NEW CEIR RESEARCH ON EXHIBITION TRENDS – Third Fact Sheet Released

Exhibitions Deliver Unique Value Not Provided by Other Marketing Channels

DALLAS, 17 November 2011 – Today, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) releases the third fact sheet in the new study series reveals that marketing executives find business-to-business exhibitions uniquely valuable.

Ninety-nine percent of surveyed marketing executives identified a unique value of business-to-business exhibitions that is not provided by other marketing channels. The most popular value is the ‘ability to see a large number of prospects and customers over a short period of time,’ selected by 60 percent of executives.

CEIR Research Director Nancy Drapeau, PRC observes, "This result is impressive in light of the many options available to marketers. The ability to meet face-to-face with a critical mass of an organization’s prospects and customers in a compressed timeframe is a highly coveted value unique to business-to-business exhibitions."

Background on the Study
On 10 November 2011, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) announced the release of results from The 2011 Changing Environment of Exhibitions Study which explores how the exhibition industry is evolving and provides key market insights on opportunities and threats.

Findings document the current and planned use of the full array of available marketing, communications and sales tactics; positioning of business-to-business exhibitions in this mix; current high priority marketing and sales objectives and perceived value of using business-to-business exhibitions to achieve them; as well as the factors that drive the decision to exhibit or pull out of an exhibition.

This document, Exhibitions Offer Unique Value Not Provided by Other Marketing Channels, is the third of 10 separate fact sheets that will be released with actionable suggestions on how organizers and exhibitors can use the results to enhance their business objectives.

CEIR’s online research library available at www.ceir.org offers industry professionals an array of tools to assist in the planning and marketing of exhibitions for organizers, exhibitors and suppliers. Industry trend data is also a trusted source for press, consultants and the financial community.

This initiative is funded by grants from the Exhibition Industry Research and the MPI Foundation, CEIR.

Methodology: The data for this study was obtained from an online survey of marketing executives across industry sectors who are involved in marketing and promotions decisions, including deciding whether to exhibit at exhibitions. Target companies included those that exhibited in at least one business-to-business exhibition in the past two years. A total of 298 executives participated from a sample of 14,636, for a response rate of 2.1 percent.

For more information on this report series, contact Nancy Drapeau, PRC, Research Director of CEIR at ndrapeau@ceir.org or +1 (207) 332-9839.

About CEIR
CEIR serves to advance the growth, awareness and value of exhibitions and other face-to-face marketing events by producing and delivering knowledge-based research tools that enable stakeholder organizations to enhance their ability to meet current and emerging customer needs, improve their business performance and strengthen their competitive position. For additional information, visit www.ceir.org.

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Media Contact:
Susan Brower, CMM, CCP
sbrower@ceir.org
+1 (972) 687-9207

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Under the agreements with the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters and Teamsters Local 727, the major reforms to remain include allowing show managers and exhibitors to assemble their own booths, handle their own equipment and unload their own vehicles.

Concessions from the unions also include allowing work to be done by two-person crews, instead of the three workers required before. Other terms that survive from the original June 2010 work-rule reforms are significantly lower food prices and the ability for exhibitors to choose their electrical service provider.

The pact revives work-rule changes ordered by the Illinois General Assembly but later tossed out by a federal court. The original round of reforms came after several big trade shows threatened to leave Chicago for rival convention host cities.

"We made changes last year in direct response to what our customers demanded," Jim Reilly, trustee of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, said in a statement. "Now, working in partnership with labor, we have overcome some of the biggest obstacles to our efforts to lure new shows to the city."

The settlements reached with carpenters and Teamsters will end their federal lawsuits that challenged some of the reforms.

Events at McCormick Place support 66,000 jobs and generate $8 billion of associated spending a year, according to officials at the Friday morning news conference.

For more information contact Mitt Arnaudet, Member Services Director of the Exhibition Services & Contractors Association, at mitt@esca.org.

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