2023 Exhibit Leader Insights
Trade shows still work. Exhibitors and their leadership teams believe in the channel, and value it more than they did before the pandemic. But this research, conducted with Exhibitor Advocate and Exhibitor Magazine, surfaces a squeeze that has only intensified since: exhibitors are caught between rising costs they attribute to the industry itself, and top-down pressure to cut budgets.
The bind is that the channel they believe in is the one they find hardest to defend. Exhibitors know exhibitions deliver value; they cannot quantify it well enough to protect the budget. When 94% expect to change their programme within three years and cost is the deciding factor, the shows that cannot evidence their worth are the ones that get cut.
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What the research shows
Exhibitors believe in the channel, and so do their leadership teams.
71% are satisfied with trade shows as a marketing channel, 67% as a sales channel. Seven in ten agree their leadership sees exhibits as a valuable, irreplaceable part of the marketing mix.
Cost is the number one factor in the decision to exhibit.
Above previous experience at the show, above expected lead quality, above every other consideration. 82% of those planning to exhibit at fewer shows cited exhibit-related costs as a factor.
Exhibitors blame the industry, not the economy.
67% say exhibit-related costs are rising faster than other costs in their organisation. They attribute this to venue costs, contractor fees and organiser fees, not to inflation, energy prices or wider economic pressures.
Three in four exhibitors feel pressure to cut event budgets, most of it from senior leadership.
Yet relatively few are working directly with exhibition organisers (28%) or their own leadership (24%) to find solutions, the two groups they are caught between.
Proving ROI is the second-biggest internal challenge, after budget itself.
43% cite difficulty demonstrating exhibit value as a top-three internal challenge over the next three years.
The data exhibitors need most is the data they get least.
Attendee objectives, buying-cycle information and profiling data are rated as highly important but poorly available. The gap is widest on buying cycles: 79% say it matters, 29% rate its availability as good.
94% expect their exhibiting programme to change within three years.
Most anticipate redistributing spend, exhibiting at different events, and cutting per-event spend. Only 15% expect to increase per-event spend.
Digital survey of exhibit leaders, January 2023, conducted in partnership with Exhibitor Advocate and Exhibitor Magazine. 98% of respondents held decision-making power or advisory influence over trade show participation. Respondents spanned manufacturing, medical, fashion, energy and other sectors, and organisations from under 25 to over 5,000 employees.
Standardised exhibitor and visitor benchmarks going back to 2017.
Research designed around your question.
Explori runs bespoke research programmes for organisations that need to answer a specific question about their events or their market. If this kind of evidence would be useful in your business, our Managed Services team can design and run it.