March 2005
Marketwatch: Organizers spend $160 per exhibitor on promotion
By Danica Tormohlen

Show organizers plan to spend an average of $84,000 on sales promotion to gain 525 exhibitors in 2005, according to the 226 show organizers who responded to an online survey conducted by EXPO Magazine and Exhibit Surveys Inc. in January 2005. On average, show organizers spend $160 per exhibitor on sales promotion. In 2005, show organizers plan to spend  about the same on exhibitor sales promotion as they did last year, 15.4 percent of their budgets in 2005 vs. 15.3 percent in 2004.

On average, independents spend more on exhibitor sales promotion than associations. Independents plan to spend 18.4 percent of their budgets on exhibitor sales promotion, compared with 12.1 percent for associations. Independents spend $207 per exhibitor on sales promotion, compared with $90 per exhibitor for associations. Does spending more mean more exhibitors? That appears to be the case. Independents average 659 exhibitors for their largest show, compared with 416 for associations.

Not surprisingly, show organizers spend the biggest portion of their exhibit sales promotion budget on direct mail (49 percent). Eleven percent is allocated to e-mail, 10 percent to print advertising and 7 percent to telemarketing.
Whether association or independent, most handle exhibitor sales promotion in house. For associations, 96 percent handle exhibitor sales promotion in house. For independents, 85 percent handle it in house.

Note: For the purposes of this survey, exhibit sales promotion includes list rental, direct mail, advertising, printing, postage, research, etc. It does not include exhibitor sales expenses related to travel and entertainment, salaries, commissions, etc.
 

How much did you spend on exhibit sales promotion in 2004?

How budgets are spent
In 2005, what percentage of your exhibit sales promotion budget will be spent on:

List rental	4%
Direct mail (brochures, prospectuses, postcards, printing, postage, etc.)	49%
E-mail	11%
Print advertising	10%
Web advertising	4%
TV, Radio, Newspaper advertising	4%
Research	3%
Telemarketing (for list cleanup, lead generation, lead qualification, etc.)	6%
Public Relations	4%
Other	5%
	100%

In-house promotion
Who handles exhibit sales promotion?


Verbatim
What’s your biggest frustration when it comes to exhibitor marketing?
“Changing contacts at prospective companies … Getting to the decision maker … Perceived drop in ROI over the past few years … Lack of urgency in booking … Trying to determine which exhibitors to meet with face to face vs. which ones can have less formal contact such as e-mail, mail, phone … The amount that’s needed to be done for mature events … Locating the right mailing lists and prospects … Educating potential exhibitors on how to truly evaluate an event … Exhibitors are committing later each year, causing extra, last-minute marketing efforts.”