From Creative Magazine Nov 29, 2010 issue:

Champion Exposition Services Releases Trade Show Study

Champion Exposition Services released the findings of its survey on the impact of the economy on trade show exhibitors including reduced participation in the number of shows and related regrets, along with an outlook for the future. A majority (81%) of exhibiting companies made concessions in their trade show programs due to the economy. The methods for implementing recession-induced budget cuts have been diverse with most exhibitors using more than one method to make reductions. Sending fewer staff to trade shows (56%) was the most common adaptation, and 39% of those respondents regret doing so. In addition, others reduced the number of events they participate in (39%), and 56% regret doing so.

While the economic downturn during the past two years has impacted the trade show participation, a majority (51%) of exhibitors plan to participate in more trade shows as the economy recovers. Exhibitors' top goals to participate in trade shows include collecting leads (79%) and creating brand awareness or growing market share (75%), while 33% use trade shows to launch new products. Measuring value or return on investment includes the quality of leads collected (74%), booth traffic (59%), quantity of leads collected (54%) and number of sales resulting from leads collected (52%). Ninety percent report using one or more lead-related metrics to measure tradeshow ROI and 62% follow-up within one week. In addition, 62% of respondents report that trade show expenditures represent more than a quarter of their marketing budget, including 28% of exhibitors who indicate trade shows represent more than half their marketing budget.

While a majority of trade show related budgets will remain the same in 2010 and 2011, a quarter of the companies predict increased spending on future trade shows compared to 2009. (Web site) http://www.championexpo.com/