What sponsors really want from exhibitions and trade shows

For marketers, conferences and trade shows represent months of planning, a huge chunk of their budget and pressure to deliver ROI. But what do they really want from the shows they sponsor and exhibit at?

This question was discussed during a recent webinar focusing on how marketers, sponsors and exhibitors can work together with event organisers to get more out of B2B events. Hosted by Hew Leith, SVP of marketing at event platform Grip, the webinar featured contributions from Amy Devlin, VP of strategy at GPJ, a global experience marketing agency and Brandon Paski, event marketing manager at e-learning provider Open Sesame.

The discussion highlighted a number of issues, including what to do as an exhibitor when you realize the show audience may not be the right fit for your brand, the good and bad about B2B events, what exhibitors are not getting from event organisers today and what they want in the future.

A need to understand the audience better

GPJ’s Devlin pointed out that audience data provided by event organisers often does not go deep enough to enable a sponsor to sufficiently tailor their experience to engage the audience. This can have a knock-on effect on whether or not the exhibitor or sponsor can secure a larger budget to spend at the event.

“A lot is left up to the sponsors and their agency partners when it comes to filling in the gaps,” she said. “One thing that would really help our clients is giving a deeper understanding of the audience at these events and how we can best engage with them in meaningful and relevant ways. What are their engagement preferences and what types of solutions are they looking for?”

Both Paski and Devlin also suggested exhibitors should audit events in real-time, by walking around the event and assessing the audience and other exhibitors. This may provide useful feedback for rebooking purposes.

Integrate sponsorships into the event narrative

Devlin says many of the brands GPJ works will turn down a show if they feel they are being treated like a commodity. “Off-the-shelf sponsorship packages built around a physical booth space with a predictable keynote and an expo are becoming less appealing,” she said. “[It’s about] takeovers of places or stages - the creation of high-value moments, and using an event as a content engine.”

Two-way conversation before rebooking

Paski said that one of the biggest turn-offs as an event exhibitor is the rush to rebook for the following year. “Getting an email to schedule a meeting a month prior to the event taking place, to rebook for the next year - this has happened at the very least at two different conferences,” he said. “I haven’t even got there yet, much less had time to measure return on investment.”

On the flip side, Paski added that he has also been approached to exhibit at an event, only to be told that the floor space is already three-quarters sold out. “Can I justify sponsoring an event when I know I am not going to get a great space?” he added.