DALLAS – The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) announced the release of Part One: Exhibitor In-booth Tactics – People, Product, Emotion and other Tactics, the first report in its newest series on attendee floor engagement. Reports from this landmark research offer exhibitors and organizers a comprehensive resource to help understand the range of attendee engagement tactics used on the exhibition floor and, more importantly, which of these tactics attendees use most – a signal of high engagement. Commentary from exhibitors is also provided illustrating how key trends are put into action.
“Business-to-business exhibitions is a face-to-face marketing and sales channel, and attendee engagement is the core of what this channel delivers,” noted CEIR CEO Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE. “The ongoing digital revolution places pressure on exhibitors and organizers alike to innovate and integrate digital into this channel. We encourage experimentation; however, when doing so the key values attendees want to experience must be kept in mind. This report will provide metrics to measure against and insights on how to do this effectively.”
Part One: Exhibitor In-booth Tactics – People, Product, Emotion and other Tactics offers a framework to categorize in-booth attendee engagement tactics by the type of base-level engagement needs attendees bring with them when attending an exhibition: engagement between people and the education it supports; and engagement between people, product and the education it supports. It also identifies other in-booth tactics aimed at generating traffic or enhancing the memorability of the experience.
Key findings of note in this report:
- When it comes to people-to-people engagement, the chance to talk with booth staff enjoys the highest attendee use. Marketing and sales staff are most popular.
- When it comes to people-to-product engagement, interactivity is key. Where possible, showcasing the product itself generates the highest attendee usage; product demonstrations are also highly used.
- Eighty-five percent of exhibitors intentionally use emotion as a means of engaging with attendees, with the most popular tactics striving to evoke the image of a company that is trustworthy and credible and conveying a friendly, welcoming atmosphere.
This 20-page report inventories the most popular in-booth attendee engagement tactics and, more importantly, which of these tactics enjoy high attendee use for:
- People-to-people engagement and related education – 11 tactics evaluated
- People-to-product engagement and related education – 12 tactics evaluated
- Other tactics used to attract attendees to a booth and make the experience memorable – 10 tactics evaluated
- In addition to total results, this report identifies unique differences by industry sector, the extent of exhibition activity and other key demographics.
