NEW MARKET, Md. — On August 13, 2026, events industry veteran Richard “Dick” Swandby passed away.
In 1963, Swandby founded Exhibit Surveys, Inc., which was the first company to independently measure the value of trade shows and exhibits exclusively.
“Dick gave me my start in the industry at Exhibit Surveys immediately after grad school,” Ian Sequeira, Principal at IKS Research & Insights, stated. “He was a great teacher and mentor. His support for the professional development of his staff was unmatched. Dick was passionate about data when it was not sought by many and understood by even fewer. His engineering background led to many trade show metrics which later became industry standards. Not surprisingly, he was recognized with almost every industry award. The loyalty of his staff and fondness for him (I stayed in touch with him to the end) was a testament to the man he was. I will not forget him. Godspeed, Dick.”
An Impactful Career
Exhibit Surveys helped marketing and exhibit managers who were being questioned by their senior management about the ROI of trade shows.
Swandby was a chemical engineer and MBA, and he used his strong technical background to develop a foundation for unbiased research using widely accepted market research methods and techniques.
Swandby’s measurement methodology quantified the potential value of a show to clients to help them optimize spending relative to total potential value, budget accordingly in the future to ensure a reasonable cost per visitor reached and identify which exhibiting tactics were driving ROI and which fell below the norm to optimize performance.
Specific data about exhibitors being measured was kept confidential, but Exhibit Surveys shared the overall audience demographics, attendee activity and buying power of the total audience with participating exhibitors and show organizers.
Many organizers began contracting customized research on their own with Exhibit Surveys as well.
The company quantified the value of more than 9,500 individual exhibits in more than 2,400 exhibitions, and produced over 20 studies for the Center for Exhibit Industry Research.
Swandby helped standardize many of the key audience quality and exhibit performance metrics used in organizer research and exhibitor measurement.
Key Audience Quality and Activity Indicators:
- Net Buying Influences: Percentage of audience with buying authority (final say, specify, recommend)
- Total Buying Plans: Percentage of attendees planning a purchase of products exhibited within 12 months following show
- Audience Interest Factor: Algorithm to determine percentage of attendees who visit at least two of every 10 major exhibits
- Potential for New Contacts: Average percentage of an exhibit’s visitors who have not had any personal contact with that company in year prior to show
- Average Hours Spent on Show Floor: Average amount of time spent on show floor by attendees
- Traffic Density: Algorithm that measures average number of attendees occupying every 100 square feet of exhibit space throughout the time period the show is open
Key Exhibit Performance Indicators:
- Exhibit Efficiency: Percentage of an exhibitor’s defined potential audience at the show who had meaningful contact with their exhibit (stopped to talk to a rep, watched demo, requested follow-up)
- Visitor Quality: Percentage of booth visitors with product interest, buying plans and buying influence for exhibitor’s products/services
- Exhibit Staff Performance: Percentage of booth visitors who rate the staff performance good, fair or poor
- Memorability: Percentage of visitors who stop at an exhibit and remember doing so eight to 10 weeks following the show
Swandby was celebrated for his impact and service by a variety of organizations, including the International Association of Exhibitions and Events and Exhibit Designers and Producers Association. He was also recognized by the Events Industry Council’s Hall of Leaders.
Swandby retired in 2005 and was succeeded by Jonathan “Skip” Cox as CEO and owner of Exhibit Surveys.
In May 2016, the organization was acquired by Freeman.
This article’s featured image was enhanced in quality with AI.
