November/December 2007
Industry Pay is Up: EXPO's 2007 Salary Survey
See how yours compares
By Martha Collins, Contributing Editor
There is good news on the salary front.
The 2007 median base salary for show managers topped $65,000, a healthy 8.3 percent increase over 2005 numbers. That raise has been a long time coming. The median salary had remained flat for eight years.
And there is more good news to come. According to EXPO’s 2007 Salary Survey, respondents are optimistic about their careers and their compensation. More than three-fourths report feeling “extremely secure” or “very secure” with their organizations. And nearly three-fourths are “extremely satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their jobs.
While 63 percent think they’re adequately compensated given their duties and levels of responsibility, more than 80 percent expect to receive a raise in 2008. The median anticipated raise is $3,000, a 4.6 percent increase.
Overall, 59 percent of respondents received a bonus last year. The median bonus was $5,000.
The 2007 Salary Survey is the seventh biennial study sponsored by EXPO. Show managers’ responses to questions about salaries, bonuses, benefits, and job security and satisfaction reveal trends in total annual base salaries and other compensation. Among the findings this year:
• Independent show producers earn 31.1 percent more than association show producers and 33.3 percent more than corporate show producers. The $80,000 median salary for independent show producers increased 8.8 percent since 2005; the $61,000 median for association show producers increased 8 percent; and the $60,000 median for corporate show producers remained the same.
• Managers who produce both trade and public shows earned a median salary of $70,000, which is 7.7 percent more than the median salary of $65,000 for those who produce only trade shows, and just 1.4 percent more than the $69,000 median for those who produce only public shows.
• Executive managers’ median salary of $97,000 is 64.4 percent higher than that of exhibition managers, with a median of $59,000. (In 2005, the difference was 62.2 percent.)
• The gender wage differential continues. In general, men earn 37.9 percent more than women. (The 2005 salary gap was 41.5 percent.) But more experience and more employees supervised may be the reasons. The typical female show manager is 42 years old, has 10 years of trade show experience, supervises one person, holds a bachelor’s degree, and earns a $58,000 salary and $4,900 bonus. The typical male show manager is 48 years old, has 15 years of trade show experience, supervises three people, holds a bachelor’s degree, and earns an $80,000 salary and $10,000 bonus.
• Experience counts — a lot. Show managers with six to 10 years of experience earn one-third more than those with fewer than three years of experience. Those who’ve worked in the show business for more than 20 years earn two-thirds more than those with six to 10 years of experience. And 38.5 percent of those with more than 20 years of experience earn above $100,000.
• When it comes to booth sales, more than half of respondents say a “show manager” sells, 32.6 percent have dedicated booth sales reps, 18.8 percent use advertising/booth sales/ sponsorship reps, and 6.7 percent outsource booth sales. (The total is more than 100 percent because some shows use salespeople in a combination of these categories.)
• More than half say their salespeople earn a base salary only, while 38.2 percent say their sales staffs earn a base plus commission, and just 7.2 percent say their salespeople earn commission only.
Results of the 2007 Salary Survey are presented here in four sections. The first two sections — “The Industry” and “The Individual” — provide information on compensation for show managers. The third section — “The Salespeople” — describes compensation for exhibit sales staff. The fourth section — “The Outlook” — identifies factors that have implications for the future, including anticipated raises and job security.
Click here to download a PDF of the survey results
Martha Collins, a freelance writer/editor, is a frequent EXPO contributor.
Exclusive Web-only content from this feature
Questions were compiled by EXPOand Exhibit Surveys, Inc. Questionnaires were mailed to 2,000 EXPOsubscribers on July 19, 2007, with an explanatory letter on Exhibit Surveys letterhead and a postage-paid return envelope. A new $1 bill was enclosed as an incentive. A second mailing was sent to another 2,000 subscribers on August 8, 2007, to increase response. All respondents to the second mailing were entered into a drawing for $25 Starbucks gift cards (eight winners were selected). Responses were returned directly to Exhibit Surveys in Red Bank, NJ, for tabulation.
