Event Marketers Are Confident They’re Building Audience Trust - Yet Less Than One Third Are Actively Measuring It

New survey commissioned by Cvent shows majority of marketers confident in event success, despite AI mistrust, audience scepticism and poor measurement

London - June 15, 2026 - A new survey commissioned by Cvent, an industry-leading meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider, has found a gap between event marketers' confidence in building audience trust and the number of professionals actively measuring its impact.

Almost all (96%) event marketers said they are confident that their current marketing activity is building trust with target audiences. 81% said audience trust in their brand has increased after attending one of their organisation's in-person events.

Yet less than a third (28%) currently have a robust framework in place to measure the impact of events on trust and almost half (49%) admitted that their existing framework requires improvement.

"Event marketers are doing something remarkable. They're building real, lasting trust with their audiences at a time when trust has never been harder to earn. But confidence without measurement is a recipe for reduced budgets and missed opportunities," said Amy Lucia, Chief Marketing Officer at Cvent. "The marketers who will lead the next era are the ones who can prove what events actually do for their business, connecting that investment directly to pipeline and revenue. When you can prove the numbers, C-suite and boardroom credibility follows."

The survey of over 900 event and marketing professionals from across 12 countries also uncovered the rising pressure event marketers face in proving ROI, with nine out of 10 respondents acknowledging their event programs face high scrutiny when it comes to demonstrating measurable return.

But rather than deterring event marketers, the vast majority are turning to events as a way of forming closer bonds with their audiences.

Indeed, the future of in-person events looks bright, as nine out of 10 (91%) respondents said events will become more central to strategies over the next 12-24 months compared to other marketing channels.

While confidence in event success is high, the survey also uncovered an AI trust gap developing between event marketers and audiences. Some 85% agreed that the rise of AI-generated content has made it harder to build trust - despite 87% saying increased AI use has made them more confident in AI-generated content. While marketers themselves are becoming more comfortable with AI-generated content, many believe audiences are growing increasingly sceptical of it.

When asked why the rise of AI-generated content makes it harder to build trust with audiences, 30% said audiences question whether content is genuinely human-created, and 29% reported increased scepticism about the accuracy of information.

Generic or AI-generated content (27%) was seen as the greatest risk to audience trust today, more so than a lack of human interaction at events (19%).

"AI saturation is contributing to rising audience scepticism, changing the environment in which we've traditionally built trust with audiences," said Felicia Asiedu, Marketing Director at Cvent. "Some 98% of respondents say that in-person and community-based events are an important part of their marketing strategy, and this will only increase amidst growing AI use, misinformation risk and media fragmentation. What matters now is bringing together the magic of events marketing with the science needed to drive better, more measurable results."

This wariness isn't stopping many from experimenting with AI, however. More than two-fifths (43%) of organisations are scaling their use of AI, while 37% are actively experimenting and 17% are using it cautiously. Moreover, nine in ten said the use of AI-generated content at their organisation has increased over the past 12 months. As marketers balance AI-enabled workflows with trusted marketing, 35% agree that transparency around AI use will be "critically important" to maintaining consumer trust.

Editor's notes

This report is based on independent primary research commissioned by Cvent and conducted by Censuswide, an independent market research consultancy and member of the Market Research Society (MRS).

The research was carried out using a quantitative online survey methodology. A total of 901 respondents participated, comprising Marketers and Event Planners/Professionals who hold responsibility for brand trust and consumer engagement within their organisations.

Fieldwork was conducted between 20 March and 31 March 2026 across 12 markets: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, India, and Singapore. Respondents were drawn from mid-market and enterprise organisations, defined as those with 250 or more employees, and were screened to ensure active involvement in brand strategy, customer experience, demand generation, channel strategy, or event planning and management.

The sample was structured to achieve representation across four key industry verticals: Technology, Financial Services, Life Sciences, and Associations & Non-Profits. Demographic splits were applied across seniority level and company headcount to enable segmented analysis.

Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC), and a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge. All research was conducted in adherence with the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles, ensuring the independence, accuracy, and integrity of the findings presented in this report.

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