Pre-Show Planning: Understanding Your Audience

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Jennifer Randolph

In our last post, we discussed the importance of pre-show planning. One essential element of planning is understanding your audience. With the demographic shift going on in America, the audience for many trade shows is changing.

An estimated 10,000 Boomers a day turn 65 and approximately two-thirds of workers will retire at that age. As a result, exhibitors and show organizers need to revisit their trade show marketing plans to make sure they understand younger audience, what they are looking for and how they make decisions.

CEIR recently released The 2014 Young Professional Attendee Needs and Preferences Study. The results were encouraging and enlightening. Young people highly value trade shows. However, marketers shouldn’t rely on stereotypes when trying to reach them. Surprisingly the Internet Generation still relies on direct marketing when searching out information about shows. 58% rely on email. 41% rely on direct mail from show organizers or exhibitors. While social media is woven into the fabric of their lives, they seem to prefer direct mail, email and visits to the show’s site to gather in-depth show information.

Another surprising finding from the report is how dependent young professionals are on the printed show program. Despite how attached they are to their mobile devices, only 26% use a mobile app version of the program. The major barrier to using the app was their dislike of downloading an app that would only be used once. This finding is consistent with other mobile industry research. Phone and tablet space is limited. Most apps are downloaded in the first month of phone ownership and the most frequently used apps are those that came preloaded on the phone.

So what is a trade show marketer to do? Be sure to do your homework. Study the attendees’ demographic profile. Speak with the Association and become familiar with their pre-event and onsite marketing messages. Beef up your exhibitor profile with thoughtful and insightful content. Reach out to key customers, attendees and key influencers with personalized and relevant email and direct mail invitations to visit your booth and schedule an appointment.

If you would like more suggestions on structuring your trade show marketing plan, continue following this blog or contact Barbara Stroup for a customized consultation.

The Impact of Millennials on the Events Industry

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Jennifer Randolph

As discussed previously on this blog, in seven years half the workforce in the US will have been born after 1980. Although most event attendees currently come from Generation X, conferences will become increasingly reliant upon the Millennial generation (also known as Gen Y) for attendance at expos and industry meetings. Fortunately, research shows that over 60% of young workers value the face-to-face interactions that exhibits and conventions offer.

To better understand the changing expectations of future generations of expo attendees, Amsterdam RAI recently published a study comparing Generations X and Y. It was found that Gen Y, like older generations, want education and engagement at events, but their needs and expectations are remarkably different. Gen X, balancing family and work, has more time pressure and are looking to justify the time and expense spent attending the conference. They are looking to gain very specific information as time efficiently as possible.

Millennials have been heavily influenced by having grown up with technology. Demographers suggest that they are so accustomed to multitasking and multi-screens that they literally think differently than previous generations. Exhibitors must create creative, visually compelling, engrossing experiences in order to retain their attention.

Gen Y has come to expect personalized interactions. They stream music and TV shows tailored to their likes, discover new products based on personalized recommendations and are served up Facebook ads based on their hobbies, interests and location. Everything is a reflection of their individuality. As a result they bring these expectations with them when they attend conferences. Amsterdam RAI’s research shows that too often the experience does not match their expectations. They perceive typical exhibitor behavior as a negative, too pushy, too in your face, too carnival like.

Yet with strategic adjustments, our event marketing team can help transform your next expo or Association meeting into an event that will appeal to a wide variety of attendees, including Millennials. For more information, contact Barbara Stroup bstroup@cepiexpo.com.

Attracting Millennials to Your Next Conference

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Jennifer Randolph

Associations and event marketers are preparing for a massive generational shift in the workforce which could have a profound impact on meeting attendance. By next year it is estimated that half of the employees in the world will have been born after 1980. The US workforce is expected to reach that benchmark by 2020.

Therefore it is not surprising that association executives are searching for ways to attract, connect with and retain the next generation of members and conference attendees. In a survey, 74% of association executives said they were concerned about attracting younger members but less than half of them felt confident in their ability to do so.

Ye the answer may be surprising simple and easily addressed. A recent survey of Millennials found that more than half believe they would benefit from having a professional mentor, but only about one-third said their bosses or supervisors were willing to serve in that role. The desire for career guidance is a crucial gap that associations and professional conferences can fill.

Our event marketing team can help make create and market your next event to attract a wide variety of attendees, including Millennials. For more information, contact Barbara Stroup bstroup@cepiexpo.com.