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At a recent Senior Executive Roundtable meeting hosted by IAEE in Boston, panelists identified several shifts that are contributing to a changing trade show environment. One of these shifts is the recognition by exhibitors that they need to market their participation more proactively pre-, on-site and post-event; and that show organizers need to promote their shows more aggressively to a larger universe of buyers.

The vast number of exhibitors will readily admit that they don’t do enough pre-show promotions to their customers and prospects. Same for post-show follow-up with leads. Since booth traffic is a direct result of pre-show promotions - what’s the solution? A strategic e-mail campaign, together with a PR, advertising and Social Media outreach will ensure the desired in-booth impact. At a minimum, utilizing show organizers’ exhibitor pre-show marketing tools are an easily accessible, first-step solution. But the age-old question is how do we get them to make such a commitment?

Clearly, it’s a two-way street. With a saturated US-domestic market, and most industries having gone through extensive consolidation, show organizers will need to expand their buyer outreach to include new prospect categories and especially non-US buyers. After all, 95% of the world’s population lives outside of the US, so there is a big pond to fish from. These highly diverse buying audiences will have varying needs of how they want to be reached, so both traditional and non-traditional promotional techniques will need to be employed ranging from advertising, PR and especially new promotional platforms possible through Social Media, including new mobile technologies.

To read the full story about ‘Does the Exhibition Industry Need a Makeover?’ in the August 4 issue of MeetingsNet, click here. Contact me for more information at +1.312.332 4650 X 23 or bhalligan@h-a-intl.com.