DALLAS — The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released its 2026 Marketing Spend Decision Report, examining how exhibitors are allocating marketing budgets across channels, their motivations for trade show participation, how they measure ROI and their outlook for the year.
The report provides clear benchmarks for organizers by breaking down exhibitor marketing spend patterns by annual budget size — under $250,000, $250,000-$749,900 and $750,000 or more — so they can better understand how different types of exhibitors allocate resources.
Trade Show Executive (TSE) spoke with Nancy Drapeau, IPC, CEIR’s Vice President of Research, about these findings.
“This report affirms the continued importance of the B2B exhibition channel for exhibiting companies, both before the pandemic and today,” Drapeau said. “For organizations where face-to-face engagement is integral to marketing and sales, exhibitions remain a core investment that delivers value. Ultimately, there’s no more compelling signal of effectiveness than where marketers choose to allocate their finite marketing dollars.”
Trade Shows Still Dominate the B2B Marketing Budget and Exhibitor Confidence Has Rebounded
The report determined that 40.8% of exhibitor marketing budgets goes to B2B exhibiting, making it the No. 1 channel.
Also, Net Promoter Scores (NPS) went from -6 in 2021 to 35 today.
“Even as exhibitors expand their use of digital channels within integrated marketing strategies, in‑person, face‑to‑face exhibitions remain their single largest marketing investment,” Drapeau explained. “At times there’s concern that the value of exhibitions may be eroding, but this study indicates the opposite — the channel remains strong, a view reinforced by solid NPS results.”
Drapeau added that this finding aligns with other CEIR reports, underscoring the high value placed on show-floor engagement and intent to return.
“The enduring demand for face‑to‑face connection highlights a significant opportunity for organizers who stay focused on delivering the right audiences and experiences for exhibitors and attendees in a market that continues to value live engagement,” Drapeau said.
Exhibitions Are the Hub of an Integrated Strategy — Look Out for the Interaction Between Digital and In-Person
Three-quarters of exhibitors invest in digital channels alongside exhibitions — and CEIR’s report tracks which digital tactics are gaining ground.
Its findings challenge a simple “digital vs. live” dichotomy and point towards an ecosystem model where exhibitions are the anchors of broader marketing campaigns.
“For organizers, this reinforces that B2B exhibitions are not standalone tactics, but central components of broader, integrated marketing and sales strategies, creating opportunities to better align event offerings with how exhibitors go to market today,” Drapeau said. “It speaks to the importance of providing exhibitors with marketing support services that include digital options for pre-event, onsite and post-show marketing purposes.”
Related. Industry Research Highlights Attendee Acquisition Challenges and Opportunities
Drapeau explained that the interaction between digital and in-person is a key, ongoing trend to watch.
“Digital can be used effectively to support in-person exhibiting, to help exhibitors maximize outcomes when engaging in-person and then amplify messaging and engagement with others unable to attend the show for the broadest impact that extends beyond show days, for engagement that can continue 24/7, 365 days a year,” Drapeau added. “Nothing new here, though it affirms the evolution continues and speaks to the resilience and ongoing importance of the B2B exhibition channel.”
Exhibitor Participation Strategies for 2026 Reflect Measured Decision-Making
“After strong momentum in 2025, when 40% of exhibitors added events to their annual programs, sentiment in 2026 points to a more measured outlook,” Drapeau said. “Most exhibitors plan to maintain their current level of event participation, while nearly 30% still expect to add events. A smaller share are beginning to pay closer attention to costs and ROI as they plan ahead, influenced by inflation and broader economic uncertainty — factors also reflected in the latest CEIR Index and forthcoming Organizer Performance Benchmarking insights.”
CEIR asserts that most exhibitors plan to hold show counts steady, and booth sizes have remained stable for years. However, a subset of high-budget exhibitors is driving disproportionate growth in participation volume.
Sales Metrics Dominate How Management Evaluates Exhibition ROI, with Lead Volume and Post-Show Closed Deals Ranking Highest
The report details the timelines that exhibitors use to attribute sales to events and sheds light on the gap between what practitioners track and what leadership cares about.
“The findings in this report are highly practical for both organizers and exhibitors, and we encourage organizers to share it with their exhibiting customers,” Drapeau said. “It gives exhibitors the ability to benchmark their marketing spend against peers … so brand marketers and exhibit program managers can better assess whether their investments are aligned with similar organizations. The results also invite exhibitors to reflect on how they support their exhibit programs through training and planning, and how organizer‑provided marketing tools and services can help maximize outcomes, particularly as integrated marketing continues to be the norm among exhibiting companies.”
Do you want to learn more?
On May 12, 2026, CEIR is hosting a webinar where Drapeau and Adam Sacks, President, Tourism Economics, and will share insights from CEIR’s Index and more reports. Find out more about it here.
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