Impact of Digital Marketing Innovation in Competitive Event Industry During Covid-19: Evidence from Malaysia and The United States

Abstract

Events are crucial to the industry's growth and economic benefits. Nearly 1.5 billion people visit corporate events each year across the world. Even though the event was formerly regarded as the industry's fastest-growing segment, it is currently undergoing a significant transformation and shift because of the COVID-19 epidemic. Businesses are embracing digital marketing to communicate with their customers during this pandemic catastrophe. As a result, the pandemic has an impact on core ideas and marketing innovations. The objective of the research is to look at the effects of digital marketing in the event industry in Malaysia and the United States (USA) during covid-19. Samples of the study were consumers who attended virtual events in Malaysia and the United States (USA) for a period of two years following the pandemic Covid-19 from 2019 to 2021. This study used a survey questionnaire to obtain the primary data. The finding of the study showed that digital marketing has an influence on customer attitude, brand awareness, trust, and intention among the event attendees from Malaysia and United States. Finding further showed that brand awareness had minimal influence on the purchasing intention of event attendees from Malaysia and the United States (USA). Malaysian participants believe trust is the most important factor in developing an intention to join the event, whereas Americans believe that customer attitude is the most crucial aspect of developing an intention. This study recommends event planners develop digital marketing that keeps up with new technological innovations and changing customer expectations in terms of content that should be more tailored as well as wow-factor-filled attendee experience.