He noted:

• The CEIR Index was down a record nine consecutive quarters
• The Index turned positive Q3/Q4 2010 and Q1, Q2 and 3 2011
• Overall back to 2000 level

Following this presentation, CEIR announced Q4 2011 results on February 21, unveiling that this positive trend continues in Q4 2011.

Based upon this information and other trends, it appears that we  turned the corner and will be experiencing modest growth in the coming years.  His presentation slides are available here.  The CEIR press release, discussing Q4 2011 results is available at here.

TSNN’s Opinion of Current Affairs

Rachael Wimberly, President of TSNN, shared her views of the current state of the industry on her blog post titled, What Economic Downturn? Shows Going Gangbusters.

She comments:

There was a period of time when it seemed like all I was writing was one story after another about President Obama telling companies not to go to Las Vegas and the city losing 400 events in the blink of an eye; shows ‘attendance, number of exhibitors, net square footage dropping, sometimes to dangerous levels; other shows cancelling altogether; and there were even companies who shut their doors.

In other words, it was pretty bleak, and even if the economy still is fragile, I honestly have been shocked recently by the number of shows I’ve written about that have had increases in attendance, exhibitors and showfloor, and, more importantly, some of those numbers have been RECORD-breaking.

Case in point is the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show, owned by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and produced by Reed Exhibitions, which had record-breaking numbers, with more than 61,000 attendees visiting a 630,000 net square foot showfloor and 1,600 exhibitors Jan. 17-20 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center.

The National Association of Music Merchants’ NAMM Show also broke a 110-year-old attendance record when it attracted 95,709 attendees Jan. 19-22 to the Anaheim Convention Center, a 6-percent increase compared with last year’s event.

That’s not all.

The Winter Fancy Food Show, the Professional Convention Management Association’s annual meeting and the National Retail Show, all of which ran since the beginning of the year, also broke records.

Quiet optimism abounds as we celebrate the individual  shows that are experiencing solid growth statistics.  It appears we are in the blooming rose stage, once again.

Doug Ducate provided some comments:

“The meeting of organizers in New York on 14 February was actually sponsored by the IAEE New York Chapter.  It followed the chapter meeting held earlier that day. That meeting also had over 100 attendees.  I helped organize the second meeting and acted as the facilitator. Bob Yaro was the moderator.

In addition to the presentations regarding Farley Annex and the proposed Genting facility at Aqueduct in Ozone Park in Queens, a project in Willets Point, also in Queens, was discussed. Details on a facility at Willets Point that would replace Javits could not be presented in detail because of multiple NDA agreements in place.  Two of the organizers present acknowledged they were among those involved in the Willets Point project.  It was made clear this is not the smaller project discussed by Willets Point a few years ago that was designed to compliment not replace Javits.

The purpose of the meeting was to share accurate information on the various options and to engage the organizers in the discussions.  Genting is a successful, global company that does not build monuments and thus is keenly interested in building the right facility in the right location with the promise of success.  Convention center size and location should be determined by market demand.  An analysis of current business, opinions of current users and identifying likely demand from current non-users are all critical components of the decision-making process.  The meeting opened that dialogue and hopefully it will remain inclusive and transparent as it progresses.

New York doesn’t need the nation’s largest convention center to prove something everyone already knows…it is a world- leading destination.  If the current land that Javits sits on is indeed worth more than $4 billion, then a convention center is no longer the best use.   Javits is 25 years old.  Its years of useful life are unknown, but regardless, the time is right to begin planning a replacement facility…and hopefully together we have.”

Results provide insight into how much of marketing funds are allocated to business-to-business exhibitions, what objectives marketers seek to achieve using this medium and how they measure success of participating.”

Nancy Drapeau, PRC, Director or Research discusses a couple of key findings from the recently released report from CEIR, in this video.

Yesterday on Twitter, Nancy participated in an #expochat with other exhibition industry peers. This weekly hour Tweet chat was organized by Traci Browne.  Traci’s Red Cedar company produces conferences, trade shows and consumer expos.

In one of her blog posts, she related the following about the weekly #expochat:

The weekly chat on Twitter that is all about trade shows, #ExpoChat, is just seven months old, yet I don’t know how I managed to live without it all the time before it started.

I have had the privilege of meeting weekly with some of the brightest, most innovative and passionate trade show producers, exhibitors, partners and thought leaders. We do not always agree on how things should be done but it is always with respect and admiration of one another. But there is one overwhelming common denominator that everyone on the chat shares. A passion for creating something special that benefits exhibitors and sponsors and delivers true value to our attendees. Especially the attendees.

I am overwhelmed by the extent of this passion. These are not people who are “just doing their jobs”. These are people who constantly go above and beyond to give attendees what they crave. These are people who are constantly seeking out ways to improve.

An archived webinar hosted by Nancy Drapeau regarding this study is available for your viewing: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/152746366.

