AEO announces partnership with BPA Worldwide to bring cost effective event auditing to UK exhibition industry
Date: 19 March 2013
In a move that is intended to make independently audited attendance data much more accessible, the Association of Exhibition Organisers Ltd (AEO) has partnered with BPA Worldwide, the only global auditor of media, to make a £500 event audit immediately available to AEO members in the UK.
The new cost effective audit will provide event organisers with audited attendance and exhibitor data for their shows, with the option to add demographic and other data for additional incremental costs.
“The UK exhibitions sector is big business and it is essential that it not only adheres to and embraces best practice but that we make it as easy and as accessible as possible for our members to do so,â€' explains Karim Halwagi, AEO Chief Executive. “We are confident our new partnership with BPA will achieve this.â€'
The UK exhibition industry generates around £11BN in spending and contributes over £5BN in value to the UK economy each year. This activity supports 148,500 jobs in the UK, attracts over 13MN visitors a year to more than 1,500 events. Over 265,000 exhibitors participate in events, with 20% coming from outside of the UK. Exhibitors spend almost £3BN on goods and services to demonstrate at events while visitors spend over £1.4BN on accommodation, travel and other purchases.*
“We are delighted to be working with AEO on embedding independent audits within the exhibition industry,â€' adds Francis Stones, BPA's Director of European Operations. “BPA has global experience and expertise in media auditing and we have already had a number of event organisers commit to take up the new audit offer. We will be working hard with the AEO to make auditing custom and practice for AEO members.â€'
BPA event audits provide event organisers with audited attendance and sometimes demographic data, which can be used to help potential exhibitors to justify their decision to invest in a show. In this sense a BPA event audit report of a show's verified attendance can be a powerful commercial tool for an organisers' marketing team.