Industry-first research proves live events deliver powerful emotional engagement between brands and

Going face-to-face with your customers can significantly enhance your brand's reputation in its sector

FaceTime, the newly launched marketing body for the multi-billion pound live events industry, today announced the findings from the industry's first-ever psychological study of the power of live. Using innovative new research techniques, the findings explain how live events work and reveal the unique attributes of going face-to-face with customers as part of a sales and marketing strategy.

The study, undertaken by Cog Research across four major events in Q4 09 and Q1 10 (Masterchef Live, The Boat Show, World Travel Market and BETT), involved British and international brands (including Sainsbury's, Henri Lloyd, Best Western Hotels and BLI Education) and comprised 1160 pre and post interviews of people attending these events.

It analysed the state of mind of a visitor before and after a live event and the results reveal how attending has a positive uplift in people's attitudes towards events, and brands exhibiting at events. Using an indirect research technique, the results also reveal how both the conscious mind (explicit) and sub-conscious mind (implicit) are positively affected by events.

The implicit results are particularly interesting as they prove how the multi-sensory experience of an event achieves a very strong emotional engagement with visitors. They reveal a large number of visitors thought that they already had positive attitudes to events and brands before the show, when in fact it was the feelings and memories of attending the show that made them sub-consciously think this. These results are ultimately great news for businesses as the value of events can be planned into its sales and marketing activity.

Key findings include:

Nearly three quarters of event goers believe it is the best form of marketing as they can interact directly with the brand
Going to an event creates a greater uplift in positive attitudes than watching a TV advert, with a third of event-goers experiencing an uplift compared to a quarter of TV viewers
Nearly 90% of visitors to consumer events say they are more open to what brands have to offer
Attendance to a consumer event informs 87% of visitor's future purchases
Three quarters of visitors to trade events believe they are the best way to meet new contacts
Prior to an event one in three of visitors say attendance makes it easier to decide what products to buy, but after an event this rises to three in four
After experiencing a brand at a trade event, people are twice as likely to say they would recommend it to a friend

Samuel Egginton, Sampling & External Event Manager at Sainsbury's PLC, said: "Sainsbury's are proud to be a major sponsor at MasterChef Live and we were really pleased to be a part of the launch of such a successful live event in 2009. Innovative events such as Masterchef Live show how positive experiences can deliver a powerful engagement between brands and customers. At Sainsbury's we believe that MasterChef Live and the BBC Good Food Shows provide us with an excellent opportunity to engage with and inspire both new and existing customers in a relaxed and relevant environment."