Cvent,
the meetings and events technology provider, is back on the acquisition trail –
this time gobbling up Splash,
a New-York based event marketing technology company.
Splash’s platform allows marketers to create branded,
measurable, and repeatable event programmes. It has more than 500 users,
including 60 Fortune 1,000 companies.
According to various industry reports there has been a shift
towards smaller, regional events, with many of these being used for face-to-face
marketing purposes.
The acquisition extends Cvent’s reach beyond core event
teams to marketers, mirroring a trend amongst event tech companies seeking to
capture a share of the marcoms market.
Cvent said the tie-up with Splash would help its customers
to:
- Reach
more buyers and expand business opportunities using tools that streamline
event registration, maximize attendance and support program execution.
- Grow
brand awareness with marketing templates and a customizable asset library,
setting the stage for a consistent experience.
- Measure
event results, improve strategy and speed-up sales with reporting options
and available integrations into an existing MarTech stack.
"The technology-driven convergence of marketing and
events is an exciting growth opportunity," said Cvent CEO and
founder Reggie Aggarwal. "Pairing Splash’s expertise in field
marketing events with our robust event and marketing platform further
strengthens our ability to empower marketers to create and execute on-brand,
high-impact event programs that deliver real results."
In a LinkedIn post Northstar Meetings Group executive editor
Michael Shapiro, a travel tech expert, said this acquisition, the fourth of the
year for Cvent, stood out from the rest.
“…rather than making certain features in the current Cvent
toolbox more robust — improving lead-gen, for instance, or boosting sourcing
capabilities with AI, as was the case with other acquisitions this year — this
looks designed to expand Cvent's client base by offering an alternative
approach to planning, or at least another way to meld event technology with hashtag#martech.
Apart from the pandemic-fuelled visions of 2020, could this be the boldest step
yet in the convergence of marketing and events?”
Written By
James Lancaster
AMI editor James
Lancaster is a familiar face in the meetings industry and international
association community. Since joining AMI in 2010, he has gained a reputation
for asking difficult questions and getting lost in convention centres. Proofer, podcaster, and panellist - in his spare time, James likes to walk,
read, listen to music, and drink beer.