Exhibit Surveys received 420 questionnaires by the cutoff date for a net return of 11 percent. The margin of error due to sample size is plus or minus 5 percentage points. Exhibit Surveys reports a 95 percent confidence level in the results (if the survey were done 100 times, the results would fall within these same error ranges 95 times).
The report uses the median, instead of the arithmetic mean, because it is the more conservative figure. (The median is the middle value, above and below which sits an equal number of values.) Some tables may not add up to 100 percent because the “no response” group has been eliminated. The tables also list the base, or total number of respondents for each group.
Government, public and nonprofit services—Associations, education, fire and fire protection, government, libraries, military, police
Medical and health care—Dental, industrial, medical and health care, nursing, pharmaceuticals, veterinary
Sports, travel, entertainment, art and consumer services—Amusement, art, beauty and health care, boats, fishing, funeral industry, hotels and resorts, real estate, recreational vehicles, religious, rental and leasing, sporting goods and recreation, toys and hobbies, travel industry
Professional business services—Accounting, advertising and marketing, architecture, audiovisual, banking, business, engineering, financial and legal, insurance, plant engineering and operations, printing, safety, security
Building, construction, home and repair—Building and construction, home economics, home furnishings and interior design, housing, landscape and garden supplies, stores and store fittings, woodworking
Consumer goods and retail trade—Apparel, gifts, hardware, housewares, jewelry, laundry and dry cleaning, leather goods and luggage, lighting, office equipment and supplies, photography
Raw materials and science—Agriculture and farming, ceramics and glass, chemical, energy, floriculture and horticulture, forest products, mining, ocean science and equipment, paint, paper, petroleum, oil and gas, plastics, pollution, science, textiles, water, wire
Food—Food and beverage, food processing and distribution, restaurants and food service
Industrial/heavy machinery and finished business inputs—Air conditioning, heating and refrigeration, manufacturing, metal working and coatings technology, packaging, robotics, sanitation and waste management, welding
Communications and IT—Communications, computers and computer applications, electrical and electronics, publishing, radio, TV, cable, telecommunications, telephone
Transportation—Aerospace and aviation, automotive and trucking, physical distribution, railroads, transportation
Show/Exhibition Director—Responsible for planning and logistical aspects of exhibition promotion and management. Determines exhibition’s scope and budget; selects sites; develops event rules and regulations, floor plans, space contracts, etc.; sets fees; directs development of promotional campaigns and sales activities and associated materials; negotiates with hotels and decorating firms to design/layout desirable show area; contracts with local decorator, drayage, security and other suppliers to provide services; directs space assignment; signs exhibitor contracts; oversees setup, management and dismantling of exhibit area and assists exhibitors with problems.
Exhibits Director/Manager—Majority of responsibilities focused on directing or managing exhibit promotion activities. This includes developing promotional campaigns along with required brochures and materials; compiling mailing lists; continuously promoting shows through mailings, magazine advertising, and personal contacts to sell exhibit space; assisting exhibitors with completing applications; developing sponsorships; and assigning exhibit space. Position may also provide exhibitor services.
Conference Director—Majority of time is spent on planning and managing logistical aspects for conventions/meetings. Develops budgets and requests for proposals (RFPs), and negotiates contracts for space, audio-video, registration, housing, travel and transportation. Develops and directs timelines and oversees staff in developing and coordinating logistical requirements for meetings.
Exhibition Staff—Primary areas of responsibility are show management support and exhibitor services. Sample duties include providing assistance to exhibitors; preparing exhibitor service manuals; assisting exhibitors with problems; compiling/distributing exhibitor lists and updates; preparing show directory; developing RFPs for contracts, evaluating bids and making recommendations; assisting with on-site management of exhibitions; and maintaining exhibitor files, materials, records, and statistics.
GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT
Includes managers of marketing, housing, registration, and membership (the last for associations).
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