Want to speak at corporate and association events? Then listen up: budgets are back…at 2008 levels. Even the big dawgs — like the insurance industry — have the budget blues, according to a small (100 respondents) study by Financial & Insurance Conference Planners (FICP). The good news: meetings are on top executives’ radar, so killer speeches will be noticed by high-level buyers. The bad news: doing more with less has resulted in meeting consolidations and more pressure on “value.” The new buzz word: prudent search. Translation: even if you offer reduced speaker fees and other goodies, buyers will keep looking for a better deal. So don’t expect your gimme’s to speed up the close.
Bottom line: Everyone — even those who can afford lavish events — are scaling back. Says one respondent: “the days of Bruce Springsteen singing at our event are over.” Bummer…
Tags: branding, Marketing, Speaking, strategy, Vickie Sullivan