Ask for an Audit Before Your Next Tradeshow

As companies continue to exhibit at their industry's trade shows, more and more are asking for audited information about who "really" attends these events. This article from Event Marketer magazine provides some insight into the development of "event audits" to help companies better assess which trade events they should be attending to reach their audiences and maximize their ROI.

It's common sense that your organization should be taking a hard look at the events at which it exhibits. What will your presence at the event achieve? How will you support your marketing efforts before the event, during the event, and post-event? Ask questions, not only from show management, but also from other exhibitors (and not just the ones the show management company will provide) to better understand the total costs involved and the potential for generating new business opportunities. What you learn may be vastly different from what the show management's marketing team wants you to know.

Has anyone seen any "formal" audits from any of the trade events they're going to? If so, we'd love to see a sample to better understand what criteria is being audited. Drop us a line if you have any comments on this.