Dallas, TX – Exhibitions deliver on exhibitor sales and marketing objectives, according to a new report by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR). In fact, 90% of exhibitors surveyed said exhibitions build or expand brand awareness while 85% said exhibitions deliver new sales leads.
The study, “2016 Changing Environment of Exhibitions,” offers research on exhibitor use of the exhibition channel, its positioning in the marketing mix, and perceptions of exhibitors on key issues that can impact the use of exhibitions today and in the future.
More good news: 40% of brand marketers are participating in more exhibitions today than they were several years ago, according to the report. Looking forward, 57% of exhibitors said they will maintain their current level of participation while 24% will continue to add exhibitions to their schedule.
An update to research conducted in 2011, the study consists of 10 fact sheets on the power of exhibitions from the perspective of exhibitors. CEIR has released the first two reports, “Exhibitions Are Highly Valued in Achieving Marketing and Sales Objectives” and “Marketers Intend to Maintain or Expand Number of Exhibitions.”
Other key takeaways from these two reports include the following:
Top marketing objectives for exhibitors. Of those surveyed, the top four marketing objectives include building or expanding brand awareness (80%), reinforcing brand awareness (65%), and targeting business sector promotions (59%) and new product or service promotions (56%).
Exhibitions deliver on marketing objectives. Of those surveyed, 87% said that exhibitions deliver value for new product launches, while 90% said that exhibitions reinforce brand awareness.
Top sales objectives for exhibitors. Exhibitors report that their top three sales objectives are relationship management and engagement efforts with customers (76%), relationship management with key accounts and prospective customers (64%), and generating sales leads (64%).
Exhibitions provide value for sales. More than three-quarters (77%) of exhibitors said that exhibitions support existing customer relationship management and engagement, while 87% said that exhibitions support relationship management and engagement with prospective customers.
“CEIR is pleased to have secured funding to repeat this important trend study,” said Brian Casey, CEM, President & CEO of CEIR. “We were able to capture a representative sample of the industry through the cooperation of the general service contractors that allowed us to poll their exhibitor customers.”
The “2016 Changing Environment of Exhibitions” study was sponsored by the Exhibit Designers + Producers Association (EDPA), Group Delphi and Sho-Link.
CEIR surveyed executives who are involved in the decision to exhibit at business-to-business exhibitions. Target companies included those that had exhibited in at least one business-to-business exhibition in the past two years. The sample was provided by Fern, Freeman, Hargrove, and Shepard. A total of 586 executives participated for a response rate of 3%. The total results are statistically reliable at the 95% confidence level with a margin of error of plus or minus 4%.
The reports are available for download from the CEIR website. Members can download the reports for free, and nonmembers may purchase each report for $49.
Reach Brian Casey at (469) 503-3583 or bcasey@ceir.org
