Freeman’s latest Trends Report says one in five attendees and a quarter of exhibitors have used AI to find professional events. Exhibitors go mainly for brand awareness (70%) and new leads (64%); only 16% say events explain their ROI well.
What the article says
Trade Show Executive’s Maddy Ryley reports on Freeman’s Trends Report: Pre-Event Edition; the article gives no sample size or field dates and does not break the results out by industry. 21% of attendees have used AI to discover professional events, and 25% of exhibitors have, 52% of whom say it changed their view of which events to join. 55% of attendees check the exhibitor list or floor plan, and 63% prepare by identifying the exhibitors they will visit. 84% of attendees know four or more weeks ahead that they are going, but about half register in the final four weeks, and 82% need funding sign-off. Exhibitors’ top objectives are brand awareness (70%) and new leads (64%); 16% say events explain their ROI effectively.
Why it matters at the top of the house
The booth visit is decided before the doors open, from the exhibitor list, and more often with an AI tool. A manufacturer that pays for a booth and shows up on that list as a name and a number has given the buyer little to plan around.
Source: Trade Show Executive, “New Freeman Trends Report Explores How to Tackle Late Decision-Making,” by Maddy Ryley, October 13, 2026. Research: Freeman. The Marketing Table shares the link and a note on why it matters; the article and its copyright belong to the publisher.
Follow The Marketing Table on LinkedIn for one article a day on why marketing matters in industrial companies.
Leave a Reply