Mojo Rising
Industry experts peer into the future to share how trade shows must transform to stay relevant.
By Joel Durham Jr.
Following the worn-out formula of decades past, trade shows are growing stagnant, critics demand. It’s time to change or die. Future successes will be realized through, among other things, smaller shows guided to more targeted audiences that support larger, national shows and the incorporation of social media to enhance ROI for all stakeholders.
We asked a pair of experts what they think is happening and will happen to change trade shows in the near and far future: Chris Valentine, a founder of T3 Expo (t3expo.com), and Rohit Talwar, noted futurist and CEO of Fast Future CEO (fastfuture.com).
The Near Future
Going with the idea that trade shows haven’t changed format all that much over the past 10 years or so, the future looks relatively tumultuous. Valentine is certain the industry is already changing.
“For some sectors...definitely,” Valentine said. “I think the larger [shows] will evolve. Twenty years ago they dominated the audience, but as time goes on, their segment of the audience has shrunk. So what I see happening is more proprietary type of events...smaller, regional events, more narrow-casted events which are more specific to a target audience.”
To identify this audience, trade show organizers should be paying more attention to feedback from social networking and blogging, and using that data to target their audiences with more specific approaches. Valentine cites examples, including WordPress and Salesforce, which hold several smaller, regional events, in support for larger, national events.
“So they do all these regional events, build up intelligence around their audience, what their audience is seeking, test marketing the audience, [and] it allows them to get at more customers at a cheaper rate,” he said. “Then they bring them all in for the larger Dreamforce event in San Francisco.”
Talwar also sees the future as a time of targeting the bottom line.
“Exhibitors will want to be able to demonstrate that attending your show provides a true ROI. This means show owners will have to move from kindergarten to MBA class quickly in terms of their approaches to proving that their shows really do generate business and measuring it.
“Most ROI calculations and formulas I see provided by show owners would be more effective as napkins than as real business tools,” Talwar said. “We are going to see a lot more investment in pre-selecting and screening buyers, scheduling appointments, using technologies such as RFID to provide real data on who’s at a show, the stands they are visiting, the time they spend, [and so on].”
Shows aren’t just for schmoozing, either, according to Talwar.
“Our Convention 2020 study also shows that increasingly people want to do real business at a show. This means making sure key decision makers are there from both buyers and suppliers so that they can get much closer to real deals or at least an outline of agreement.”
As an example, Talwar indicated that in technical shows the real value might come from shortening educational seminars and getting the tech people into more intimate, conversational settings.
That leaves the challenge of ensuring press coverage of trade shows.
“To that end, we could see industry debates and panel discussions moving from the safe, ‘Why did I bother attending,’ sessions that permeate so many shows to hard-hitting sessions that talk to critical issues for the industry.”
Looking Further Ahead
Valentine focuses on the utilization of social media and enhanced feedback.
“The funny thing that I see all the time is, how do you use social media within the context of an event? I always think it’s ironic, because to me [events are] the original social networks. You have exhibitors who are customers, and they get instant feedback, because the people on the floor are either visiting the booth or not. They have a number of thought leaders and they can build content around those thought leaders, and they’re able to interact with the audience. That is what social media is all about.”
In the future, he says that organizers will start to leverage social media technologies to get better and better feedback around their event.
Virtual events will also continue to be a growing factor, especially in the distant future. And remember, virtual events can be anything that gathers people online and jazzes them about the industry which the event surrounds.
“I think you’ll have virtual events where you have an avatar and walk around a virtual trade show floor, but I also see a virtual event as a tweet-up, or a swarm, if you have a thought leader and if you’re going to have a chat online around this,” he said. “Depending on the feedback and the content, I see those all as virtual events.”
Where Do We Go from Here?
Trade shows, it seems, aren’t as static as many believe. They’re already changing, leaning heavily on social networking.
“[Trade shows] will have to be far more interactive,” Talwar said. “Many will be shorter—possibly even after-work evening shows—with more regional and local offerings, with a far more personalized experience for delegates and exhibitors.”
According to Valentine, this is already the case. Furthermore, the key to maximizing ROI for exhibitors and organizers is in analyzing feedback data through social networking and onsite metrics (see sidebar).
With more targeted shows, more virtual shows and more profitable shows all in the future, the trade show industry is anything but stagnant or dying. It’s evolving, as it must, with the changing times and the connected world.
One+ JOEL DURHAM JR. is a N.Y.-based freelance writer.
Four Ways to Increase Your Trade Show ROI
Building booths, organizing and taking time out of the office to attend trade shows are all costly endeavors in terms of time and of cash out of pocket. Here are five ways trade show pros can maximize ROI.
1) Exhibitors must make full use of social networks to target key attendees and book appointments with them, according to Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Future.
“Have something to say on your stand—provide something of real value to delegates, such as information, advice or time-saving tools. [After all], we have enough key rings to go around the planet twice. Schedule time after the show to complete the follow up,” he said.
2) Shows can get smaller, shorter and less profitable: an idea planners should get used to, according to Talwar.
“Invest in real research to create provable ROI calculations for your show, invest in identifying the real buyers in your sector and incentivize them to come. Invest in research that puts you at the forefront of customer thinking—not three steps behind it.”
In other words, be agile and be ready to face changing demands.
3) Educate and make sure smaller players in the market understand “the game” to ensure they’re getting the best ROI. Those smaller organizations make up the majority of exhibitors at most trade shows, according to Chris Valentine, a founder of T3 Expo.
4) Organizers and show owners should do more analysis.
“I’ve done a fair amount of research in this area and I think either the organizer or the third parties have to work better to wield the data that is on the trade show floor,” Valentine said. “Get more information about the behaviors of the attendees, whether it’s what booth they visited, how long they visited or what products they were interested in. There are companies out there that have touched upon this, but there [need to be more], because the potential data is so rich.”
2010: A Year of Opportunity
The recently released Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) look at the future of the industry, the CEIR Index, An Analysis of the 2009 Exhibition Industry and Future Outlook, reveals some bleak findings of the past year and “cautious optimism” for tomorrow.
The Index found a 12.5 percent decline in the trade show industry, year over year—four times greater than any previous year. However, Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association/CES sees 2010 as a year of opportunity.
“After a challenging 2009, we can benefit from the U.S. government’s new focus on growing exports by positioning our shows as opportunities to expand international exports,” he said.
For the complete report, visit
www.ceir.org.