Exhibitions Are the Biggest Area of Investment

for Businesses in the South West, Says Report South West businesses invest the majority of their marketing budgets in attending shows and exhibitions, reveals a recent survey conducted by market research company, Insight Data, on behalf of Bristol-based live events firm, Clip Exhibition & Display. Paul Runacres, Sales & Marketing Director at Clip, said: “Nearly 42% of the survey respondents said that they spend most of their marketing budget on attending events, over 33% picked online advertising and printed advertising only accounted for just over 8%. The research, which has targeted over 16,000 business leaders in the South West, has also shown that most companies taking part in the survey still allocate modest resources for this type of marketing activity, with 91.66% of the responses pointing to an annual budget of up to £25,000. Surprisingly, none of the respondents opted for the mid-range bracket, of £25,000-£75,000, while 8.34% stated that they spend over £75,000 for shows and exhibitions every year. Paul comments: “It is good to see that so many businesses in this part of the country understand the importance of ‘face to face’ engagement with their target market. “Exhibitions are a great opportunity to build a brand and create market awareness, but they’re also a great chance to sell your products and services. We know from our own customers’ experience that more often than not, attending a relevant show will pay for itself even in the short-run. So it’s not just about the long term strategy, shows are also a great occasion to sell.” Almost 83% of the companies answering the survey have stated that they attend under 10 shows a year, with 75% of the respondents also saying they are considering exhibiting at more relevant trade shows in the future. “A big part of our volumes every year come from repeat business, clients who have used our stand design and building services for previous events,” said Paul. “Over the past couple of years, we have noticed an increase in our clients’ events schedules, and I believe this is very indicative of an industry trend at large.” Clip is a leader in the design and build of exhibition stands for businesses of all sizes across the South-West and internationally. Its clients include Thatchers Cider, HSBC, Nandos, Hilton, Google, Weston Cider, BT and GSK.