Report One Addresses Marketing Channel Mix During Pandemic and Outlook Moving Forward
DALLAS, 16 November 2021 – Today, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released Report One: Marketing Channel Mix During Pandemic and Outlook Moving Forward for Brand Marketers That Exhibit at B2B Exhibitions from its newest research series, Omnichannel Marketing Insights. This series details omnichannel marketing practices while the pandemic shut down the business-to-business (B2B) exhibition industry in mid-March 2020 and anticipated plans moving forward through 2022.
Along with benchmarks on the marketing channel mix used during the pandemic, it assesses the extent by which participants will return to B2B exhibitions, and whether needs and preferences will shift in any way. Report One summarizes overall findings from the exhibitor perspective. Results indicate the outlook for the B2B exhibition industry is strong among exhibiting companies that have used the channel pre-COVID-19.
“This report is a must-have for organizers looking for benchmarks and insights to help position their in-person B2B exhibitions for 2022,” said CEIR Vice President of Research Nancy Drapeau, IPC. “Exhibitors are intent on returning to exhibiting. The high value in using the channel to help achieve their high-priority marketing and sales objectives is the catalyst driving their return to events.”
“This report speaks to the importance of face-to-face marketing to brand marketers and buyers who attend,” added CEIR CEO Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE, CEM. “Digital and other channels have helped exhibiting companies and attendees meet their needs during the pandemic, though study results point to their limitations. For companies that exhibit, face-to-face marketing is an essential part of their marketing mix. They are looking forward to getting back to business in person.”
The 26-page report provides benchmarks and insights on the following:
Report One: Marketing Channel Mix During Pandemic and Outlook Moving Forward for Brand Marketers That Exhibit at B2B Exhibitions is the first of a series of reports that CEIR is publishing based on survey research done with attendees and exhibitors. The complete Omnichannel Marketing Insights series will include:
Methodology
CEIR’s Research Council commissioned this study. To generate attendee and exhibitor samples, CEIR identified top-ranked U.S.-based exhibitions, those with at least 45,000 net square feet (NSF) of paid space or larger from its CEIR database, with a goal of recruiting at least one exhibition per CEIR industry sector. The end result was the recruitment of 20 B2B exhibitions, which gave CEIR permission to poll their attendees and exhibitors from the 2019 edition of their events. For the exhibitor sample, a list was also purchased from Exhibitracs’ top 250 U.S. trade show list for 2019 events.
Online surveys were fielded from July to early August 2021 generating samples of 1,799 attendee surveys and 316 exhibitor surveys. The response rate for each audience is one percent. To project results to attendees and exhibitors in general, results of each sample have been weighted to the distribution of number of attendees and number of exhibiting companies in 2019, as defined by the 2021 CEIR Index.
About CEIR
The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) serves to advance the growth, awareness and value of exhibitions and other face-to-face marketing events by producing and delivering knowledge-based research tools that enable stakeholder organizations to enhance their ability to meet current and emerging customer needs, improve their business performance and strengthen their competitive position. For additional information, visit www.ceir.org.
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Media Inquiries:
Mary Tucker
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+1 (972) 687-9226
mtucker@ceir.org
