A recent study released by the Exhibit & Event Marketers Association (E2MA) has stirred up quite a buzz. The research shared in “Enhancing Exhibitor Value Enables Show Growth” demonstrates that 67 percent of exhibit costs (including space, labor and drayage) are negotiated by show organizers and need to be simplified, or else eliminated. Because so many costs are unknown at the time the contract for booth space is signed, E2MA proposes those fees need to be better disclosed so that exhibitors can have more control over their budgets.
{NOTE: Since the this was published, the E2MA has ceased to exist, so all of the above links are gone – Sorry!}
In show news:
- Outdoor Retailer will be staying put in Salt Lake City for now (at least through 2016), likely due in part to recent state approval of a $2.66 million grant to build an exhibition tent near the Salt Palace Convention Center.
- Surf Expo broke records this month in Orlando, where more than 26,000 attendees came to see 2,500 brands.
- The Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) and International Builders Show (IBS) will co-locate in Las Vegas beginning in 2014, providing the opportunity to boost attendance at two shows in the housing industry, which was hit hard by the economy these past few years.
For those who travel more than a few nights a year to trade shows, the latest data released by the U.S. Travel Association may leave you scratching your head. According to their research, travel has a positive effect on health, relationships, and business performance. It’s likely most trade show road warriors would take issue with those first two aspects. Perhaps that group wasn’t included in the study …
And here’s a creative way to get conference attendees engaged: NMX (a conference for bloggers and podcasters) had a “make-your-own” infographic worksheet that attendees could customize based on their experience and share online.
