging can be direct and should highlight an incentive like a discount or savings for renewing early or by a deadline. For acquiring new members or reactivating lapsed subscribers, targeting includes lists of previous season ticket buyers and e-mail opt-in prospects, who need to be shown the benefits of subscription (or reminded). The CTA messaging for lapsed subscribers and multi-ticket buyers should give a reason to come back or upgrade to a subscription by promoting package savings or special benefits, such as free parking or early access to add-ons. CTAs to entice new members will need to spell out subscriber benefits, either across ad units or on a landing page. The blog post makes CTA creative suggestions and cites three best practices for any CTA: 1) customization for the different audience types, meaning renewing, lapsed or new members; 2) emphasis on the benefits of a subscription package over a single ticket purchase; and 3) highlighting of the savings/special rewards available for subscribing now. For more and CTA examples, see our complete blog post at http://www.acculistusa.com/arts-marketers-need-digital-ctas-that-drive-subscriptions/

Millennials Reshape Event Success Strategies

As the millennial cohort expands event attendance, trade show and conference marketers and performing arts marketers are beginning to change their targeting, messaging and event planning strategies to cater to a demographic that demands technological multi-channel savvy, interest-specific targeting and experiential interactivity. A recent post by UK-based Conference News highlights strategies that event professionals can adopt to woo the millennial audience. While millennials are known for their social media, mobile-phone-addicted personae, studies show that these digital preferences can actually fuel greater live event interest; Conference News cites one survey showing 73% of millennials consider live event attendance as a way to express their beliefs and personality online. But it also means that event planners need to take cues from their digital experiences. Since millennials flock to online platforms that offer a nexus of various interests and connectivity, an event that focuses too narrowly can misfire. Conference News argues for a "multi-faceted event" and cites North Carolina's Moogfest as an example. Moogfest is primarily a music festival, but, in 2016, it added a stage for workshops, installations and discussions of the current political climate. By combining art, activism, food/drink, and activities in one place, it addressed attendees' multiple passions and created more social media fodder and buzz at the same time. Meeting the millennial demand for a multi-faceted event experience can also require going beyond hotel conference rooms and exhibit spaces. In 2017, the demand for non-traditional spaces rose by 3.8%, notes the article. Millennials are technically savvy and expect technically savvy event support. The Conference News article cites three event technology ideas likely to gain ground this year: 1) RFID (radio-frequency identification) wristbands can speed up entry lines and allow purchases without cash or cards; 2) Mobile Event Apps can let attendees craft customized experiences via eased navigation, personalized schedules, push notifications about upcoming activities, and social sharing with other attendees; and 3) Artificial Intelligence (AI) can use chat bots to answer attendee questions and, in coordination with social-media-based event app info, generate personalized on-site recommendations. See the full post at http://www.acculistusa.com/millennial-attendees-reshape-event-success-strategies/

2018 Offers New Publishing Growth Opportunities

Business and consumer publications face some pivotal audience- and revenue-building challenges, but there are also growth opportunities in 2018. We note three potential positives recently highlighted by Publishing Executive magazine. Audiences are increasing their demand for quality content, and advertisers are seeking publishers who can deliver that quality, so there is a lot of untapped revenue potential for publishers who commit to quality. This is especially true since the free-information era is ending as readers become wary of free but low-value content and increasingly willing to pay for reliable quality. For digital publishers, the downside of a shift to paid content can be a shrinkage of circulation, forcing them to balance potential subscription revenue against lower ad page-views. The Publishing Executive article offers mitigating tactics: leaky paywalls; metered paywalls; charging only for premium content; allowing only paid subscribers to comment or participate in an online community; early access to certain articles for paid subscribers, etc. Meanwhile, with daily access to vast amounts of information in print, online, media and social, mass-market-oriented print and digital publications have been struggling, and niche publishers proliferating. Readers want to focus on what’s relevant to their specific interests, and many advertisers want to reach the right pool of people more than just the largest pool of people. The trick for publications is to embrace niche demand without sacrificing too much circulation. The Publishing Executive article offers some suggestions. Digital publications can create a product-within-a-product on the website, for example, with content targeted to a subset of the normal audience and attractive to new sponsors who want to reach that specific audience. For print publications, there are niche-targeted inserts, bonus sections, customized covers, polybagged special reports, or ad packages that combine a full-page magazine ad with a niche-targeted cover wrap or insert. Finally, brand advertisers have become concerned about aligning with publishers who tolerate fake news, violence, extremism, or other offensive content. This means that respected publishers can court advertising revenue (and circulation) in 2018 by stressing brand quality and safety in their promotions. On that point, Publishing Executive quotes from an Advertising Age piece in which Shelagh Daly Miller of AARP declared: "Only when brands partner with reputable publishers can they have full confidence in where their ads are being placed. That’s a message that should be all over our industry’s media kits. And tattooed onto the foreheads of our ad reps." For more on publishing opportunity trends, see http://www.acculistusa.com/2018-offers-new-growth-opportunities-for-publishing-marketers/

