Exhibitions Offer Most Face-to-Face Value, Study Finds

By Matt Alderton
July 27, 2012

Despite current economic conditions, the influx of technology and the emergence of alternative marketing tactics, face-to-face marketing — and exhibitions, in particular — remains valuable, according to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), which yesterday released the first in a series of reports culled from its landmark study, "The Role and Value of Face-to-Face Interaction."

The report, titled "Use and Value of Face-to-Face," is based on a survey of 9,000 attendees and 800 exhibitors. Both audiences, it found, rank exhibitions highest in terms of value from a list of 10 possible face-to-face interactions, including sales calls, exhibits, conventions, annual meetings, educational conferences with or without an exhibit component, hosted buyer events and sales calls, to name a few.

Specifically, 48 percent of attendees ranked exhibitions as the most valuable face-to-face setting on the list. In-person sales calls were a distant second, at 26 percent.

"The results of this study, last conducted in 2002, validate the enduring value of face-to-face marketing and use of business-to-business exhibitions in particular," said CEIR Research Director Nancy Drapeau. "The economy has impacted exhibitions; however, study results point to a positive outlook moving forward."