IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MARKETING MEDIA TECHNOLOGY Choosing the channels 01. Keeping up with industry trends Even after a series of cancelled trade shows, including NAB and IBC in 2020 and 2021, we expect them to bounce back: the lure of a convention remains strong—at the top of buyers’ and sellers’ favourite channels for keeping up with the industry. Elsewhere in the rankings, trade press publications are more popular than social media, though not quite as popular among buyers as they are with suppliers. And published white papers, reports and case studies, a marketing stalwart for many, come much lower down the list for buyers. Direct contact is ranked higher by buyers than sellers, but with different interpreta- tions. Buyers like to get in touch ‘inbound’ when they need specific information from a vendor, while sellers often still focus on sales emails and cold calling which buyers consistently say they hate. Favourite sources of industry info 83% Trade shows 1 Trade shows 72% 70% Industry 2 Trade press 71% organisations mags/websites 69% Personal networks 3 Industry 68% organisations 69% Trade press 4 Personal networks 64% mags/websites Buyers 55% Webinars 5 Webinars 59% Sellers 53% Direct contacts 6 White papers, 54% reports, case studies 50% Social media 7 Online search (SEO) 49% 48% Online search 8 Social Media 49% 48% White papers, reports, 9 Direct Contacts 45% case studies 32% Paid-for research 10 Paid-for research 25% Respondents ranked channels in order of which they most like to use. Aggregated popularity metric.