I can give you 5 reasons to exhibit at a trade show.

1. New product launch
2. Enter a new market
3. Mingle with customers
4. Branding
5. Support your industry

And I also believe, among the above 5 reasons, the leading exhibitors (”vital few”) all lean toward branding and support the industry to justify their annual trade show marketing spend.

But customer preference is moving towards another direction. Many leading exhibitors are leaving the big shows and opt for small private events. For instance, last year E3, the world’s biggest digital game show, was held in more private, toned down format without the presence of the big exhibitors.

Exhibitors are organizing their own pavilions, put all the distributors, associates, and customers under one single brand umbrella. To name one example, we have the Rendez-Vous pavilion organized by Invita, the world’s largest integrated fibers and polymers businesses and formerly the Dupont Lycra. Private pavilion can be co-located with a trade show or spin off as a private event.

The change of supply chain has also impacted the trade show organizer profitability by shrinking the value pool. We’ve seen more and more private events organized by the new media, PR agencies, and even the booth contractors. All of them used to be the service intermediaries are now moving into the event organizer business.

Why the vital few are pulling out from trade show? Small private events have better dynamic and the exhibitors have better control on the people mix. But most importantly, small private event can be customized to meet with the KPI of a marketing spend. Which, in a sense, is quite different from the big trade show KPI that is essentially built upon serving the trivial many.

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