The International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE, formerly IAEM) is a worldwide organization that represents the trade fair and exhibition industry. Organized in 1928, IAEE has more than 6,000 members who are employed in more than 1,300 organizations involved in the exhibition industry. With offices in Brussels, Beijing, Singapore, and Dallas, IAEE provides comprehensive education and learning programs, business and career networking opportunities, and research services to thousands of exhibition professions.

by Steven Hacker, CAE, President
International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE, formerly IAEM)

Despite the breath-taking changes that have taken place in virtually every aspect of our lives and even though the exhibition and event industry is almost three thousand years old, there is much reason for optimism as we contemplate the industry’s future. Before we speculate about the future however it will be useful to learn something of the past.

While precise records have never been found it is clear that exhibitions or trade fairs began almost 600 years before the birth of Christ. There are references to fairs in the Bible. The book of Ezekiel written in 588 BC, for example, contains many references to merchants trading in a “multitude of the kinds of riches with silver, iron, tin and lead”. Ezekiel talks also about the city of Tyre and how it was an important center of trade and commerce.

There is also a close connection between fairs and religious celebrations and holy days. The word feria comes from the Latin meaning holy day and the term is still commonly used to describe what we might otherwise refer to as an exhibition or trade fair. It was common for ferias to take place in Athens, Rome, and Mecca and the ancient tradition continues today.

Because fairs and later exhibitions provided a safe and neutral place to conduct one’s business during turbulent and often violent times, they took on special meaning and purpose.

Throughout the march of history fairs and exhibitions served as increasingly vital and diverse markets for traders to exchange their riches. When Marco Polo came back from historic treks across Asia he and a parade of merchants behind him brought with them the silks, spices and herbs that fueled an unprecedented age of exploration and discovery. Later on exhibitions and fairs served as platforms to demonstrate mankind’s ability to harness industry and invention ushering in yet another era in the evolution of exhibitions. The DNA that marks today’s events bears the unmistakable evidence of its predecessors.

Exhibitions and similar events continue to serve today as a primary place where buyers and sellers can conduct their business in an environment that supports their objectives for no reason other than they have become part of the chemistry of human interaction.

The innovations and wonders of each successive age in mankind’s history always give rise to serious questions about the future of many hallowed institutions. One only needs to consider such recently abandoned artifacts like portable typewriters, paper airplane tickets, 35 mm film cameras and cloth baby diapers to understand. Likewise, questions arise now about how the Internet and other technologies will affect the future of exhibitions and events.

Earlier I wrote that there is much reason for optimism about the future of the exhibition and event industry. Here is why.

Exhibitions and events provide buyers and the media with real-time information at a time when information has never been more valuable. Thanks to the Internet there has never before been more information available to us. We are awash in information. But much of it is irrelevant to us and much of it is wrong. Exhibitions and events on the other hand can bring buyers into direct and intimate contact with highly reliable sources of product information.

Here are two examples of information degradation and overload:

Wikipedia is an Internet-based multilingual encyclopedia. A wiki is a website that allows a visitor to edit its content without restriction. Wikipedia combines the words wiki and encyclopedia. Whereas most traditional printed encyclopedias that offered high-quality and accurate information have been forced out of business (a handful remain as CD-Rom or Internet-based offerings), Wikipedia is thriving even though scholars repeatedly criticize the inaccurate information that it often contains.

It is estimated that today the typical consumer in an industrialized nation may receive more than 5,000 advertising messages every day in an increasing variety of formats including radio, television, Internet, email, and mobile telephones.

A predictable consequence of this communications overload is that many marketing organizations are re-evaluating their priorities and communications channels of choice. The demand for corporate accountability for results achieved is widely recognized today as Return on Investment or ROI--- and in an instant it has become the mantra of business.

The functions of marketing and sales are converging in many organizations and the objective of welded departments is much more solutions-based than sales-based. Clever marketers have discovered that customers want to buy solutions not products/services.

Exhibitions provide a natural and nearly perfect platform for the delivery of solutions. More and more exhibition organizers are providing learning content, demonstration theaters, and consultative opportunities as important features of their events. More and more exhibiting companies are taking full advantage of these opportunities.

