Have we reached a point where we can measure the woo-woo better? I put that question to Dahlia El Gazzar, founder and chief ruckusmaker at Dahlia+Agency. In this interview (above), filmed at IMEX America in Las Vegas, we discussed the importance of relationship-building and community engagement at events — and just how crucial it is to acknowledge those elements in the face of increased pressures to demonstrate a solid return on investment for being there.
"There's going to have to be a different way of looking at events," said El Gazzar in Northstar's video studio. "Even the transactions that happen between buyer and seller on a show floor, or within an event, you're going to have to look at it differently, even if it's going to take a longer time than you think."
Beyond immediate gratification
We're conditioned to initiate (and expect) immediate follow-ups, leads that become clients, RFPs that are signed within weeks. And those things happen. But beyond that, what if we put more weight on the long-term effects? "You're creating these relationships, and the relationships are going to come back and pay you, but not instantly," El Gazzar said. "If the conversation was really good, you've created something solid. The credibility is there. You created karma. Maybe someone recommended you to someone else just because the conversation was great, because you've established that trust."
The "woo-woo" intangibles are precisely those things the events industry has sought to dismiss, at least in part, in exchange for the gravitas of being considered the lucrative marketing channel we know it to be. And that has led to technology suppliers who have tried to quantify these intangibles better; to assess and analyze crowd sentiment via scientific, biological responses, for example; or by following attendee paths through a trade show. Will that get us closer to measuring the intangibles?
El Gazzar thinks we still haven't found a way to measure all the KPIs we're looking for. Watch the interview for our musings on the woo-woo aspects of community engagement, brand loyalty and putting puppies to work.
Measuring event impact over time was an important theme at this year's IMEX America, and you can see a different take on the topic in my interview with Genevieve Leclerc, founder and CEO of #MEET4IMPACT, about their new ImpactAIQ platform.
