Naturally, we at PerformanceIN are getting excited about next week’s a4uexpo, how could we not be with such a diverse line up? But what is more evident this year is the geographic differences between attendees.

Sure, last year’s attendees at the a4uexpo Barcelona flew in from many countries, but this year we are seeing more knowledge-thirsty performance marketing professionals fly in from further afield.

From the Middle East and Japan to Australia, Russia, Singapore, Canada and South Africa, this year is set to be a truly global event.

Notable Trends

In terms of the top regions, naturally the UK is up there, followed by Germany, Holland, France, the US and Israel. But PerformanceIN’s managing director, Sarah Parsonage, said notable trends include more people flying in from the US, Canada and Israel.

While Parsonage said the variety of global attendees is pleasing, this is what she had anticipated, due to the rate at which the industry is growing.

“It is great to see that following six months of big changes for us – with our rebrand and US debut; Performance Marketing Insights New York, that our fifth European event is attracting and reaching even more of a global audience,” Parsonage said.

In terms of other locations, the event also has attendees from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and Turkey.

“While traditionally the majority of attendees may come from the UK, Germany and other European countries, it is clear to see that this is shifting and while we still have plenty flying in from these areas, other countries are catching up.” Parsonage said.

“This shows that other countries are really upping their game and are wanting to improve their knowledge of the booming performance marketing industry, to learn from the top level experts – and of course to network with advertisers, publishers, networks and agencies from across the globe.”

Top-level Attendees

The two-day event, which is set to be rebranded to Performance Marketing Insights Europe after this event, is aimed at top level professionals working within the flourishing performance marketing industry.

The vast majority of attendees at this year’s a4uexpo Europe are chief executive officers and managing directors, followed by directors, business development managers, account directors and affiliate managers.

As well as an eagerly anticipated session on ‘Dual-Screening and the Convergence of Engagement’ with keynote speaker Deann Harvey, VP of EMEA at DG, there are more than 30 other sessions and panels covering topics such as Personalisation Conversion Tactics, Affiliate Mobile 101, Extreme SEO, New Media Traffic Acquisition Strategies, Fashion in Performance Marketing, Big Data, Successful Email Campaigns for the Multi-channel Age –and more.

The event, which is sponsored by the likes of Tradedoubler, zanox, affilinet, Fruzzel, VIP Online Media, Kwanko, Commission Junction and Webgains, takes place at the Hotel Okura in Amsterdam next Tuesday and Wednesday.