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Rising Demand for Trade Shows to Continue Into 2007
Exhibitors gear up to spend more in the new year, all in the name of landing new leads.
from AICPA Custom Media Solutions

With the advent of Webcasts, Webinars, podcasts and blogs, if you think you should let the sleeping dinosaur of trade shows be — guess again. More and more advertisers are reaching deeper into their pockets and gearing up to expand their trade show expense in 2007.

According to a recent survey conducted by Expo Magazine and Exhibit Surveys, Inc., trade show organizers plan to spend 17 percent of their budgets on “attendee marketing” in 2007. And Expo’s B2B Media’s Trends & Forecast Report reveals, “Spending on trade shows, which has been outpacing b-to-b magazine spending since the beginning of the decade, is forecasted to surpass magazine spending by 2009.” Research shows that at the largest shows, the number of attendees has grown by 68 percent, while booth sales have gone up by 59 percent.

While there has been a substantial price hike in exhibit space rentals this year, it doesn’t seem to have deterred show organizers, notes Tradeshow Week. According to recent research by Tradeshow Week, show organizers are expecting, on average, over 12,000 attendees at their conferences. In answer to the question, “How much total revenue did your largest exhibition generate in 2006?” The median was $1.5 million.

What Your Peers and the Numbers Say

Association shows earn more. Notes expoweb, “The average gross revenue for association shows is 17 percent higher than for shows produced by independent show producers.” However, they have also found that for all types of conferences, “more than two-thirds of revenue comes from booth sales and sponsorships.” By firm type, associations garnered 55 percent in booth sales in 2006, compared with 70 percent by independent firms.

Tradeshow Week recently conducted a survey of 223 exhibitors and here are some of their responses:

According to the survey respondents, 41 percent of them increased their marketing budget this year, while 21 percent decreased it. The survey respondents overwhelmingly (84%) agreed that trade show marketing is part of their company’s overall sales and marketing integrated plan. Three out of four (76%) of the survey respondents said they had participated in one to 10 conferences during the year.

And the trend in face-to-face marketing continues to grow. “In-person events are a crucial element of the marketplace,” according to Forrester Report. “In-person events are considered the number one marketing tactic used to effectively build brand image and generate qualified leads,” the report added. Reports American Business Media, “Valued for their ability to raise product awareness, trade shows drive executives to seek additional information on a product either on the Web (77%), by talking to a sales person (73%) or by calling a 1-800 number (40%).”

The numbers don't lie: trade shows and events continue to be considered a vital part of business and industry.