According to a survey published in the latest issue of EXHIBITOR Magazine, exhibit companies and trade show coordinators are cautiously optimistic about 2011 and 2012, meaning that graphics providers should be at least as cautiously optimistic as they are.

When asked if their company would increase, decrease or maintain their trade show budgets in 2011, 26.8 percent said they will increase, 18.4 percent will decrease, 52.1 percent will maintain and 2.6 percent didn’t know either way. Moreover, 18.7 percent of companies surveyed for the magazine’s 2011 Economic Outlook survey said they would increase their graphics budget, 17.6 percent would decrease, 58.2 percent would maintain and 5.5 percent didn’t know.

The strongest margins between a budget increase and decrease in the survey are found in the overall marketing budget: 33.9 percent said they will increase, 11.7 percent will decrease, 49.4 percent will maintain and 5 percent were unsure.

So, at least according to the survey, there are further opportunities outside of providing exhibit graphics that you should explore with your customers and potential customers. With the increasing media fragmentation, more graphics buyers are looking for ways to push their product directly to consumers, either at the point of sale or at some alternative face-to-face venue, such as special events.

If you need any help identifying potential markets and customers, as well as finding the right inkjet media for the application to make a big splash, contact a LexJet account specialist at 800-453-9538.