DALLAS — November 12, 2018 — Data plays a critical role in all aspects of corporate marketing — from developing successful marketing strategies and campaigns, to deciding where to allocate budgets and best reach target audiences. Today, Freeman® — the world’s leading brand experience company — in collaboration with Chief Marketer, announced the results of a new report, The Freeman Data Benchmark Study.
Results from the study, which examined how brands are leveraging data across the entire marketing mix, demonstrate that data is becoming a top priority for leading corporate marketers, playing a significant role in helping them to secure budgets, set strategy, make decisions and impact ROI.
The Freeman Data Benchmark Study compiled input from more than 650 leading marketing executives from many of the world’s largest companies. The results provide an in-depth, and crystal-clear look at how marketers are getting serious about data.
With data becoming a top priority for leading corporate marketers, it is not surprising that — according to the study — two-thirds of corporate marketers from large companies surveyed said they plan on increasing their dedicated spending on data and analytics in 2019. The study also found that:
- 89 percent of marketers use data to make strategic decisions
- 98 percent of marketers use data to secure budgets
- More than 70 percent of marketers leverage data to impact wider marketing and business goals
“Data is becoming the fuel that powers the marketing mix. It powers the insights that drive critical decision-making at all junctions in both marketing and throughout an organization,” said Ken Holsinger, vice president, data and analytics solutions, Freeman. “With The Freeman Data Benchmark Study, we were able to dive deep into how some of the world’s most successful companies are leveraging data across their marketing mix, as well as which different marketing channels are being used as data funnels. The findings from the study provide key insights to help corporate marketers better understand how to put their data to work to drive business results and strategy, and also serves as a great benchmark to gauge where your company is at in the data journey.”
When surveyed for this study, chief marketing officers and marketing vice presidents agree, it’s all about return on investment. Forty-four percent of those surveyed indicated that total sales over a product/service’s life cycle was their top metric (representing the highest percentage among choices). Rounding out the top five most important metrics to senior marketing executives were leads, sales from partners, brand awareness and digital marketing impact.
According to the study — of all marketing channels — events and experiential marketing stand out as effective sectors for data collection, generation and influence. Respondents indicated that events provide a “wider and deeper” range of data and metrics than other channels, demonstrating that event data not only informs event strategy and planning, but also can add value and insight to wider marketing purposes and campaigns.
Overall, the study found that:
- Nearly nine out of 10 companies use event-marketing data to inform wider marketing strategies and tactical decision-making
- Approximately 70 percent of brands integrate their event data with their corporate marketing databases and CRM platforms
- More than 60 percent of companies also use their event data as part of their business intelligence and product development efforts
“Data needs to be an underlying, fundamental component of any marketing strategy. We’ve seen corporate and event marketers alike put an increased emphasis on data lately, collecting, analyzing, leveraging, and activating it to improve their strategy and operations,” said Skip Cox, SVP, research and measurement, Freeman. “For event marketers, the actionable insights derived from data analytics empower them to not only drive results, justify event and marketing budgets, and improve overall attendee quality and event experiences, but to bring those insights back to the larger marketing strategies. Data is a tool, and if you’re organization is not using it, you’re missing out on reaching and exceeding your potential.”
To view all of the findings from The Freeman Data Benchmark Study and to see how your company is measuring up, visit Freeman.com/data-report.
About The Freeman Company
The Freeman Company helps create meaningful connections for all types of global audiences. The family-owned company is comprised of leading brand experience company, Freeman; audio-visual and production company, Encore Event Technologies; and Alford Media, a premier event technology specialist known for the expertise and precision on large-scale shows. With more than 90 locations globally and 7,000+ employees who are dedicated to delivering the best experiences and business outcomes possible for their clients — from strategy and design to implementation and results. For more information, visit https://www.freeman.com.
About Freeman
Freeman is the world’s leading brand experience company. We help our clients design and deliver immersive live experiences for their most important audiences. Through comprehensive offerings including strategy, creative, logistics, digital, and event technology, Freeman helps increase audience engagement and drive business results. What makes us different is our collaborative culture, intuitive knowledge, global perspective, and personalized approach, which we’ve gained from our 90 years as an industry leader. For more information, please visit https://www.freeman.com/.
Freeman and The Freeman Company are either registered trademarks or trademarks of The Freeman Company in the United States and/or other countries.
All other product names, trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.
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