After facing the challenges of reduced travel following 9/11 and event-spend cutbacks during the subsequent business slowdown, event marketing has rebounded magnificently. According to Promotion Marketing Association/PROMO magazine, expenditures on sponsorships, shows, conferences and other event activities grew by 15% in 2003 to over $140 billion. A new thought leadership study, entitled "Staging & Gauging: Do Events Pay Off?" was recently released by The CMO Council in association with the Computer Event Marketing Association (CEMA). While the clear majority of CMOs polled said they played an active role in mapping and evaluating event programs, just 39% of event managers said their CMOs played such an active role.