Event Marketers Foresee 2018 Spending Boosts

Trade show and conference marketers are already looking ahead to 2018, and event technology firm Bizzabo’s recent “Event Marketing 2018: Benchmarks and Trends” report has some good news: Event marketers and business execs plan to invest more in live events in future. One of the key findings of Bizzabo’s global survey of 400 mid- to senior-level marketers is that most event marketers believe that events are the single most effective marketing channel--better than e-mail, social media, and digital and traditional advertising. The majority also plan to invest more in future live events, both in terms of budget (63%) and number of events (63%). Plus, the majority (91%) of businesses with top performance place a greater emphasis on live events as a marketing channel than the underperforming businesses or businesses performing as expected–and those overperforming businesses plan to grow their event marketing budgets by more than the rest. Regardless of performance, an overwhelming majority of C-Suite executives surveyed (87%) say they believe in the power of live events and plan on investing more in the future. Though event marketers and executives have confidence in the marketing effectiveness of B2B trade shows and conferences, that doesn’t mean they think success is assured. In another survey, Bizzabo asked leading event marketers for advice on overcoming common event hurdles. For example, what if attendance is sparse? To avoid staring at an empty hall in horror, make sure the event is clearly advertised on all social media profiles, blog, and website, including paid ads; empower those who have already committed attendance (especially speakers) to be event ambassadors by sharing the event on their own social media profiles and websites; and use RSVPs to keep attendees accountable. Then what if the attendees are there, but enthusiasm is low? To boost engagement, the pros suggest crowdsourcing questions for interviews and round tables before the event; creating hangouts or webinars related to event sessions; and sending segmented e-mails based on registration data to get attendees pumped up for specific aspects.  For a link to solutions to nine common event management problems, go to http://www.acculistusa.com/event-marketing-pros-foresee-spending-boost/

Price, Premium, Copy Tweaks Lift Acquisition Mailer

While many direct mailers focus on the secret to millennial response, it's good to keep a close eye on mail tactics that work well with older and general audiences, too. A case in point is a recent Target Marketing magazine case study sharing the Mayo Clinic Health Letter's expertise in testing toward maximum acquisition response for its control. With its huge 2 million to 5 million mail pieces per quarter, Mayo has a lot of room for testing! Targeting an older audience (age 70 and up), the Mayo Clinic mailer has long used an oversized kraft outer envelope with a simple teaser that appeals to the older market preference for courtesy: "Please favor us with a reply within 10 days." Successfully tested changes include shifting the envelope size from 11"x 14" to a 10" x 14" to save money, but inside-package tweaks have delivered the response boosts. For example, the letter now leads with pricing, a "tough times" stress on the per issue $1.97 over an annual savings. But one of the most significant response-getters has been the addition of a premium in the form of existing internal special reports--on weight loss or arthritis, for example--offered for free. The control has also increased its lift by moving to an eight-page letter, up from the original four-page pitch. The results are proof that longer copy can outdo short copy when it comes to self-help offers and older markets. For one, the long-form letter allows marketers to pack in more benefits. Second, it allows for a larger type size. For example, the Mayo letter has shifted to a 14-point type as a boon to aging eyesight and a way to distinguish its approach as more personal and less corporate. Meanwhile, the mailer's reply card page has three-in-one power: reply form, premium stuffer and a BRE, in yellow to stand out in the package. For more, see http://www.acculistusa.com/how-acquisition-mailing-won-with-price-premium-benefits-copy/

