DALLAS — The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released the final two parts of its Maximizing Attendee and Exhibitor Engagement on the Exhibition Floor series: Exhibition Learning Activities Outside Exhibit Booths and How Organizers Evaluate Outcomes and Future Outlook.
Trade Show Executive sat down with Nancy Drapeau, IPC, CEIR’s Vice President of Research, to learn what these reports — which are based on research from the perspectives of exhibitors and exhibition organizers active in the North American B2B exhibitions industry — say about show floor learning opportunities, organizer strategies and more vital industry topics.
Part Seven: Exhibition Learning Activities Outside Exhibit Booths
Part Seven dives into learning opportunities that are integrated into common areas on an exhibition floor. According to CEIR, 80% of organizers offer at least one option and 50% of exhibitors have sponsored at least one option in the past two years.
“It zeroes in on what can be done to support the interests of attendees that are coming for education,” Drapeau said. “It has always been an important motivation and we’re looking at what content is apt to be most popular and generate high attendee volume, and what might gain sponsorship dollars to underwrite the expense of providing that valuable offering on the show floor … For those who are interested in thought leadership opportunities, this provides insights on the topics and the format approaches to consider.”
The report supplies examples of educational opportunities in show floor common areas, the percentage of organizers who include particular formats, organizer perceptions of a format’s attendee use and exhibitor participation in specific formats.
Educational Formats
- Hands-on workshops
- One-on-one meetings with subject matter experts
- Hands-on skills training and certification
- Learning labs
- Presenter discussion and audience feedback
- An education theatre or stage area
- A re-run of sessions on a video wall
An education theatre or stage area was used by the highest percentage of organizers (46%) while a re-run of sessions on a video wall was used by the lowest (7%).
An education theatre or stage area had the highest percentage of organizer-perceived attendee high use (80%) and learning labs had the lowest (60%).
The largest number of exhibitors participated in a presenter discussion with audience feedback (15%) in the past two years and the lowest (3%) participated in a re-run of sessions on a video wall.
This report also explores the focus and duration of types of show floor education sessions.
Session Topics and Length
Sessions that were short, 30-minutes-or-less and focused on hot trends or new products were used the most by organizers (34%) while longer, 45-minute sessions, focused on professional development or new products, were used the least (18%).
Sessions that were short, 30-minutes-or-less and focused on hot trends saw the largest amount of organizer-perceived attendee high use (69%) while sessions that were short, 30-minutes-or-less, and focused on professional development saw the lowest (59%).
Drapeau asserted the power of covering hot industry trends, adding that it can help attendees focus on longer-than-average sessions.
“It’s always a big motivator,” Drapeau explained. “People’s attention spans are shrinking, but you can get away with a 45-minute session, even passive, if it’s on a hot industry trend that professionals care about … Organizers need to keep in mind what attendees want.”
Additionally, the report determined that the largest percentage of organizers (49%) offered education sessions in a medium-sized space on the show floor, with seating for 31 to 99 people, while the smallest (12%) offered a one-on-one or small-group setting.
Related. New CEIR Report Explores the Future of Exhibiting
Part Eight: How Organizers Evaluate Outcomes and Future Outlook
This report details robust evaluation processes that organizers use to measure outcomes and guide planning, while looking at how they are seeking to improve and change.
CEIR determined that 90% of organizers evaluate the outcome of attendee engagement offerings and identify areas to enhance. Additionally, 52% of organizers are interested in new models and layouts, and 88% of organizers have multiple sources that they use for new idea generation — 85% of organizers use B2B/B2C shows for inspiration, 58% use vendors and 45% use other consumer settings.
“You need to give memorable experiences … [and] focus on maximizing all aspects of the physical experience,” Drapeau said. “It’s about looking at different models or ways to engage to make that face-to-face setting the best that it can be.”
Metrics Used to Evaluate Attendee Engagement Efforts
- Tracking attendee counts and behaviors — used by 86% of organizers
- Sentiment assessment — used by 80% of organizers
- Feedback mechanisms — used by 75% of organizers
- Social media metrics — used by 42% of organizers
- Membership renewals — used by 10% of organizers
CEIR also investigated how organizers plan to improve or enhance their attendee engagement approaches.
Ways to Improve or Enhance Approach
- Using digital tools, AI and analytics — 68%
- Networking enhancement — 66%
- General engagement tactics — 58%
- Product engagement enhancement — 55%
- Learning enhancements — 53%
- Reorganizing the show floor — 41%
“Entertainment is important and there’s a focus on trying to kick it up a notch in terms of the fun factor. This is an area of interest that organizers want to enhance,” Drapeau said.
The report also provides potential new models and floor layouts to enhance attendee engagement, comparing organizer interest with exhibitor interest.
CEIR asserts that 33% of organizers and exhibitors believe that the trade show model works and are not considering other models, while 16% of organizers, and 22% of exhibitors, are interested in formats that exclude standard pipe-and-drape, and feature an exhibition floor that connects attendees and exhibitors differently.
Twenty-six percent of organizers are interested in a hosted-buyer, one-on-one format, while 16% of exhibitors are.
Four percent of organizers and 5% of exhibitors are interested in virtual trade shows that occur completely online.
The full report series can be found here.
Click here to find more takeaways from Nancy Drapeau.
Want more content like this? Subscribe to Trade Show Executive’s weekly newsletter for the hottest news, case studies and thought leadership in the industry.
