Exhibition News January 2019 | Page 12

ANALYSIS A global perspective on Sophie Holt, global strategy director at Explori and report author, shares insights from the new Global Visitor Insights study I 12 n the last issue of EN, Chris Skeith [CEO of the AEO] told us that two-thirds of UK organisers were planning an international launch during the next two years. So, what can the latest Explori study, in partnership with UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, tell us about the needs and preferences of trade show visitors beyond our shores? With 13,000 survey responses from 135 countries, Global Visitor Insights is the biggest study of the trade show visitor experience ever undertaken. It was made possible by the support of many organisers around the world, UFI’s member network and the Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO). Unlike Explori’s global benchmarks, Global Visitor Insights doesn’t focus on single shows; their execution and their organiser. Instead, it focusses on the individual, their preferences, their business needs and their view of trade shows as a business channel, wherever they attend events. And as such, it raises some interesting challenges for organisers who seek to court the overseas visitor – whether to launch an event internationally, or to attract visitors to events run in the UK… Here are four challenges highlighted by the survey results: Sustainability When we were analysing the survey results, personally I was expecting to see attitudes to sustainability vary by age, but this was not the case. Visitors in their 30s expressed similar attitudes to sustainability to those in their 50s and 60s. While most (78 per cent) thought it was important that the shows they attended were run in a sustainable way, it has a less strong behavioural impact with 38 per cent of visitors in developed markets telling us sustainability has an effect on their decision to attend a show. But again, we see a big difference in the developing markets, notably Middle East, Asia and Africa, where the majority of visitors (up to 58 per cent) told us they would not attend a show that had a poor attitude towards sustainability. Technology could offer a solution to this. If given the opportunity to attend an event as a virtual avatar, 77 per cent of visitors from developing markets said they would definitely do this, compared to only 48 per cent in developed markets. Inclusivity Through the survey, we had the opportunity to test how inclusive our trade shows feel to our visitors. We used a broad question to capture all aspects of how an individual may feel included or excluded: Fatigue The positive news for the industry globally, is that in the eyes of “Have you ever felt less welcome at a trade show because of your our visitors, experience of trade shows is favourable and stable. Key personal characteristics (such as gender, age, race etc)?” indicators such as overall satisfaction and Net Promoter ScoreTM have In Europe and North America, just under one in ten visitors had remained stable for the last three years. When asked if trade shows are felt less welcome at some point. But more starkly, one in five visitors getting better or worse, the majority of respondents thought they were from developing countries told us they had felt unwelcome at least performing about the same, if not getting a little better. once, giving reasons such as their religious or traditional dress or lack But responses change by region. If we compare regions where the of gendered spaces. This encompassed both those attending events in trade show market is developed such as Europe and North America, their own countries or travelling overseas. there are signs of fatigue with the model. A higher proportion of While the opportunity presented by the international market may respondents from developed regions told us they thought trade shows be huge and UK organisers are seeing strong growth from it, the study were getting worse (up to 27 per cent vs up to 17 per cent in developing data suggests there will be some key characteristics among organisers markets). Respondents from markets where the trade show industry is who are most successful in satisfying the needs of new audiences. developing were much more likely to think trade shows were enjoyable and beneficial and they planned to attend trade shows even more 1. They will balance the tension between fulfilling business needs and frequently in future. creating memorable, sharable experiences. 2. They will demonstrate ‘best-in-class’ sustainability practices and communicate their efforts well. Festivalisation ‘Festivalisation’ is a term that kept popping up in our interviews with 3. They will leverage technology to increase participation. Successful organisers during the study – here we use it to mean any enhancement organisers will continue to horizon scan for new technology but will to the show format that the organiser makes with the objective of only implement solutions that complement the objectives of their improving the visitor experience. That doesn’t necessarily chime with visitors. the mind-set of our current visitor cohort, especially in Europe, where 4. They will work with the whole community around their show, most visitors tell us it doesn’t matter if a trade show is entertaining as including venues and exhibitors to ensure that a welcoming long as they can meet their business objectives. environment exists for all visitors. Many organisers reject the concept of festivalisation, believing 5. They will provide enough seats – It’s a universal complaint, topping it is not appropriate for the community served by their shows. But the list of visitor frustrations by some distance. From Birmingham responses from visitors in developing markets gave a clear direction: to Beijing, our visitors are telling us they would really like a sit They told us they place equal value between meeting their business down! objectives and being entertained. They were also much more likely to Contact Sophie on [email protected] for more information. say trade shows should be more like festivals. January 2019 | exhibitionnews.co.uk