• March 13, 2003

The Promotion Marketing Association (PMA) announced the launch of its Event Marketing Council, formed to provide its member companies with a communication platform between marketers and event producers. The Council is co-chaired by Charlie Horsey, CEO of CMI, a marketing and promotions agency owned by Clear Channel Worldwide, and Kerry Smith, publisher of Event Marketer magazine. Research conducted last year by Intellitrends revealed that 47 percent of companies feel that event marketing provides the "greatest return on investment" when compared to other marketing communications tactics - advertising, direct mail, sales promotion, etc. Currently, more than 22% of total marketing budgets are devoted to events across all industries, and budget allocations for event marketing are expected to increase by 23% across the automotive, technology, media/entertainment, consumer electronics and healthcare industries.