Developing an event measurement dashboard at Nortel

“Ahhh, the poetry of metrics,” said Ken Pierannunzi began his presentation, declaring that ROI is quickly going from a need-to-have to a have-to-have. That means marketers need to institute tight measurement protocol immediately.

Ken is the director of global events strategy and measurement at Nortel. At the Experiential Marketing Summit a team from StinsonGEM attended, he offered the latest insights on creating an event measurement dashboard. Plus, he provided specific intelligence into what other marketers can do to produce robust ROI system.

On the surface, defining event metrics seems easy. Metrics can answer the basic questions of “Did we meet the objectives?” and “Did we change perceptions?”

But even greater value can be created when metrics are used short-term to plan future events and longer-term to develop professional competencies for event marketers.

To be most effective, Ken says results and reporting to the brand teams must be quick – at best real time but at least within 24 hours of the event. The report should include photos and narrative along with the numbers.

Here’s a look at the metrics that used to be considered good enough, contrasted with the new standards in an event measurement dashboard:

TYPICAL OLD WAYS OF MEASURING EVENT SUCCESS
-Company execs were happy
-Attendees said it was well-received
-It came in under budget

EXAMPLES OF NEW STANDARDS IN EVENT MEASUREMENT
-“return on objectives”
-# meetings with target customers
-# booth visits from A-level prospects
-# leads reporting intent to trial

The sources of event metrics can be varied, and include convention leads analysis, badge scans, in-booth surveys, post-show surveys, sales conversion analysis, field lead tracking, press coverage, customer meetings, and sales meetings.

Ken offered the tip to standardize survey results to make them simpler to compile and track over time. He also reminded the group that these kinds of metrics should not be considered market research, but only event effectiveness.

There are a number of ways to use the dashboard. In addition to presenting to marketing executives and the rest of the brand team, results can be applied to training the convention booth staff on event objectives – especially on how to quality leads and disengage from non-influencers.

At Stinson, we like to start with the end in mind. That means working with you to determine the metrics of an event at the beginning of the creative process.

We’ve just published a new white paper entitled "Creating a Quality Brand Experience Through Event Marketing: Case studies from the 2008 Experiential Marketing Summit and applications of key learnings for health, science, and technology brands." You can download it free at: www.StinsonBrandInnovation.com