CEIR report explores education and organizer landscape

DALLAS – The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) has released the final two parts of its “Maximizing Visitor and Exhibitor Engagement at the Exhibition Grounds” series: Exhibition venue learning opportunities beyond the booth and how organizers can evaluate outcomes and future prospects .

trade show director Sponsors sat down with Nancy Drapeau, vice president of research at IPC, CEIR, to learn what these reports (based on research from exhibitors and exhibition organizers active in the North American B2B exhibition industry) think about on-show learning opportunities, strategy and more important industry topics. .

Part 7: Exhibition learning activities outside the booth

Part Seven delves into learning opportunities integrated into the common areas of the exhibition floor. According to CEIR, over the past two years, 80% of organizers offered at least one option and 50% of exhibitors sponsored at least one option.

“It’s focused on how to support the interests of the attendees who come to be educated,” Drapeau said. “This has been an important motivator as we look at what content is most likely to be most popular and generate a large number of attendees, and what content is likely to garner sponsorship funding to cover the cost of providing a valuable product at the show… for those who For those interested in thought leadership opportunities, this provides insight into topics and formatting approaches to consider. ”

The report provides educational opportunities in common areas of the showroom, the percentage of organizers that include a specific format, organizers’ perceptions of attendee use of a certain format, and examples of specific formats of exhibitor participation.

education form

• practical seminar
• One-on-one meetings with subject matter experts
• Practical skills training and certification
• Learning Lab
• Speaker discussion and audience feedback
• Educational theater or stage area
• Rerun session on video wall

The highest percentage of organizers use an educational theater or stage area (46%), while the lowest percentage use video walls to replay meetings (7%).

Organizers rated high participant usage as highest in the Educational Theater or Stage area (80%) and lowest in the Learning Lab (60%).

Over the past two years, the highest number of exhibitors (15%) participated in speaker discussions and audience feedback and the lowest number (3%) participated in replay sessions on the video wall.

This report also explores the focus and duration of show floor education course types.

Meeting topic and length

Organizers use sessions of 30 minutes or less that focus on hot trends or new products most often (34%), while longer sessions of 45 minutes that focus on professional development or new products are used the least (18%) .

Meetings that are short, 30 minutes or less, and focused on hot trends have the highest number of attendees considered high usage by organizers (69%), while meetings that are short, 30 minutes or less, and focused on professional areas have the highest development rates lowest (59%).

Drapeau emphasized the power of covering hot industry trends, adding that it can help attendees stay focused during longer-than-average sessions.

“That’s always a big motivator,” Drapeau explained. “People’s attention spans are shrinking, but if it’s a hot industry trend that professionals care about, you can have a 45-minute session, even if it’s passive…Organizers need to keep the needs of attendees in mind.”

Additionally, the report determined that the largest proportion of organizers (49%) offer educational sessions in medium-sized spaces in the exhibition hall (seating 31 to 99 people), while the smallest share (12%) offer one-on-one educational sessions . One or group setting.

related. New CEIR report explores future of exhibitions

Part 8: How organizers evaluate results and future prospects

The report details the robust evaluation process organizers use to measure results and guide planning, while examining how they seek to improve and change.

CEIR determined that 90% of organizers evaluate the outcomes of attendee engagement events and identify areas for improvement. Additionally, 52% of organizers are interested in new formats and layouts, 88% have multiple sources for generating new ideas – 85% use B2B/B2C trade shows for inspiration, 58% use suppliers, 45 % Use other consumer settings.

“You need to provide a memorable experience … (and) focus on maximizing every aspect of the physical experience,” Drapeau said. “It’s about finding different models or ways to engage that make the in-person environment the best it can be.”

Metrics used to evaluate attendee engagement

• Track attendee numbers and behavior—used by 86% of organizers
• Emotion assessment – ​​used by 80% of organizers
• Feedback mechanisms – used by 75% of organizers
• Social media metrics – used by 42% of organizers
• Membership renewal—used by 10% of organizers

CEIR also investigated how organizers plan to improve or enhance how attendees engage.

Ways to improve or enhance the method

• Use digital tools, artificial intelligence and analytics – 68%
• Network enhancements — 66%
• General engagement strategy — 58%
• Increased product engagement — 55%
• Learning enhancement — 53%
• Reorganize showroom — 41%

“Entertainment is important and our focus is on trying to increase entertainment. This is an area of ​​interest that organizers are looking to enhance,” Drapeau said.

The report also outlines potential new models and floor layouts and compares organizer interest with exhibitor interest.

CEIR claims that 33% of organizers and exhibitors believe the trade show model is effective and are not considering other models, while 16% of organizers and 22% of exhibitors are interested in formats that exclude standard pipes and curtains and feature Different ways to connect attendees and exhibitors in the exhibition hall.

26% of organizers are interested in hosting buyers, on a one-on-one basis, while 16% of exhibitors are interested.

4% of organizers and 5% of exhibitors are interested in virtual trade shows held entirely online.

The full report series can be found here.

Click here for more highlights from Nancy Drapeau.