Week 4 Part B: Defining YOUR Target Market

Target Market Analysis for Interactive Presentation Audience Engagement Solutions (AES)

    This market analysis is to specify a proper market segment to advertise to for AES.

    The Audio-Visual Industry has been turned upside down due to Covid-19. All meetings have become virtual and companies have had to adapt. Primarily that adaptation has been to take products that have already existed and try and get them to fit a new platform. I believe there is another period of adaptation coming as meetings begin the transition to be back in person. The most logical transition step is going to be a hybrid-type meeting with in-person and virtual audiences. How do you bridge the gap, and can that same product be used moving forward?

    AES is looking to target event planners, public relations specialists, training managers, marketing directors, and audio-visual technicians.

Job Title

2019 Jobs

Expected Growth

% Women

Training Manager

42,300

7%

56

Event Planner

138,600

10%

73

Marketing Manager

314,900

6%

61

PR Specialist

274,600

7%

66

Audio-video Technicians

170,140

8%

8

*data.bls.gov

    Allied Market Research predicts a year over year growth of 12.6% for the live event industry. This analysis was published in Nov 2020 more than 6 months into the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 showed more than ever just how popular live events are and just how excited the public is to get back to large events. Covid-19 has also showed that live events and virtual live events can reach more people than ever. People would rather attend a live virtually than miss it all together. Virtual attendance has also made more people interested in attending live event in-person.

    There are many large companies that already exist in the market segment. Most of them have concentrated on building the spectacle of live events and have focused on the live attendee. Outreach to virtual attendees and improving the virtual experience has usually been farmed out to smaller subcontractors. Additionally, most companies have been working on digital interaction by live audiences, but it is generally seen as not flashy enough to do any real investment.

    I believe that Covid-19 changes the math on both assumptions. Virtual attendance will continue and expand. Initial meetings that have reintroduced live attendance have had to create hybrid setups that include live and virtual attendance. Most people believe that trend will only continue as the technology catches up. Audience participation portals are also becoming more and more common place in live events. Presenters are creating live polls, virtual contests, and interactive presentations.

    Marketing to the public isn’t going to be the wisest course of action. Direct marketing to the individuals listed above will provide the most bang for the buck. These individuals tend to skew slightly older (35-55). They tend to be well educated and career driven. LinkedIn will be an important platform. These individuals also tend to have large female populations. FairyGodBoss is a female-based career information platform. It is similar to GlassDoor or LinkedIn, except directed specifically at women. Getting involved on that site will also work towards a key demographic. Facebook will be useful if expected. The overall demographics of Facebook play right into our strengths and it is a relatively easy platform to utilize. Instagram is a simple extension of Facebook. Twitter will be essential once events start happening. There is not a better platform for instant and continual update of live events and to drive coordination.

    The live event industry is set to have a huge boom post-Covid. Many smaller providers have shuttered due to the pandemic. Large providers are scrambling to adapt to a more online presence. Events are adapting to try and reach a larger audience; live and virtual. Now is the time for a new technology provider to put the pieces together and thrive

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