What Exhibitors Need to Know

Information is power. Today, exhibitors need more information about a show’s attendee base before deciding to exhibit. We recently asked a cross section of exhibitors how they select shows, and the No. 1 factor named in their answers was attendee demographics. The second most common factor was tradition, followed by whether “competitors are there.”

Less than half of exhibitors said that issues such as lead-gathering opportunities, attendance numbers and projections drove their decisions to exhibit. And even fewer, only 36 percent, said a show’s expected ROI and ROO opportunities were key factors.

Show producers have to prove who attends and quantify attendees’ purchasing power and influence. This is partially driven by the rise of the Web as a marketing medium. Online marketing is all about metrics and real-time tracking. Increasingly, show producers will have to provide more data on past and projected attendees along with demographic and psychographic information.

As one exhibitor said, referring to percentage breakdown of titles, job responsibility, purchasing power, company and employee size, etc., “Specific demographics on attendees has become a necessity.”

Another said, “I need lots of detailed information very early. In fact, a year before your conference, I’m going to need lots of attendee and demographic data, costs and benefits of exhibiting and sponsorships to even consider your show for my exhibition marketing plan.”

Corporate spending on events – in fact, on all marketing – is being compared to the cost and value of online and digital marketing. According to one exhibitor, “senior management is interested in metric dashboards and year-to-year comparisons.”

In other words, the Web is becoming a tougher competitor to exhibitions. A recent TSW exhibitor survey found that 36 percent of exhibitors said some of their event marketing funds have been shifted to other marketing mediums in 2007. Previous surveys over the last few years had found this percentage to be closer to the mid- to high 20-percent range. The bulk of these shifted funds are going to Web site and e-mail marketing.

This means that exhibit and sponsorship sales are getting more complex. Show producers need to sell both as a complement to and against the Internet.

Besides titles, type of organization and budget size, these are the things top exhibitors, more and more frequently, will need to know about your attendees:

• Where do they come from?
• How long do they stay?
• What do they do at the show?
• How do they like to receive information?
• How do they feel about particular types of products and services?
• What is the best way to reach them and make an impact at the event?

Marketing exhibit space based on whether competitors are there, and on the idea that major tradeshows represent the “industry all in on place” will always be powerful. But the need for more details on attendees and buyers is transforming the exhibition industry into a more quantitative marketing medium.