July/August 2003
Face-to-face competition

Corporate events are nothing new. Years ago, exhibitors discovered that corporate events can be a successful face-to-face marketing tool. Ace Hardware, Computer Associates and McDonald’s Corp. are among the most well established corporations producing events.

And more exhibiting companies are discovering this marketing opportunity.

In the April 2003 issue of EXPO, we reported that Microsoft participates in 5,000 events worldwide each year. The event mix is 60 percent branded corporate events, 30 percent trade show industry events and 10 percent internally/employee focused events. Five years ago, Microsoft’s event mix was more like 60 percent trade shows and 30 percent corporate events.

Corporate events seem to be all the buzz in the exhibitor press these days. Lee Knight, Editor in Chief of Exhibitor magazine, recently wrote after conducting a reader survey: “You should immediately begin lobbying to change your title to include the words ‘event manager’ or some similar phrase suggesting you have a serious role in the event marketing side of the business.”

And in the April 2003 issue of Trade Show Ideas, the magazine for members of TSEA, four articles on corporate events were included. Listen to these titles: “Job Security: How Can You Insert Yourself into the Event Mix”; “Private Events: The Icing on the Cake”; “Going Nuts over Corporate Events”; and “Selecting the Right Event to Meet Your Objectives.”

Major players in the business are changing their model to reflect the shift from only trade show marketing to include corporate event marketing. The Freeman Cos. recently signed a three-year agreement that designates Freeman as the Premier Vendor for Microsoft events and exhibits programs across North America, making Microsoft one of Freeman’s largest ongoing accounts.

How are show organizers responding to this trend? To find out, we held a roundtable with five top executives at leading show management companies to discuss which industries have been hit the hardest by corporate events and what it might mean for your show.

Beyond that, I urge you to attend one of your exhibitor’s private shows. Talk to exhibitors and attendees. Find out why they participate. What do they get out of it? There are ways to capitalize on this growing segment. Some organizers are producing these events for their exhibitors. Others are offering discounted space for corporate events to co-locate with their trade shows.

And no one is predicting these events will replace trade shows. Knight says that there’s no proof that “proprietary events will replace exhibit marketing as the preferred customer connection in corporate America.” And TSEA is careful to say “that private shows act as giant ‘plus,’ not as a replacement to traditional trade show participation.”

The increasing importance of corporate shows can be attributed, in large part, to the economy. Exhibitor needs have shifted. They are spending more on maintaining and growing existing customer relationships and less on acquiring new customers. The good news: Trade shows will likely gain back lost ground when the economy picks up again.

Danica Vasos
Editor in Chief
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