Mumbrella360 has become the first conference to have its visitor numbers audited under landmark new rules for the auditing of events, the Circulations Audit Board (CAB) has announced.
The CAB today (30 Aug) released the audited attendance figures for the annual media and marketing industry conference, organised by publisher Focal Attractions, encompassing the new core attendance metric of Unique Visitor Attendance (UVA) and new optional attendance categories for the calculation of total attendance.
Focal Attractions publishing director, Martin Lane said Mumbrella360 was pleased to be the first conference-only event to undergo the new event audit.
“We are already the only publisher in our sector to audit every one of our activities, including the traffic to Mumbrella’s website, the number of subscribers to our daily email and the print circulation of Encore magazine,” said Lane. “Audits are not expensive so why wouldn’t you be audited if you have nothing to hide? One of the areas where I’ve seen the most outlandish claims about attendance is conferences. So we’re particularly proud to be the first conference-only event to independently audit those visitor numbers under the new rules. I hope that other event organisers now step up and do the same.”
Launched in November 2011 following a comprehensive industry-led review, the CAB’s new rules encompass changes to the reporting of attendance and marketing metrics across both trade and consumer exhibitions and conferences. The first major changes to event auditing in more than six years, the rules include the new core attendance metric of UVA which counts each visitor only once for the entire duration of an event, regardless of the number of visits. The new rules also include optional reporting categories for the calculation of total attendance, including exhibitor staff, speakers and media.
The audit results for Mumbrella360, held in Sydney from 6-7 June 2012, reveal a total attendance of 1,020, with a UVA total of 752 and 268 exhibitor staff, speakers and media. CAB chief executive Paul Dovas congratulated the organisers of Mumbrella360 for their commitment to the audit process and challenged other conference organisers to follow their lead.
“We’re looking forward to seeing more conferences embrace the new audit rules, as organisers recognise the value of the added granularity in our attendance data,” said Dovas. “The events arena remains a dynamic and credible medium and we have worked with the industry to deliver accountability through auditing best practice that meets the needs of today’s marketplace. It is vital nowadays for conferences to be able to show credible data and results to encourage participation from sponsors, speakers and the general public.”
For more information on the new rules for event auditing click here.
