There's no denying it: Meeting attendees love technology. Trade show organizers and exhibitors, however, have yet to fully grasp what they love about it, or how they want to use it. To help them, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) has launched a new series of "Digital Toolkit" research reports dedicated to information about how to meet attendees' digital needs, it announced yesterday.
"In keeping with CEIR's mission to provide insights on leading-edge trends, research offering guidance on where organizers and exhibitors need to invest in digital offerings is essential," said CEIR President and CEO Brian Casey. "Other CEIR research has consistently found that digital is a complementary medium to the exhibition channel; it supports and enhances exhibition marketing and extends its marketing impact for organizers and exhibitors. Though research is wanting on what attendees want. This [series] offers answers. It helps organizers and exhibitors prioritize the use of digital to have a maximum, positive impact on the attendee experience."
The first report in the series, "Focus Report on Organizer Pre-event Communications and Registration Offerings," explores best practices for leveraging digital media before an event to capture attendees' attention and secure their registration. Key findings include:
• A digital multichannel mix helps prospective attendees decide whether to attend an event. Results indicate an exhibition organizer's information sources carry the most weight: The event's website is its flagship marketing vehicle, identified as an important resource by 70 percent of attendees.
• Organizers could do a better job collaborating with exhibitors, as any information from them helps persuade an attendee to come.
• Attendees engage in extensive pre-event planning using the event's website. A majority of attendees rate 17 of the 18 listed pre-show planning tools as important to have access to on the exhibition website. They are looking for interactive tools to search, sort, and evaluate all aspects of attending and registering for events and services if they so choose. They also want to be able to pull down the information they need for their visit as well as access to an attendee list.
• When comparing attendee preferences to digital options organizers offer for badge and event ticket pick-up, gaps exist. The biggest opportunity is an affinity for self-serve options.
Concluded CEIR Research Director Nancy Drapeau, "This initiative was a massive undertaking. Given that it covers attendee digital needs and preferences throughout the journey, focus reports will be released on specific topic areas. The report released today provides insights relating to which digital tactics attendees use to search for prospective events, and their registration and pre-event planning practices. Later reports will be forthcoming providing insights relating to exhibition organizer mobile apps [and] exhibit booth preferences, among other topic areas. The data is still being analyzed. Other insights may generate further focus reports."
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