Explori Blog

The New Exhibitor Mindset: Doing More with Less

Written by Jan Barthelemy | August 28, 2025 at 3:00 PM

Exhibitors are getting smarter.

In today’s economic climate, every marketing pound (or dollar) must work harder. For exhibitors, this has sparked a shift in how they approach events. Our 2025 Channel Insights research shows that exhibitors are more selective than ever — but they’re also getting better results. The key? A focus on quality over quantity.

Download the 2025 Channel Insights Report.

What's changed since 2019?

  • Post-pandemic exhibitor satisfaction and NPS remain well above 2019 levels. 
  • Budgets are flat or declining, but costs are rising. 
  • This combination has led exhibitors to adopt a more strategic approach — carefully choosing which events to attend and how to show up. 

Three pillars of the new mindset: 

  1. Selectivity – Dropping events that don’t deliver ROI and doubling down on those that do. 
  1. Purpose-driven participation – Defining clear objectives before committing. 
  1. Creative engagement – Moving beyond the booth to sponsorships, targeted networking, and curated experiences. 

For organisers: 

  • Offer segmented participation packages. 
  • Share audience data early to help exhibitors decide. 
  • Create platforms for quality interactions, not just volume. 

For exhibitors: 

  • Build a business case for each event. 
  • Prioritise events where your target audience is confirmed to attend. 
  • Get perfectly aligned on sales, marketing and strategic objectives and set clear targets.
 

 
Explore the full findings and see what’s next for B2B events — download the 2025 Channel Insights Report