Live events rally (Industry)
The
numbers of business and consumer visitors to certain exhibitions are
defying the downturn, resulting in a collective sigh of relief at the
unexpected bounty. Abigail Parkin (25 Mar'09)
This
was reinforced by the record 25,064 consumers that attended The Baby
Show with Prima Baby, at Excel London 27 February to 1 March '09. This
represented a rise of six percent on 2008.
“The Baby Show is a
brand that our visitor audience trusts, both for the consistent
delivery of an educational and entertaining experience and also value,”
explained organiser Leah Tidy,
of Clarion Events. “Often a vast amount of research is done beforehand
with visitors committed to purchasing at the show knowing that
significant savings can be made. Equally our exhibitors are able to
cost-effectively reach a huge number of this ever-changing demographic
of new parents and parents to be.”
Avril Deane from
exhibiting company Tommee Tippee is also buoyant. “Like many companies
at this time we were full of trepidation before the show wondering if -
in spite of a booming birth rate - people would turn up. We needn't
have worried. We were showcasing our new Closer to Nature BPA-free
range and by the end of Saturday we had sold out of nearly everything."
The
b2b exhibition landscape is also rosier than expected in some quarters.
A six percent rise was also recorded at the annual International
Forecourt and Fuel Equipment Show which took place at the NEC from 1st
to 3rd March.
Matthew Butler, event director for William Reed attributed the increase to a “stellar line- up of exhibitors” and a new incentive new voucher booklet containing tens of thousands of pounds-worth of offers which he says, "was a huge hit with retailers.”
BP franchise offer development
manager, Carl Osbourn added: "We had a very busy show and it has been
very productive. We’ve had a good number of leads to follow up and
we’ve had enquiries for franchise as well as the fuel.”
International
Confex event at Earls Court (24-26 Feb) saw more than 11,140
professionals from around the world attend the the annual industry
exhibition. The five percent increase on last year was gratefully
received by the event's director, Duncan Reid (pictured above).
“In
the months leading up to Confex there was a climate of fear paralysing
the industry but a significant amount of business has been conducted at
the show and I can see a real confidence returning to the market,” said
Reid.
“Over the last three years Confex has enjoyed double
digit, year on year growth and in the current economic climate where
staying the same is moving forward, a five per cent increase is a
fantastic achievement. There was a real feeling of exhibitors looking
to maximise the potential of the show and that they were serious about
doing business having brought only their best sales professionals to
Confex.”
The Events Industry Alliance
(EIA) attributes the healthy traffic to the medium of live interaction
that is so integral to events such as exhibitions. The EIA says,
“Trust, especially in the current environment, is a very valued
commodity. Meeting and interacting with real people at events engenders
trust in the hundreds of thousands of brands that use live event
marketing every year, as the three examples aptly demonstrate. No
matter how much online research is undertaken, there is no better
medium than a live encounter to seal the critical 'trust factor' and
confirm confidence in a business, brand or product."