In this study, the various types of face-to-face factors will be analyzed.  We will uncover which type of exchanges the attendee prefers, such as:

• small demonstrations
• individual conversations with booth personnel
• theater presentations
• among others

The timeframe for completion of the study is by the by the IAEE Mid-Year Meeting in June.

In the video, Nancy talks about the quarterly quick polls on topics of interest for the IAEE and CEIR community.  If there is a particular topic you would like to see surveyed in these quick polls, please contact Nancy at ndrapeau@ceir.org.

• the changes and trends in the exhibition industry during the past several years,
• how the economy has impacted the global industry, and
• the outlook for the near future.

The report covers a number of trends. In today’s post, we will look at one of the findings revolving around measurement.

How are Exhibitors Measuring Their Success?

It is not surprising that leads are the top criteria for measuring success.  The vast majority of exhibitors have new business development as the primary reason for participating in exhibitions.  Keeping the sales pipeline full of  fresh, qualified leads is a top priority.

The report states:

“Although the use of marketing metrics has become more common in tracking exhibition performance, the single-most important metric to a company’s stakeholders continues to be sales driven. The number of new sales leads continues to be the most valued metric (40% in 2011 versus 38% in 2009), followed by number of sales closed after the show (28% in 2011 and 2009).”

Last week, Nancy Drapeau, PRC, Director of Research conducted a webinar in which she discussed the top findings from this study.  To access the archived version of this webinar, go to https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/152746366.

As always, we welcome any of your comments on this report.  To obtain your copy of this 38-page report, please click here.

The results provide insight into how marketing funds are allocated to business-to-business exhibitions, what objectives marketers seek to achieve using this medium and how they measure success of participating.

A modest recovery is evidenced with increases in participation in the number of events. The lowest point was in 2009, with a median of eight events per year, down from a high of 14 in 2008 and 2007. Beginning in 2010, the median number of exhibitions (NOE) increased to nine and is projected to hold at this level through 2012.  The chart below shows this information:

The report discusses forecasts for booth set-up and furnishings, booth staff travel, new exhibit purchases, trends in objectives for exhibiting, success metrics and commentary on reasons for exhibition schedules for 2011 and 2012.

Top line findings were discussed at a webinar held last week by Nancy Drapeau, PRC, Director of research.  To access the archived version of this webinar, go to https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/152746366.

We would welcome any of your comments on this report.  To obtain your copy of this 38-page report, please click here.  In future blog posts, we will explore further this study and some of its significant findings.

CEIR is committed to providing exhibition industry professionals with timely and actionable business insights that give them the tools to maximize the success and profitability of their events. In order to assure that exhibitions remain a highly valued and frequently used channel for marketing and sales activities for businesses across industry sectors, it is essential to actively monitor the wants, needs and attitudes of young professionals, ages 20 to 39, or the Gen X and Millennial generations. These professionals are in the workforce and will continue to move into key decision-making roles as Boomers exit for retirement.

A few selected research findings from the study are:

• For a majority of young professionals the motivation to attend exhibitions is to acquire education that will help them be successful in their jobs (51%) and industries (50%). Networking with prospective customers (40%) and vendors (26%) are the next prevalent motivators.
• Seven out of 10 young professionals reported their expectations and learning objectives from the exhibitions they attended were met.
• Young professional opinions of exhibitions are generally positive. Nearly half (49%) of surveyed young professionals hold a high opinion of exhibitions, giving a rating of 8 to 10; while 44% have a softer, positive opinion, giving a score of 6 or 7. The level of negative perceptions of exhibitions is negligible, with only 7% assigning a score of 5 or lower.

If you are a young professional, we would encourage you to tell us your opinions about the trade shows you have attended.  Please use our comment tab.

How are you bringing innovation to your show? Please share with us your best practices in this arena in the comment box below.

Business-to-business exhibitions are well-positioned to serve the most urgent sales priorities companies are striving to achieve today: existing and prospective customer relationship management and engagement efforts.

In fact, one of the research findings shows this:

The data shows that exhibitions are highly valued by executives in helping their companies achieve these goals.
To obtain a copy of this Fact Sheet, please click here.

CEIR President and CEO Doug Ducate shares some highlights from the study in the following video:

In speaking with Nancy she adds these comments:

As Doug has explained in the video, this report is a repeat of a study done in 2009. We will report on trends, what has changed, what remains the same compared to 2009.

The findings provide more clarity about what the industry has gone through since 2009, the economic collapse, its impact on the industry and outlook moving forward.

The research will answer the question about what piece of the marketing pie exhibitions capture – have business-to-business exhibitions lost out to other, competitive channels?

With a chuckle in her voice she told me, “I can’t give you the answer now! What’s the fun in that? I’d be letting the cat out of the bag! I encourage those who are interested to sign up, the webinar is free. “  Sign up now before all the spots are taken. The webinar is 80% full!

We look forward to having you on the webinar!