What’s Working in Trade Show Exhibiting

Skyline Displays and Tradeshow Week recently surveyed 173 exhibitors to find out how they have adjusted their trade show marketing strategy to get the best results during difficult economic times. The white paper can be requested from Skyline and it’s well worth your time to review.

Some interesting highlights from the survey:

• Smaller regional shows (39% of respondents) and big national shows (37%) are more successful for reaching target audiences than vertical market shows (13%) or private events (4%).

• On average, the exhibitors surveyed are attending 2.2 fewer shows per year. They would also rather cut shows than booth space (47%), which indicates a more focused approach to trade show attendance. I.E. fewer shows targeted at specific audiences to maximize Return on Investment (ROI).

• And even if exhibitors were forced to attend fewer shows because of reduced budgets, they were more diligent on measuring the results from those select shows. 58% measure lead counts, 44% measure sales revenue generated and 40% were measuring ROI. Overall, 70% of exhibitors had some form of measurement to determine if their trade show marketing strategy was effective.

• Improved pre-show marketing (direct mail at 21% and email at 20%) were the key methods used to increase results.

• Giveaways and drawings (37%) were the most effective promotion at the show, while discounts (12%) and demonstrations (11%) were less effective.

• Trade show graphics were also changed to improve show results. Bright, simple graphics with a clear message were the trend. Overall booth design also changed to be more open and less cluttered with an emphasis on specific products. See previous blog post on the subject of trade booth design.