Following an incredibly challenging year and a half, conventions and trade shows have finally been making a long-awaited return and are helping the industry get back to business. Although there have still been last-minute cancellations and virtual pivots here and there, and there is undoubtedly a long road ahead, the overall outlook for the industry is optimistic.
Derek Lotfi, National Sales Director at The Expo Group, which organizes events of all sizes every year, sat down with XLIVE and shared the biggest trends on his radar based on events in the past few weeks.
Events Are Back in Full Force in Q4
Cancellations in 2020 and the beginning of 2021 have, as predicted, led to an oversaturation of events in the back half of this year and increased competition between in-person events.
“A lot of shows are still trying to get something off the ground before the end of this year,” says Lotfi. “They’re squeezing in wherever they can. We’re seeing at least double, maybe almost triple the frequency of events of a normal year right now. The state of the live events world is currently just non-stop — even more than it usually would be.”
He also notes that there are more shows spilling into the end of November and the beginning of December than there normally would be, but that he anticipates that the event frequency will normalize going into and throughout next year as organizations settle back into a regular event cadence.
Exhibitors Are Weighing Quality Over Quantity
Historically, the success of trade shows has largely been measured by the number of attendees and exhibitors. “It’s always been about getting more attendees and more exhibitors year over year — obviously, everybody wants shows to keep growing,” notes Lotfi. “But what always bubbled up from the exhibitor side was how to bring in more quality attendees, and how to guarantee that the folks walking down the aisles and attending meetings were the type of people with whom they wanted to be speaking.”
Now, with companies tightening their travel policies and budgets post-pandemic, they’re making more deliberate decisions about who can attend certain events. As a result, the attendees currently attending trade shows tend to be higher-ups or decision-makers — in other words, exactly the group that exhibitors are most interested in meeting.
“Before, for every qualified buyer there may have been three people who were just there to take a free item from the booth, and it was much more difficult to weed through them. Exhibitors are becoming more interested in diving into the metrics, and it’s gotten easier to find and connect with qualified leads, which I think is a great thing for the industry,” says Lotfi.
He adds that growth is still an important metric to track, but tracking other metrics, like how much business was won by exhibitors and sponsors, is more important than ever and has been facilitated by a proliferation of new event tech and strategies.
Covid Restrictions (and Lack Thereof) Have Benefitted Certain Destinations
The stark difference in health and safety guidelines across the country has changed the event landscape this year as certain destinations were essentially closed off to trade show business, and organizers had to make other arrangements when possible. Earlier this year, for example, several organizations moved their shows to Florida, which barely ever had any restrictions on gathering, vaccinations, etc.
“Some cities that didn't use to have large, robust trade shows rolling through all the time started to get some of that business as markets like DC and California only just recently started allowing trade shows again,” notes Lotfi.
As a result, certain cities and states are experiencing more of an uptick then they might have in the past. It remains to be seen how things will shake out next year, but we can expect most cities to return to their regularly scheduled programming.
Digital Components Require Further Experimentation
When it comes to trade shows in particular, virtual formats have not delivered on the value and experience that exhibitors and attendees expect. However, while digital elements may not be the priority moving forward, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will completely fall by the wayside.
Most of The Expo Group’s clients are going back to fully in person, but Lotfi shares that the company is investing in partnerships with clients who are interested in digital components and what they would look and feel like. “It might not really be a show,” says Lotfi, “but more of an online portal that allows for community engagement. It doesn’t have to be extremely complicated, and I think COVID-19 opened the door for a lot of organizations to experiment with things that they’ve wanted to do for a while and see how it pans out.
“There's an appetite for companies to get out there in front of their clients and prospects, and there's no easier way to do it than a live, in-person event,” says Lotfi. “Hopefully, the live events tradeshow world can be a catalyst to trigger the hospitality industry. I know that here at The Expo Group we’re working hard to produce great events that are bringing in strong numbers of attendees which ultimately helps local economies at the same time.”