The way B2B professionals buy has dramatically changed, but our dependency on expo revenue hasn’t. There are two primary segments that leverage the traditional exhibit business model — conferences with an expo and expos with a conference. Based on our deep analysis of dozens of shows, the former are the event business models being disrupted most. From our view, most industry mega-shows continue to thrive. The slow death of expo revenue is not an indicator that meetings don’t mean business any … [Read more...]
Exhibitor Priority Points System that Rewards Loyalty
Your Points System Should Influence Current Spend Decisions Like any storefront business, exhibitor booth selection is heavily influence by three factors: location, location, location. Most trade-show organizers use a priority-points system to help determine the order of booth-space selection for next year’s expo and their system has been in place for quite a while. Over the past couple of years, we’ve studied dozens of priority-point models to formulate best practices for progressive expos. … [Read more...]
These Factors Contribute To Your Exposition’s Health
Tradeshows have just experienced the highest quarterly increase in eight years says the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR). The Q1 2015 CEIR Index report marks the 19th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth in the exhibitions arena. Revenue jumped 7.3 percent, net square feet grew 4.1 percent, exhibitor numbers increased 3.3 percent, and attendance grew 3.7 percent. How does your exhibition stack up? If you’re like any of the B2B conferences that we’ve analyzed, you are … [Read more...]
Could Old School Exhibitors Damage Your Expo Brand?
I just Googled "Trade Show Sales Tips" and retrieved 2+ million results. No big surprise, as hardly a week goes by without spotting articles like these. Unfortunately, the people who need to read these articles never do. Does Acceptance Of All Exhibitors Come At A Cost? Some expo floors are run like well-oiled machines, where every element is inspected and perfected to ensure high satisfaction for both attendees and exhibitors. Others copy last year's playbook, rinse and repeat. Often … [Read more...]
Leeches, Poachers And Outboarders: Controversial Tradeshow Challenges
Recently, Rick Calvert, CEO & Co-Founder of Blogworld & New Media Expo, wrote How Suitcasing and Outboarding Harm Events. The post attempts to tackle two very controversial challenges for our industry: suitcasing and outboarding. Go ahead and take a few minutes to read Rick’s entire blog post and leave a comment with your opinions or support. I’ll wait here while you read and comment. It’ll be worth it. Defining Suitcasing and Outboarding To make sure we are all on … [Read more...]
Getting Your Sponsors To Trigger Their Sponsorships
A trend we're seeing is that exhibitors are requiring less square footage and shifting dollars to other sponsorship opportunities. Conference organizers need to think about how to convert exhibitor's marketing dollars into sponsorship opportunities that benefit attendees. The Shift From Exhibiting To Sponsorships This shift requires a more strategic and consultative sales approach. Many conference organizers confuse sponsorship with advertising or promotion. While a custom sponsorship … [Read more...]
Priority Points, On-Site Booth Sales And The NFL Draft
A couple of weeks ago, Kevin Johnstone, director of Tradeshows at the National Association of Music Manufacturers, started a LinkedIn discussion about priority point programs and on-site booth sales. Tom Corcoran, Owner of Corcoran Expositions, Inc. , added my favorite reply to the thread. “Two benefits to holding your space pick for next year on,-site, is the competition factor between exhibitors which often results in increased sales. The other is the team aspect as many companies show up … [Read more...]
Six Suspicious Tradeshow Areas That Need Exposing
Note from Jeff: Dave Lutz is on a rant. A good one in my opinion and all meeting and event professionals, nonprofit organizations and associations, and tradeshow organizers should heed his advice. It's time for the meetings and tradeshow industry to be more transparent about add-on fees, kickbacks, payouts and relationships. Here's his post that first appeared on TSNN. Read Dave's rant. If you dare. TSAE's Red Diamond Congress White Paper Causing A Stir Have you been paying attention to … [Read more...]