ABSTRACT
Exhibitions and trade fairs represent a substantial commitment on the part of marketers. Total expenditure on exhibitions and trade fairs in the UK is consistently higher than the spend on advertising in the trade press, and is also higher than the combined expenditure on outdoor, cinema, and radio advertising. Yet few exhibitors assess the effectiveness of this activity in any realistic way, and there is continuing academic debate about whether exhibitions are actually effective in communicating with target markets. Attitudes are polarized among exhibitors: some believe strongly that exhibitions are excellent promotional tools, whereas others believe exhibitions are marginal at best (Blythe and Rayner, 1996). It is certainly the case that a successful trade show will depend on both the internal knowledge resources of the firm, and its existing external contacts (Ling-Yee, 2007).
