DALLAS, 14 August 2014 – The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) has teamed with the Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO) to produce its latest publication, 2014 Young Professional Attendee Needs and Preferences Study. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the latest insights on what young attendee business professionals are looking to experience when attending a business-to-business exhibition for their jobs as well as how they find out and decide which exhibitions to attend.
Since 2009, CEIR has conducted generational research to keep a pulse on what young professionals are looking for when they attend events and how best to market to them. What findings from this research remain valid today? What adjustments are needed to assure alignment with young professional preferences? And which exhibition industry practices have enduring value, resonate with young professionals and should not change? This report provides answers.
SISO Executive Director Lew Shomer stated, “SISO is pleased to make this contribution to the exhibition industry. Young business professionals are our future. It is essential to have the most current insights on this audience, to keep a pulse on what they want when attending and assure that marketing efforts are aligned with their media consumption habits.”
CEIR President and CEO Brian Casey, CEM, said, “We thank SISO for underwriting this important research and for the continued privilege of delivering these important insights to the exhibition industry.”
The report provides a profile of young professionals by their career attitudes, extent of participation in exhibitions, and motivations for attending and not attending. The decision-making process for choosing exhibitions is explored, as well as information sources relied upon when searching for an exhibition and assessing the role of social media and word-of-mouth information sources. The study addresses preferred communication methods with organizers for pre-event, onsite and post-event communications. On-premise preferences are delineated for floor interaction, education offerings, special activities and use of technology and other information sources on-site. Lastly, this study outlines what young professionals identify as high value takeaways as a result of visiting and their intent to visit in the near future.
Key findings of note:
2014 Young Professional Attendee Needs and Preferences Study provides a more thorough discussion of the key findings shared above as well as results on other topics. Additionally, differences by subgroups including gender, career attitude profile and other key demographics are provided.
An excellent companion report to this study is the recently released Best Practices by Exhibition Organizers to Attract and Retain Young Professional Attendees report. It provides an overview of exhibition organizer efforts to serve this audience along with 11 case studies.
SISO is sponsoring a second CEIR study in 2015 which will focus on the needs and preferences of young professional exhibitors.
Click here to access the full report. IAEE members can access the CEIR library and reports at no cost – a benefit of IAEE membership.
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.
About SISO
SISO is dedicated to meeting the needs of the for-profit show organizer through networking, the exchange of ideas and experiences, and the ability to learn from each other in a non-competitive and candid environment. Its members include companies, corporations and other for-profit entities that own, produce or provide full service management of “face to face” trade shows, consumer shows, expositions, conferences and /or similar events as a substantial part of their business. For additional information, visit www.siso.org.
###
Media Inquiries:
Mary Tucker
+1 (972) 687-9207
mtucker@ceir.org