Budget pressures and demonstrating event ROI to senior leadership are the greatest internal challenges for exhibition organisers, according to a new state of the industry report.
However, exhibitions remain a valued sales and marketing channel among
event teams and their senior leadership.
The Exhibit Leader Insights Report 2023, by Explori,
Exhibitor Group, and The Exhibitor Advocate, also reveals that the global
inflation situation, along with increasing exhibit costs, are changing the way
spend is distributed between events or decreasing per-event spend on in-person
events for 2023.
Budget cuts for exhibit-related activities are looming for
those who are struggling to clearly demonstrate exhibit ROI against business
and commercial objectives.
Mark Brewster, CEO of Explori, said: “Many of our clients
amongst both exhibition organisers and corporate event teams have expressed
real concerns over the current inflationary conditions.
“There is little doubt that the demand for 'in-person' is
high and trade shows have bounced back with a vengeance. However, the research
identifies a friction between the spiralling costs of exhibit programs and
pressures on budgets with the absence of measurement data on the real value
exhibitions have on achieving business objectives.”
Key findings from the report shed light on the dynamic
nature of exhibit marketing in 2023.
- 94 per cent of the exhibitors we surveyed expect some
level of change to their exhibit programs in the next three years.
- 82 per cent of those planning to exhibit at fewer
in-person shows said exhibit-related costs were a factor in their decision.
- 61 per cent of exhibitors say that previous experience at
a show is a key factor in their decision to exhibit.
- Exhibitors’ inability to demonstrate event ROI to senior
leadership is the greatest internal challenge after budget pressures.
- While many senior leaders view exhibits as a valuable
marketing channel, 30 per cent are now unconvinced that they are essential.
The report, which is now available for download, was conducted by live event research
specialists Explori among 255 exhibit marketers currently running event programmes for organisations
of all sizes covering a range of industries.
