An exhibition involves various expenses beyond the obvious ones such as the cost of your event space, the exhibition stand design and production, its installation, and the logistics of getting to and from the event and whether you need accommodation.
You will also need to consider how you will market your exhibition so that clients and prospects know how to spot you and how you can inform people you will be there. These will also have a cost attached to them and will need to be added to your exhibition marketing budget. None of us like surprise charges though and sometimes we can focus our efforts and budget on some areas, forgetting that other costs may be about to creep up on us.
So what are the exhibition marketing costs that may surprise you and mean you have to reassess how you can make your exhibition budget stretch further?
Content creation
Professional photography and videography: High-quality visuals of your exhibits, behind-the-scenes footage, and promotional videos can be crucial for marketing. Hiring professionals for these tasks can be costly but necessary for creating a strong visual appeal. A photographer alone could cost between £250-£450 according to Bark, whilst a filmmaker may wish to charge the same amount per hour!
Graphic design: Creating visually appealing marketing materials such as posters, flyers, and social media graphics often requires professional graphic design services. At Starlight, we offer a free design service for exhibition stands and our other services, but you may require a specific designer for any other promo literature. Looking at the research carried out by Bark once again, we saw that some work can cost as little as £30 but you could be looking at as much as £500 for other items. Much depends on what you want, but also how the designers charge. Some operate on a per-hour rate, others charge a set fee for a specific service. Costs for marketing an exhibition can soon escalate so factor in the type of items you require graphic design for early.
Digital marketing
SEO and SEM: Investing in search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) ensures your exhibition has a strong online presence. This might involve hiring experts or agencies. Ranking first on Google is no easy task and can take time, with SEO an ever-evolving landscape, it’s often best to use a specialist agency. They can help you find the right keywords to target and look at what types of content may be best for your website. They may even help you build a new site too! Agencies can charge an hourly rate, and this tends to be paid for monthly as you’ll need a few months at least to get results. Just remember, once you ease up on your SEO, your online presence can drop off very fast!
Social Media Advertising: Running targeted ad campaigns on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn can quickly add up, especially if you’re aiming to reach a wide audience. Digital is king these days for advertising. In a report by publift, a US-based company, says that by 2025, digital advertising will account for as much as 70% of global ad revenue. This means a lot of people competing for attention! Ad costs vary per platform, but it has been estimated that you could spend as little as 40p per click on Facebook, £79 per month on X and £6 per day on YouTube.
Public relations (PR)
Press kits and media outreach: Creating and distributing press kits to journalists, bloggers, and influencers involves both time and money. You might also need to hire a PR agency to manage media relations and get coverage in relevant publications. You can craft your own press releases and send them to journalists for free, but for an event, a kit may be so much better. It gives those you are reaching out to much more information to potentially create a great editorial piece. Should you not have the contacts, you can pay for your press release to go out far and wide in the hope someone picks it up. This may cost less than £100 and three times as much if you need the content written for you by an expert. It’s not a huge dent in your event marketing costs but it soon can be!
Event launches and media previews: Hosting special events for media and influencers prior to the main exhibition can generate buzz but also comes with additional costs for venue, catering, and entertainment. Think of whatever the event initially cost you and it could well be that much again! It’s tough to put a price on this as every business will vary with its event objectives, its staffing, its catering and its venue hire but expect it to be well into the thousands!
Collateral materials
Printed materials: Brochures, catalogues, banners, and other printed materials for visitors can be expensive, especially if you need high-quality printing. We’ve already looked at the cost of a graphic designer but now you need the items they have created to be made. Costs here can fluctuate quite a lot as quantities, sizes, paper type and more are all taken into account. You could print 500 flyers for as little as £15 in some cases get a number of posters for the same price. Should you require printing of brochures or even specific signage for use outside the venue or near your exhibition stand, it’s easy to add a further £300-£500 on top.
Promotional merchandise: Items like branded bags, pens, and souvenirs can enhance visitor experience and brand recall but add to the budget. Exhibition giveaways can be a great idea but they do come at a cost that you may not have thought about. Pens for example can be as little as 25p per unit but you may have to order 500 as a minimum. Mugs are another favourite as they always seem to be in use thanks to our love of tea, and these could cost as little as £2. But again, a minimum order will apply which soon sees the cost rise. Think about items that are likely to be used by your attendees, so your brand stays relevant to them.
Logistics and operations
Shipping and handling: Transporting promotional materials, exhibition pieces, and other essentials to and from the venue can incur significant costs.
Insurance: Adequate insurance coverage for the exhibition, including for valuable exhibits and potential liabilities, is a crucial yet often overlooked expense. Costs are again varied but some insurers offer policies from as little as £25 but you can expect it to increase if your event has lots of attendees, is held in a large venue or there are specific risks at your exhibition.
By accounting for these hidden costs, you can better prepare and allocate your budget effectively for a successful exhibition marketing campaign.
To help keep costs low, ask for help from our team at Starlight. We provide a wealth of knowledge and experience in designing and creating modular stands for exhibitions that suit all types of events. With reconfigurable event stands available too, you won’t have to spend additional cash on a new stand for each event or exhibition you attend. Contact our team today to see how we can keep costs low and help you achieve your event goals.
