The remaining fact sheets sharing key findings from the Changing Environment of Exhibitions Study were released at Expo! Expo! IAEE’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition.
“The overall findings from this study indicate that business-to-business exhibitions are an integral part of a company’s marketing mix today and will continue to be so in the near term,” said Nancy Drapeau. “We hope organizers use the results from this study to help in planning efforts aimed at assuring exhibitions are in line with what exhibitors are striving to achieve.”
Drapeau presented key findings from this study and was joined by veteran exhibition organizer Chuck Schwartz, CEM, chairman of ConvExx and SEMA exhibitor Scott Poncher, CEO and president of ReadyLift Suspensions Inc., at an education session held at Expo! Expo! Schwartz and Poncher shared their insights as to what this research means to their organizations and what actions they plan to take moving forward in light of these trends.
“These findings affirm that business-to-business exhibitions continue to be a medium that is hard to beat when done well,” said Schwartz. “Organizers can never rest on their laurels. To succeed, they need to work hard on each edition. They need to make sure they are bringing the right buyers and sellers to the show, keep content fresh, invest in efforts to bring in new buyers and sellers every year.”
In November, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) announced the release of results from The 2011 Changing Environment of Exhibitions Study, which explores how the exhibition industry is evolving and provides key market insights on opportunities and threats.
“This study points to the fact that companies are using more marketing tactics than ever before,” he said. “Companies have choices. Looking to the future, organizers need to hand hold exhibitors, help them manage and control costs. We are no longer just in the business of bringing visitors to the door, we need to help exhibitors succeed in bringing visitors to their booths We also need to integrate digital media that makes sense for our audiences for marketing, along with continued use of other conventional marketing tactics that make sense for our industries, such as print advertising or direct mail. “
Findings document the current and planned use of the full array of available marketing, communications and sales tactics; positioning of business-to-business exhibitions in this mix; current high priority marketing and sales objectives and perceived value of using business-to-business exhibitions to achieve them; as well as the factors that drive the decision to exhibit or pull out of an exhibition.
“Exhibiting at SEMA is a major event for our company,” said Poncher. “We use this event to showcase our new products for the year and the opportunity to promote our brand to the industry. We invest in a highly professional booth that attendees can walk through, that enables them to touch and feel our product displays of automotive parts and speak with the technical staff behind the product line. We also use high profile celebrities to draw traffic to our booth. This approach meets company goals with substantial lead generation.”
Further Insights on Where Business-to-Business Exhibitions Deliver Value
Fact sheet 3: Marketers Find Exhibitions an Essential Marketing and Sales Tactic
Fact sheet 5: Exhibitions Valued to Access Hard to Reach Industry Sectors
Fact sheet 8: Exhibitions Foster Business Relationships
Fact sheet 9: Use of Exhibitions and Direct Sales Channel
Profile Characteristics on Exhibitors in General and Frequent Exhibitors
Fact sheet 7: A Positive Outlook of an Industry or Company Linked to More Frequent Exhibition Activity
Fact sheet 10: Profile of Companies Participating in More Exhibitions
Access to all 10 fact sheets are available at http://www.ceir.org/ceir-thanks-you-for-attending.