Science & Tech Offer Event Audience-Building Tools

For an event to succeed, trade show marketers must build attendance before the event and deliver for attendees by the end of the event, whether measured by lead generation, education or networking. There's an art to it, but science and technology impact success today as well. For example, BizBash.com did an interesting Q&A with Ben Parr, author of Captivology: The Science of Capturing People's Attention, in which Parr highlighted research-based conclusions about "captivation triggers" of audience attention. Start with "automaticity," which means using colors and symbols that automatically affect attention, such as the color red. Move on to "framing," setting the value of an event in a context that garners more attention, such as stressing event ticket scarcity. A message or design that offers "disruption," meaning a violation of expectations, naturally grabs attention, as does "mystery," such as an intriguing headline or subject line. Of course, there is the attention-getting "reward" for attendance, either an extrinsic reward (a swag bag) or an intrinsic reward (personal self-improvement). The good reputations of event, exhibitors and speakers really count, too; brain research shows audiences are especially attentive and trusting of experts, for example. Meanwhile, Event Farm, an enterprise event marketing platform, has interviewed event experts to find new technology trends likely to affect event marketing in 2017 and beyond. Among the trends cited is having events bring the internet to life onsite by letting attendees engage with online experiences, such as viral memes or videos. Marketing pros also foresee that the end of an event will no longer signal the end of an experiential marketing campaign, so that marketers engage with attendees (and non-attendees) after the event via tactics such as re-purposing an event presentation or sharing "digital" event memories. More people are expected to use live streaming to complement events via services like Facebook Live, too, not as a substitute for attendance but as an attendee-engagement enhancer. Finally, watch for attendees to seek to engage with the digital and physical landscapes simultaneously, such as using smartphones to help navigate through a venue. For more, see http://www.acculistusa.com/science-tech-can-help-events-capture-audience/

Data & Content Key to Publishers' Audience Building

In the age of big data and exploding digital content, targeted data quality and database management are more essential than ever to profitable circulation marketing and audience development for publishers and media owners. A recent Marketo blog post backs up that assertion with their advice. Demographics and firmographics are a key starting point, but now media owners also can mine transactional data, behavioral data, and psychographics/interests across channels, the post notes. Smart use of first-, second- and third-party data allows for tailored content, offers and channel targeting. As the Marketo article explains, "For example, you may know that a reader is a part of a cohort that is female, between 18-35 years old, with a household income between $64-96K....But what could you do–in terms of engagement–if you learn through her content consumption patterns that she’s interested in football, responds to sponsored content from travel brands, and mostly responds to content that’s shared on Facebook?" Yet more data from multiple sources–web, print, mail, e-mail, social media–also presents challenges, and Marketo cites Folio's recent survey of publishing leaders, which found 71% citing data management as a top priority for creating and monetizing media products. The solution is a single hub for audience data and automated cross-channel processing in real-time, the post advises, in order to deliver the right message at the right time to the right target. Finally, in publication/media marketing even more than other brand marketing, content counts. Faced with ever-growing digital content noise, media owners must work even harder to deliver content that interests and engages the target audience. For more, including advice on content marketing wins and misses, see to our complete onsite post at http://www.acculistusa.com/data-content-are-keys-to-profitable-audience-building/

Magazine Audiences Grow, Increase Mobile Viewing

The good news for publishers is that total audience—across print, Web, mobile and video—grew robustly in 2016, up 6.4% over the prior year, according to the 2016 Magazine Media 360° Brand Audience Report from the Association of Magazine Media (MPA). But there is a challenge for publications within the data: the continued shift to a mobile audience. Although print and digital editions continued to garner the largest audience for magazine media last year, the mobile platform had the most rapid growth rate, per the MPA's trend analysis. Nearly 80% of the brands reporting showed mobile growth, with 79% of those brands up by either double- or triple-digit percentages. More than a quarter of the brands in the report grew their mobile unique visitors by one million or more each. That mobile growth came at the expense of Web (desktop/laptop) users. In fact, the Web audience represented the only magazine media platform to decline as consumers spent more time on portable devices than computers. Meanwhile, though video remained the smallest audience platform in 2016, it also recorded strong growth, per MPA, up by double-digit percentage rates. For more, see our post at  http://www.acculistusa.com/growing-magazine-audiences-continue-shift-toward-mobile/