Face-to-Face Report : August 2010

Exhibition Industry Revenue Declines 4.4% in Q2 2010
Industry revenue declines 6.5% in first half 2010

According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) Index report, while indicators of recovery of net square feet and revenue are still showing a decline, the decline is at a much slower rate than during previous quarters. Net square feet of exhibit space sold showed a decline of 3%, with exhibitors declining 3%. However, when compared to the same period in 2009, both metrics are showing improvement (net square feet declined 10.1% and exhibitors declined 12.8%). Revenue declined 4.4%, compared to a 16.9% decline in 2009 second quarter results.

Furthermore, CEIR reported that one of the leading indicators to look for in a recovery of the exhibition industry is professional attendees. Second quarter data indicates some optimistic signs, with a 4.5% positive change in attendance. These results are especially positive when compared to first quarter data which indicated a decrease of 0.2% over 2009.

As an objective measure of the annual performance of the exhibition industry, the CEIR Index measures year-over-year changes in four key metrics to determine overall performance across 11 key industry sectors. For more information, visit www.ceir.org.

Three Services to Enhance Your Virtual Attendees' Experience

Virtual events are heating up for reasons including shrinking travel budgets, environmental concerns, and technological advances. And now, more tech companies are offering sleek tools and services to take your virtual event to the next level. Here are three:

1) Virtual events allow new levels of opportunity for event producers in that the experience can be sold again and again. So why limit your virtual event to one or two countries? Language is no longer a barrier with the VirtualEvents365 online events platform's new localization capabilities.

This technology allows virtual event organizers to offer multilingual events at the click of a button. Attendees can select their user-interface language preference, which also localizes meeting content, including presentations and surveys.

The tools currently offer attendees a choice of English, French, Quebec French, Italian, German, Spanish, American Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, European Portuguese, and Brazilian Portuguese.

2) “Location-based social networks are a perfect fit for the trade show and conference environment,” according to the Trade Show News Network, namely because services like Foursquare and Gowalla allow users the convenience of their smartphones in order to check in wherever they are to find peers and colleagues.

And for privacy, an app called Double Dutch allows event producers to create a closed location-based network for attendees to experience event content on their smartphones.

3) Fad or no, 3D makes any visual presentation mesmerizing, or so hopes telepresence company Teliris, which recently announced its 3D telepresence solution. The offering is meant to make the teleconference experience more realistic for attendees and users will have the ability to toggle between 2D and 3D, as needed.

IBM Offers 3D Virtual Events

IBM recently launched a 3D virtual business meeting platform called Virtual Collaboration for Lotus Sametime, in an effort to make less expensive alternatives to face-to-face events more robust and engaging for attendees.

“Sametime 3D” promises Lotus Sametime users the ability to “share presentations or other materials … take notes using virtual flip charts … (and) share ideas and other information on a brainstorm wall.” Users can import, save and update materials, as well as prioritize and vote on data and resources as a group. 

“The timing is perfect for this new offering as it facilitates effective meetings and brainstorming without the time and expense of travel," said John Allessio, VP of IBM's Software Services for Lotus, in a press release.

FEATURED RESOURCE
ABM’s Library of Free CEIR Research Available for Members

ABM members from around the globe continue to take advantage of the Association’s partnership with the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), designed to provide ABM members with important, timely information on the world of face-to-face – all at no cost.

The following reports have just been added to ABM’s library of free CEIR research available for members:

• Guru Report: A “Greener” Place for Face-to-Face
• Building Exhibit Results for the Not-for-Profit Government Exhibitor
• Guru Report: Space Allocation Methods for Exhibitions and Events

Other top-requested reports include CEIR’s 2010 Index report, an analysis of the 2009 exhibition industry and future outlook; The Power of Exhibitions in the 21st Century, which offers a wealth of insight into how new generations of attendees want to connect, learn and network at events; Effective Methods for Visitor Promotion, which analyzes the most and least effective tools for attracting visitors and reveals the average spending on pre- and post-exhibition promotion; and Digital + Exhibiting Marketing Insights 2009, a comprehensive analysis of the influence of digital media on the exhibition industry.  

Contact Kate Patton with your request(s), and the research will be e-mailed to you directly.

Click here to access ABM's new strategic plan!

Click here to follow ABM on Twitter!

Click here to become a fan of ABM on Facebook!