Conferences, Tradeshows Still King of Marketing Budgets

With airline traffic down and hotels working overtime to woo guests, it’s surprising to learn that businesses still allocate a whopping 25 percent of their marketing budgets to conferences and trade shows, says Page Ballenger of Exhibit Resources in Raleigh. Citing studies from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), Ballenger says face-to-face marketing at trade shows and conferences thrives—despite the recession and despite abundant opportunities for lower-cost, “new media” outlets.

Unlike online marketing, exhibit marketing is personal, tactile and emotional—some of the main reasons it still draws crowds. In fact, meetings and events provide the highest return on investment of any marketing channel, according to a recent Trade Show Week survey of Fortune 1,000 chief marketing officers. And even though attendance at shows is slimmer now than in the past, today’s attendees are usually top decision makers at their company. The bottom line for exhibitors? Prime space on the floor is easier to snag, and prospects for sales leads are better than ever. Full Article.