Event marketing is emerging as a key ingredient in the recipe of successful organizations. Exhibition organizers are beginning to understand that the exhibition is an important part of the broadening universe of event marketing but not the only part by any means. It is almost a certainty that in the future many exhibition organizers will evolve to become event-marketing organizers and coordinators offering a full menu of customer interactions to their traditional exhibitors.

A recent research study commissioned by the MPI Foundation and conducted by The George P Johnson Company supports the belief that the future of event marketing is bright indeed. Over six hundred marketing executives at major companies (Revenues exceeding $250 Million [USD] Annually) reveals that 90% believe that the importance of event marketing is growing or is stable.

Moreover, they believe that event marketing provides the best ROI across all geographies.

Almost half (43%) of those participating in the study said they would be increasing their event marketing budgets that already represent about 20% of their total marketing budgets.

What is it that they expect to achieve from participating in events? High on the list of expectations are:

 Increased Brand Preference
 Enhancing relations with customers
 Increased Brand Awareness
 Increased Product Knowledge

In a very cluttered marketing environment nothing can deliver these objectives as effectively as exhibitions and events. One must remember that visitors to exhibitions and events are motivated to attend for their own objectives. Many of those objectives such as learning more about a products performance or specifications represent a very close fit with the expectations of exhibitors. This is only one reason why exhibitions can be such perfect platforms for both sellers and buyers.

Other forms of business-to-business media are either one-dimensional such as print advertising or like radio, television, and the Internet, they do not offer the kind of instant and intimate connection between buyers and sellers that exhibitions and events do. In the case of the Internet, while it is true that many transactions take place in real time, they do so without the benefit of the intimacy that face-to-face encounters yield.

When this key audience was asked what events provide their companies with the best ROI the unqualified winner is trade shows followed distantly by conferences, seminars, road shows and sponsorships. The responses were essentially the same across all geographies.

The evidence of the unique power and growing influence of exhibitions is reflected elsewhere such as in a recently released study that was commissioned by American Business Media (ABM), the association of business media companies, and that was conducted by Forrester Research. The results were unexpected and quite stunning to the ABM.

ABM commissioned the study in the first place hoping to reinforce faith in the value of print advertising that so many of its members rely upon for their source of revenue. Only a small percentage of ABM members are also engaged in producing exhibitions.

The Forrester study queried corporate marketing executives of businesses large and small and found across all sectors that in-person events are considered the preferred media for many reasons and are thought to be much more effective at achieving results than any other form of marketing engagement including print advertising.

In-person events are considered the number one marketing tactic to effectively build brand image (60.9% agreed) In-person events are considered the number one tactic to delivery qualified leads (62.6% agreed)

As if these findings were not powerful enough, yet another ABM study, this one conducted earlier this year by Harris Interactive further supports the unrivaled power of exhibitions and other in-person events. Key findings of that study:

Attendance at trade shows and conferences is important as three-quarters of executives report attending a trade show in the past year and three-quarters report attending a conference or seminar in the past year.

This is particularly true among senior level executives, that is VP and above, who report attending close to 3 trade shows per year, compared to mid-level executives who report attending close to 2 per year. Similarly, executives attend, on average, over 2 conferences and seminars each year.

While executives view different B2B media as having different strengths the top strength for trade shows is their ability to raise awareness of products in the minds of executives. Also, seven in ten executives had made or recommended a purchase due to seeing something at a trade show.

Trade shows drive executives to seek additional information about a product either on the Web (77%), by talking to a sales person (73%) or by making a telephone call (40%).

Besides raising awareness, another strength executives associate with tradeshows is the ability to interact with representatives and industry peers.

Seven in 10 executives purchased or recommended purchase of something due to visiting a trade show, with 27% making a purchase through the Internet.

Skeptics of this data and of my conclusion that the future of exhibitions and similar in-person buyer-seller events remains bright for the foreseeable future are apt to suggest that what we have learned most dramatically in the past century is that circumstances can change both radically and very rapidly. This truth notwithstanding, the evidence remains unalterably clear that throughout the history of mankind the need for intimate, personal, face-to-face interaction remains as strong today as it has ever been. There is simply no reason to believe that any circumstances in the future will change this.

Last Updated:23/03/2007