Objectives and Measures at UK Trade Exhibitions

Abstract

Exhibitions are a major promotional activity for firms in the UK and, indeed, in the rest of the world. The received wisdom is that exhibitions are an effective promotional tool, and large sums are spent on them, yet little evidence exists to demonstrate that exhibitions are effective. Furthermore, few firms routinely collect information regarding the effectiveness of their exhibition activities. This paper reports on a study of 104 firms who exhibit in the UK. Firms were asked about their objective setting activities, their reasons for exhibiting, and their methods of evaluating the effectiveness of the exhibition. It was found that most firms set few or even no objectives for the exhibitions, that they do not evaluate effectively, and that a surprisingly large number of firms do not evaluate their activities at all.