LONDON— Since the deal to combine UBM and Informa was finalized last June, the new company had been known as Informa Exhibitions, but much of its UBM branding stayed in place in Asia, particularly in China and Hong Kong. That is no longer the case. The division of Informa PLC created by the combination of UBM and Informa has been renamed and rebranded as Informa Markets as the public company continues to expand its product offerings beyond exhibitions.
“Informa Markets really brings to life the role we play helping to bring energy, opportunity, growth and success to the specialist markets our customers operate in, and to our customers’ businesses,” said Charlie McCurdy, CEO of Informa Markets.
The new name “acknowledges that companies who are exhibitors are more and more conscious of the interconnection of the spend for market access, including trade shows,” McCurdy said. “The more we can help companies organize their approach to the market and their customers and prospects, the better partner we can be to help them achieve their goals.”
“As we brought these two companies together over the course of the last year, we found we had an opportunity to recast these two strong brands into one consistent and shared identity,” McCurdy told Trade Show Executive. “What we do is bring healthy commercial activity to markets, verticals or industrial sectors. We have summarized this as being a ‘market maker,’ but there are more things we can do.”
After the deal closed last year, an extensive brand review began across the enterprise at all levels, including executive leadership, product management and customers. “It’s a pretty classic process of rebranding that involves everything from in-show on-site signage to office location signage and business cards,” McCurdy said.
With a portfolio of 550 B2B events, Informa Markets has a sizable presence in the world market, including the U.S. where the company organizes several Trade Show Executive Gold 100 shows, such as MAGIC, Licensing Expo and World of Concrete.
The company, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and part of the FTSE 100 Index, designed a new logo and launched a new corporate web site (www.InformaMarkets.com).
“Similar to how people and companies evolve, so has our brand identity,” said Richard Brook, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Informa Markets. “The new Informa Markets identity is a fantastic representation of what and who we are today, and how that will develop in the future as we continue to advance and provide platforms that facilitate connections and the best customer experience.”
To prepare for the roll-out, Brook and his team put together an extensive planning and communication strategy. “The brand is applied in multiple places, and we are a diverse organization serving multiple markets and communities around the world,” Brook said. “Creating an inventory of logos and references to the company was slightly challenging to say the least. The key is thinking through the impact on colleagues and doing it in sustainable way.”
Watch Informa Markets’ New Brand Identity Video
What changes will customers notice? “We already have a fairly robust digital lead gen business,” McCurdy said. “A good example is our North American aviation group, which is a substantial business that combines trade shows, digital, data and print to address the marketing needs of aviation industry. Throughout all markets, we are consciously and deliberately building up online connectivity between suppliers and buyers.”
McCurdy said the development of data- and digital-driven activities varies widely across the various specialist sectors they serve. “We are ramping up by supplementing our presence as an exhibition organizer with 365 connectivity,” he said.
With more than 4,400 colleagues based in more than 40 countries, Informa Markets will generate more than half of the revenues for Informa PLC, McCurdy said. In March, Informa reported 2018 revenues of around £2.4 billion (or $3.1 billion), with exhibition brands delivering underlying revenue growth of +6.7% for the full year. Full earning report: https://tinyurl.com/informaearnings18
Stephen A. Carter, Informa Group Chief Executive, alluded to the repositioning in his forward guidance.“In 2019, our focus is on continuing performance and growth as we consolidate our market positions and further reduce complexity,” he said. “This will enable us to make the most of our increased operating scale and industry specialization, creating attractive opportunities for incremental growth and returns.”
Reach Charlie McCurdy at +44 0 20 7017 5000 or Charlie.mccurdy@informa.com; Richard Brook at +971 4 407 2500 or Richard.Brook@informa.com.
