The Need for Audits

Exhibitors still look for independently verified statistics on a show

By Marlys Arnold

Although exhibitors are almost universal in supporting show audits, saying they use the results to determine which shows they’ll participate in, many show managers are leery of audits. Making the situation even more complex, Expomark, the show audit division of the Audit Bureau of Circulations, ceased its operations in October 2002. Mark Wachowicz, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales, says that even though both show managers and exhibitors see audits as a needed element to provide credible attendance and demographic data, audits are still seen as a “nice to have,” not a “must-have,” sales tool.

In fact, at Expomark’s peak, it audited fewer than 1 percent of shows. However, managers of those audited shows defend their decisions. Dara Paris, Marketing Manager for the Pri-Med Show, says audits help them stand behind their product, much as magazines have done for years. “It’s a good way to measure how we’re doing ... to hold ourselves to a higher standard,” she says.

At the same time, exhibitors may not realize when a show is audited. Pri-Med, for example, doesn’t publicize the results, instead using the data internally to create a post-show report. Even so, Paris believes the audit makes a good sales tool because “It’s not just our own numbers.” 

Exhibitors love audits. “We strongly endorse audited shows over non-audited ones,” says Wendy Warnecke, IBM’s Senior Program Manager of Worldwide Customer Events. IBM looks for an unbiased third party conducting the audit. “We’re looking for verification that the audience we were ‘sold’ is who we actually see,” she says.
Warnecke says even a decline in numbers isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Instead, it can illustrate how a show is changing. The show might have better-qualified attendees who are serious about being there. “It’s an incredibly powerful tool for the event producers,” she says. “When exhibiting budgets must be cut, it’s important to show value. Without an audit, it must be increasingly difficult to sell their product.”

Now other organizations are left to fill the void, such as Red Bank, NJ-based Exhibit Surveys, which offers an “attendance certification” service. While not an audit, this service offers another method to add credibility to a show’s numbers. In addition, in November 2002, eBrain Market Research in Arlington, VA, announced that it would begin offering a show audit service.

Marlys Arnold is a trade show consultant based in Kansas City, MO, and is the author of Build a Better Trade ShowImage (2002). E-mail:marnold@imagespecialist.com