The Center for Exhibition Industry Research has released the fourth report in its newest series, 2016 Attendee Retention Insights Part Four: Special Activities and Amenities that Build a Loyal Alumni Attendee Audience.

This newest addition to the series offers organizers a comprehensive resource to help understand the profile of attendees that visit an exhibition repeatedly and the content that turns them into loyal customers.

Part four takes a look at the influence of special activities and amenities in converting attendees to loyal alumni to a specific event.

“When it comes to special activities and amenities that drive repeat attendance, this study highlights the importance of giving alumni the tools to have productive and hassle-free visits and settings beyond the show floor and education classrooms that facilitate meaningful face-to-face engagements,” said CEIR President and CEO Brian Casey.

“Just as with education, one size does not fit all, and the nature of the event may play in to what alumni value when attending,” Casey added. “Another critical finding is that some organizers may be ignoring an easy way to increase retention with attendee organizations. Results in this report indicate group amenities are effective in driving repeat attendance.”

2016 Attendee Retention Insights Part Four: Special Activities and Amenities that Build a Loyal Alumni Attendee Audience identifies ways to help maximize attendee organization retention.

Results indicate that alumni value events that give them other ways to engage in valuable face-to-face interactions with participants.

Amenities are also valued to take the hassle out of the logistics of attending and making the experience more enjoyable.

Here are some key findings:

·  Over two-thirds of alumni attend the event with others from their organization. And most of these groups, 86 percent, come with set goals they aim to achieve. Average and median group sizes are detailed in this report.

·  Organizers that offer amenities find them effective in driving repeat attendance. This report details group amenities offered, level of effectiveness of each amenity in driving repeat attendance and an overview on how group amenities are marketed and whether fees are charged.

·  Attendees who have previously attended an event value experiences that are hassle-free and user-friendly. The top two ranked services, used by more than three-quarters of alumni and valued by 84-percent+ of users are:

o    Free WiFi; and

o    Access to open seating areas.

In addition to total results, 2016 Attendee Retention Insights Part Four: Special Activities and Amenities that Build a Loyal Alumni Attendee Audience identifies unique preferences by attendee demographics, including by gender, age, job level, role in purchasing decisions, annual volume of purchases of showcased products and services, organizational size, and profile of event attended.

Additionally, exhibition organizer results that differ from total results are reported as well, including by: whether association-run or independently-run; size of exhibition; and whether an exhibition rotates locations.

The 2016 Attendee Retention Insights series consists of five reports focusing on the largest trade shows in the U.S. to understand what generates loyalty among attendees and how event organizers motivate them to return on a regular basis.

Input was sought from organizer and repeat attendee perspectives. The resulting reports offer readers a road map for benchmarking attendee retention strategy practices with industry norms; an understanding of commonly held characteristics of professionals who attend a given event regularly; and insights to guide organizers in their marketing and event development.

Other reports in the 2016 Attendee Retention Insights series are:

·  Part One: Basics for Creating Your Attendee Retention Strategy: Tracking, Profiling and Why They Come Back (released in April 2016)

·  Part Two: Exhibition Floor Features that Build a Loyal Alumni Attendee Audience (released in May 2016)

·  Part Three: Education Content that Builds a Loyal Alumni Attendee Audience (released in May 2016)

·  Part Five: Eleven Real-world Business-to-Business Exhibition Organizer Attendee Retention Approaches (to be released soon)

Click here to download 2016 Attendee Retention Insights Part Four: Special Activities and Amenities that Build a Loyal Alumni Attendee Audience.