Over the past few years, exhibitors in general have been pressured to watch costs and increase ROI. That is, they have been asked by corporate management to do more with less. One of the strategies we've seen develop is for exhibitors to use more modular and portable exhibits, as well as lighter weight materials.

We commissioned Tradeshow Week to research and write this study to attempt to qualify some of these trends. The data in this report was gathered from a survey done in May and June 2006 of 273 leading corporate exhibitors and event marketers.

The new white paper provides strong evidence that there is a continuing shift towards custom modular exhibits, because custom modular exhibits help lower operating costs and provide greater flexibility.

Here are some of the key findings:

Exhibitors who use hybrid custom modular exhibits say their top three reasons for using them are:

In a comparison of the shipping weights of used traditional custom and custom modular exhibits shown for sale on two websites, the traditional custom exhibits weighed 154% more.

Thirty-seven percent of exhibitors said that over the next two years they will "use more modular/portable exhibits" and "more Hybrid custom exhibits." This is nearly four times greater than the 10% that said they plan to "use more custom exhibits" over the next two years.

Fifty-five percent of exhibitors surveyed said they agreed that "lightweight custom exhibits provide higher value, ROI and other advantages than traditional custom exhibits." Eighteen percent disagreed with this statement and 27% said that they "don't know."

Many exhibitors report an increased focus on cutting costs - specifically, shipping, drayage and I&D. While cutting the overall number of shows is cited by several exhibitors, others are saving on exhibit costs by renting booths or using lightweight pop-up exhibits. Some verbatim quotes from exhibitors:

“Built hybrid, lighter weight exhibit to reduce drayage, shipping, I&D.”

“I have gotten the majority of our divisions to understand the concept of utilizing existing properties with minor redress for different audiences.”

“More emphasis on ROI.”

“More lightweight materials.”

“Moved from Heavy Custom to lightweight re-configurable.”

“Shifting from strictly custom to custom / modular / rental."

“We have gone to a cleaner, less cluttered look. Rental properties rather than heavy drayage charges.”

In a strong endorsement of trade show marketing, exhibitors expect 4.0% growth on average for their 2007 exhibit design, construction and refurbishment budget.

Get this new White Paper and better understand the market forces that are causing exhibitors to re-evaluate their exhibit properties. This timely information can also help you to demonstrate and explain exhibiting trends to your company management. Click here to get your copy of the new White Paper, The Trend to Custom Modular Exhibits.