05-24-2004

Auburn Hills, Mich. | Global event marketing agency The George P. Johnson Company (GPJ) and the MPI Foundation announced today that they are partnering for the again this year to commission the "2004 MPI/GPJ Trends in Event Marketing Research." This third annual benchmark study reveals important event marketing trends from VP and director level marketing executives around the globe. The study will capture current data and projected trends relating to the event marketing industry in North America, United Kingdom, Germany and Asia-Pacific. The project's North American results will be announced in May 2004.

"Our annual examination of global event trends and their impact on the marketing industry has met with appreciation and validation throughout the marketing community," said Robert Vallee, Jr., The George P. Johnson Company CEO. "The power of these findings is evident in how they are consistently being utilized as benchmark data by key media, analysts and marketers."

The program effectively benchmarks current event industry data with results gathered since 2001, to provide a comparative understanding of the state of the event marketing industry in North America and since 2003, globally. New priorities, objectives and budget allocations are revealed, indicating the changing role of events in the marketing mix for global companies.

The research will survey senior marketing executives on the current and projected role event marketing plays in the overall business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketing mix in multiple vertical industries, including high-tech, automotive, healthcare, consumer electronic, associations and media/entertainment. An important focus of the survey will include feedback on marketing ROI and measurement in determining the effectiveness of events. New to this year's research is the inclusion of China to the Asia-Pacific sample, and an examination of international trends relative to business travel. It supports MPI's overall goal of educating executives about the value meetings bring to their organization.

The MPI Foundation - the supportive research and development entity for Dallas-based Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the global authority and resource for the meeting industry - is cosponsoring the development and execution of the 2004 survey. Comprehensive research results will be unveiled at MPI's 2004 World Education Congress, 25-27 July in Denver, Colorado. Results of the research will also be available in the future on GPJ's website, www.gpjco.com.

Contact
Kelly Schulz
Phone: 1-972-702-3033
Email: kschulz@mpiweb.org

Organization
Meeting Professionals International (MPI)
www.mpiweb.org
4455 LBJ Freeway Suite 1200
USA - Dallas, TX 75244-5903
Phone: +1-972-702-3000
Fax: +1-972-702-3070
Email: mr@mpiweb.org