Splash, a Cvent-owned event marketing technology company, published the findings of its 2025 Outlook on Events report, which surveyed over 1,000 U.S.-based marketers involved in their companies’ event programs. The report looked at how CMOs and marketers were using events within their larger strategies, how they were measuring their success, and focused on marketers who were using event-led growth (ELG) – a go-to-market approach where events are a company’s core customer acquisition and retention channel.

The 94% of marketers using event-led growth are reporting consistent revenue from events, compared to 77% for those who don’t leverage events as a programmatic marketing channel.

“Our 2025 report shows that CMOs and companies are increasingly recognizing the power of event-led growth in driving business success,” said Kate Hammitt, Head of Marketing at Splash. “The 94% of marketers using event-led growth are reporting consistent revenue from events, compared to 77% for those who don’t leverage events as a programmatic marketing channel. It’s clear that events are a critical component of marketing strategies. Organizations that focus on creating impactful event programs and leveraging technology to measure and scale success will be well-positioned to drive pipeline in 2025.”

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Key takeaways from the report include:

In 2024, in-person events took a clear lead in ROI, and this year, companies are planning to increase events of all types.

• Marketers say they planned about 29 events in 2024 – 15 more events than the previous year.
• 66% of those hosting multiple formats said in-person events generated the most revenue, a 12% increase from 2023.
• 57% expect to plan more partner events in 2025, 44% more owned events, and 51% more sponsored events.

Zooming in on CMOs shows companies are increasing marketing budgets and leveraging technology to execute, replicate, and measure the success of their events.

• 69% of marketers say their company plans to increase their total marketing budget in the next 12 months, with 55% reporting they allocate at least 20% of their total budget toward events.
• 77% would host more events if they had technology that made it easier to execute and replicate events – CMOs were 16% more likely to say this.
• 88% of marketers plan to invest in event technology in 2025.
• 41% struggled to measure ROI and create competitive events in 2024. CMOs were 29% more likely than average to say they struggled to create competitive events.

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Companies that use event-led growth strategies were better positioned to generate pipeline and meet revenue goals for every quarter in 2024.

• 67% of teams use an event-led growth approach.
• Marketers using this approach were 140% more likely than those who did not achieve over 50% growth.
• 50% of marketers not using this approach believe it’s why their events underperform, a 9% increase from 2024.
• 94% of marketers using event-led growth reported steady revenue, compared to 77% generally.

Events are key to winning prospects, closing deals faster, and retaining business.

• About 90% of marketers say that their events help their company stand out from the competition, and 89% say events are critical for business growth.
• 52% of marketers attribute at least half of their company’s 2024 closed-won deals to events, and 72% say prospects close deals faster after attending events.
• 31% of marketers reported a 20-day decrease in closing time when prospects attend events.

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