A Trade Show about Trade Shows: EXHIBITOR2012

A trade show about trade showsThere’s a trade show for just about everything, including one for trade shows called EXHIBITOR2012, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, March 4-8. The show is geared toward exhibit and event managers looking for new products, ideas and solutions they can use when they plan trade shows for their companies.

In addition to the exhibit hall, EXHIBITOR2012 features a conference offering more than 220 seminars, workshops, field trips and Peer2Peer Roundtables in seven different learning tracks. Sessions include information on creative strategies, organization and time management, maximizing sales leads, social media, pre-show planning, case studies, a Graphics Boot Camp and more, grouped into seven main categories: Measurement and Results, Planning and Execution, Marketing and Communications, Corporate Events, Personal and Career, Exhibits and Experiences and Global (the effects of globalization on the trade show industry).

Whether you provide graphics for, or exhibit at trade shows, EXHIBITOR2012 might be worth a look this year. The show is hosted by EXHIBITOR Magazine, which reports that this year’s show has grown from last year.

“This is the second year in a row that we have needed to expand the floor plan to make more room for large exhibits. Already, more than 65 island exhibits have been sold for EXHIBITOR2012,” said Carol Fojtik, managing director of EXHIBITOR2012. “We had 53 island exhibits in 2011. This year’s expansion allows us to accommodate the needs of both large and small exhibitors who are now on our waiting list for space.”

For more information about the conference sessions and to register to attend, go to www.EXHIBITOR2012.com. If you’re interested in exhibiting, contact Jeff Naccarato at exhibitor2012@heiexpo.com or call 877-394-2114.

Cautious Optimism in the Exhibit Market

Trade show graphics inkjet mediaAccording 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.