While attending Globalshop, the annual U.S. version of the Euroshop Retail Trade Show, I noticed a common trend as I walked the aisles.  I was surrounded by booth staff  who were more content to look at their cell phones or talk to their colleagues than to engage attendees like me.  If only exhibitors understood the value of well trained booth staff and how they can impact trade show ROI.

 

I may be the least qualified person in the industry to comment on the state of trade show exhibiting but hey!…it’s my blog!  So here goes...

I’m on my way back from Exhibitor 2013, the annual trade show for trade show displays and exhibiting.  From my time spent in Las Vegas, here are some surface takeaways:

• Lots of back lit fabric graphics

• Fewer hanging trade show signs.  Designers are building more from the ground up to avoid the rigging costs.

• Trade show lead management and pre/at/post show promotional products are maturing.

• More cantilevered exhibit designs due to the light weight graphics and evolution of new architecture.

Behind the scenes there were many comments about a tight market, especially on either coast.  Conversely the middle of the country seems to holding its own, with manufacturers still exhibiting to show their stuff.

At two recent event marketing and trade show exhibit industry conferences (EventTech in NYC and the annual Exhibit Designers + Producers Association (EDPA) meeting in Palm Springs, California) the new world of cooperative competition or “coopetition” was clearly evident.  This was most clearly illustrated during the awards ceremony at EventTech.   Awards were given in more than 10 project categories ranging from “Best Online Program” to “Best Live Event”.  None of the awards were given to a single event marketing or trade show exhibit company however.  As the nominees and eventual winners were flashed on the screen each project featured at least two and often three or four collaborative firms who partnered to produce a successful program. 

What did this show?

Face-to-Face Marketing – Both attendance and number of trade show exhibitors is again trending upwards.  The CES show had its best year ever on both fronts, with an increasing number of international exhibitors coming from Europe and the Far East.

Measurement – As budgets continue to come under scrutiny, the CFOs of companies are asking for

At the 2011 Exhibit Designers and Producers Association (EDPA) annual meeting everyone in attendance was there for at least one reason…to hear about how others in the trade show exhibit industry are doing.  Call it what you want but everyone wants to hear about everyone else's business as a way to measure the relative health of their own.  When someone tells you “Things are slow, new customers are rare and trade show budgets are tightening” you feel an instant rush of “Oh, so I’m not the only one” followed by “Oh boy.  Another struggling business.”  Occasionally however you’d have someone say things like “Everything’s good.  We had a great 2011 and looking forward to an even better 2012.”  So, after a moment of loathing and envy because they seem to be doing better than you, you’re actually encouraged that someone in the trade show display industry is actually doing better and that means there’s hope!  End result…the room was filled with conflicted people not knowing if they were happy or sad.

 

The Consumer Electronics Show, just concluded in Las Vegas, was the largest in the history of the annual trade show conference.  Great news for those of us in the trade show exhibit and event marketing business.  Attendance was up from last year, and there were more exhibitors taking up more floor space than ever.  Given the trends of the recent past this is truly and encouraging sign, and the hope is it will be evidenced in trade shows and industry events for the rest of 2012.

At the same time, Microsoft Corporation has announced this was its last CES trade show exhibit.  After careful ROI analysis Microsoft has determined that ...

I spent six plus long days recently setting up and then working a trade show exhibit.  Was the show a success?  Depends who you ask.  I survived standing on carpeted cement for 6 days, so by that measure my survival was a success.  But how about the exhibitors?  Did they walk away with results that made the collective $12,000,000 spent by the exhibiting companies worthwhile?  Do they even know?