Part One: What Organizers Offer Compared to What Exhibitors Buy
DALLAS, 28 October 2019 – Today, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released the first in a five-part series providing a comprehensive overview of B2B exhibition sponsorship practices in North America. The B2B Exhibition Sponsorship Playbook Series compiles organizer and exhibitor practices in a unique format, comparing organizer offerings and practices to those of exhibitors. It provides valuable industry benchmarks and insights on what is working to help organizers and exhibitors adjust programs to enhance their success.
“Results indicate a vibrant market for sponsorships, with an average contribution of 19.5 percent to a B2B exhibition’s gross revenues and a marketplace where 83 percent of exhibitors have invested in sponsorships in the past two years,” said CEIR Vice President of Research Nancy Drapeau, PRC. “Report One goes deep, detailing which sponsorships are most popularly sold by organizers to what is most purchased by exhibitors. The benchmarks can help both stakeholders compare their practices to determine how they can refine programs and investments moving forward.”
“This research is a result of industry-wide support,” added CEIR CEO Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE, CEM. “We thank the CEIR Research Council for its input on research design. The organizer sample is made possible with support from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), International Association of Exhibitions and Events® (IAEE), Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO), Canadian Association of Exposition Management (CAEM), and Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA). The exhibitor sample is made possible with assistance from Fern, Hargrove and Shepard Expositions.”
Part One: What Organizers Offer Compared to What Exhibitors Buy focuses on the vast array of sponsorship options that are available. In addition to overall results, differences are reported by key demographics for each stakeholder group.
Part One is the first in a five-part series to publish over the course of the next several months. All reports in the series include:
- Part One: What Organizers Offer Compared to What Exhibitors Buy
- Part Two: Sponsorship Sales Process – Customer Satisfaction, Package or A La Carte? Self-Serve or Staff-Assisted?
- Part Three: Evaluating the Outcome of Sponsorship Sales and Purchases
- Part Four: Future Outlook for Sponsorship Sales and Purchases
- Part Five: Who Are Non-Buyers and What May Prompt Them to Buy?
Methodology
This study involves research from the perspectives of B2B exhibition organizers and exhibitors. The approach for conducting research with each audience is summarized below. In-depth surveys were first conducted in the first quarter of 2019. Online survey polling occurred in the spring of 2019.
B2B exhibition organizers: A total of 10 executives participated in in-depth interviews at the outset of this study. Their commentary provided guidance for building the survey instrument for the online quantitative survey phase as well as providing qualitative insights in this report. Qualified executives who are members of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO), and the Canadian Association of Exposition Management (CAEM) were sent an email invitation to participate in the online survey. The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) included a blurb in its e-newsletter encouraging their members to respond. A total of 213 executives responded, for a response rate of seven percent. The sample is representative of the exhibition organizers by key profile characteristics. Percentage results to this survey provide statistically reliable results at the 95 percent confidence level with a margin of error of plus or minus 6.7 percent.
Exhibitors: At the outset of the project, a total of 10 executives at exhibiting companies participated in in-depth interviews. Their commentary provided guidance for building the survey instrument for the online quantitative survey phase as well as providing qualitative insights in this report. A randomly generated sample of exhibitors from the exhibitor databases of three of the leading general service contractors in the industry served as the sample for the quantitative phase, including Fern, Hargrove and Shepard Expositions. A total of 728 qualified exhibitors responded to the invitation to participate in the study, for a response rate of 2.2 percent. Total results provide a representative sample by key profile characteristics. Survey results are very accurate at the 95 percent confidence level, carrying a very small margin of error, 3.6 percent.
In-depth interviews were completed by CEIR.
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
