CEIR President and CEO Brian Casey, CEM notes, “This report is a call-to-action to exhibition organizers and exhibitors alike to pay attention to attendee digital media habits. The study indicates that the mobile marketing wave is upon the business-to-business industry today. The pervasive use of digital devices while attending an exhibition offers the organizer a tremendous opportunity to enhance the attendee experience. It also offers exhibitors a chance to maximize engagement with attendees to further enhance the experience of current and prospective customers while they are on the trade show floor.”
Key findings from this focus report include:
- Mobile device usage is pervasive, regardless the age of an attendee. Nearly all attendees, 96 percent, come with a digital device; 75 percent come with a smartphone.
- Attendees may be open to being tracked, particularly if it delivers value to them. When it comes to use of attendee tracking technology a majority, 50% of attendees, are comfortable with its use on a show floor and 31 percent are neutral, having no strong feelings either way.
- When crafting digital offerings, aim for the middle. Study results reveal the largest percentage of attendees wait for technology to mainstream before trying something new.
This report profiles the digital media attitudes and habits of business-to-business exhibition attendees on the following:
- When an attendee is apt to adopt new technology;
- Percentage of time spent online for business purposes by device (desktop/laptop, tablet or smartphone);
- Average number of mobile apps – in total, number for personal use versus business use;
- Device where mobile apps are typically downloaded;
- Devices typically used when visiting a business-to-business exhibition and average number of devices brought; and
- Comfort level with the use of attendee tracking technology on an exhibition floor.
In addition to overall results, this report details unique attendee preferences by age, gender, industry sector, role in purchasing decisions, organizational size, frequency of attending exhibitions and distance traveled to attend.
One additional report from this series will be released soon:
- Focus Report on Exhibition Organizer Onsite and Post-event Offerings: This report will compare attendee preferences to exhibition organizer digital offerings during an attendee’s journey on-premise and post-event, including a detailed look at an exhibition’s mobile app, other on-premise digital offerings and post-event communications.
Sponsors of this report include Global Experience Specialists (GES) and Feathr.
Click here to access Focus Report on Attendee Technology Profile.
The two recently published reports from the Digital Toolkit are available here:
- 2016 Digital Toolkit to Enhance the Attendee Experience – Exhibitor Offerings
- 2016 Digital Tool Kit to Enhance the Attendee Experience – Organizer Pre-event Communications & Registration Offerings
BACKGROUND ON METHODOLOGY
This study involves research from the vantage point of attendees, exhibitors and exhibition organizers. Online survey research was conducted in the summer of 2015. A nationally representative sample of 421 business-to-business exhibition attendees was generated using ResearchNow’s online business panel. Qualified executives at organizations that run or manage business-to-business exhibitions, belonging to IAEE, SISO and PCMA were invited to participate in the organizer study, generating a sample of 194 executives. For the brand marketer perspective, sample from Exhibitracs and Global Experience Specialists was used, to which a total of 186 qualified executives responded.
About CEIR
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
+1(972) 687-9226
mtucker@ceir.org
