1. The CENTREX Experience
Reliable exhibition statistics (auditing)
Measuring (and merits of) values
Certification and publishing of data
The CENTREX Experience
CENTREX International Exhibition Statistics Union was established in 1997 (after a few years of joint efforts as well as 4 years of fight in Hungary within company to get ready for audited statistics).
Founders were BVV Brno, Incheba Bratislava, Poznan International Fair and HUNGEXPO Budapest
It was finally agreed that we not only introduce identical and European experience based statistics but we establish a joint company (legal form Union) to monitor and safeguard the practical implementation and to promote the transparency on all the CEE markets.
Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002

2. Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002
Basic reasons
Needed sales points
Needed to show we excel
We are better, our data are transparent, clear, comparable
THEY CONSTITUTE CERTIFIED VALUES
What is the essence / what are the basic reasons to have transparent statistics?
The fast changes among our clients, the growing number of non-experienced exhibitors, to give them guidance to select the best efficiency show, to justify their decisions, and the influx of foreign companies with their foreign experiences needed to introduce statistical procedures which are similar to those abroad.
Also CENTREX members needed strong sales and marketing arguments, sales points
To get this we needed to show/prove that we excel from others
We are better, our data are transparent, clear, comparable (with others’)
Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002

3. Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002
Data are important
To measure / present market values
(like other media)
To show what the investment brings out of the expenditure
Why are these data so important:
We need to measure / present market values
Like with other media – to show which marketing / advertising investment brings the most out of the expenditure
Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002

4. Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002
The Values
Number of (paying) Exhibitors
(paid up) Size of the Show
Number of Visitors
Quality of the Show
Visitors
Exhibitors
What are these values:
Number of Exhibitors: how many companies found it worth to spend a lot of money on using this show as their vehicle to reach target audience
Size of the show (paid up area) how much money has been invested to use this media to get the expected return – investment is more or less comparable to the size since stand area costs are parallel with the size of the show
The number of visitors show how many visitors consider this as important exhibition for them to be there, to learn the news, to meet the prospective sellers, to spend their time, efforts and money to get this lot of advertising of the exhibitors
Then there is and quickly growing value is the quality of the show: (the range of interest on both sides: foreign involvement/interest and or far travelling visitors – how far this media reaches, who are those coming / decision makers etc.
Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002

5. Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002
How to Prove
Outside – third party – assurances
Auditing by internationally recognised firm
not the regular financial auditor
To prove all this we need outside – third party – assurances – this is the auditing by a non-biased internationally recognised auditing firm
Caution: this company is better not to be our regular financial auditor! (otherwise you might loose the credit to be non-biased.
Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002

6. Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002
What to do in-house
Train own staff
Make them understand why is it important
Establish suitable incoming documents
Establish suitable own EDP solutions
What is recommended to be done within the company, in the back office?
I can say from my own experience that I feel it utmost important
to train own staff,
To make them understand why do we find it important,
To establish / design/implement suitable incoming documents,
To establish suitable own EDP solutions to get the needed statistics (for auditing and for communication).
It needs seamless (closed circuit EDP programmes – you are not entitled to intervene into data processing to arrive to statistics)
Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002

7. Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002
What to do ex-house
Educate exhibitors to understand criteria
Properly fill in suitable application forms
A long process
You might not be arrogant, pushy
What you can expect to be done ex-house?
First of all you will see that exhibitors will not easily understand what you mean, why are you bothering them.
You need to educate exhibitors to understand criteria – categories we use
The how to fill in the modified application forms
It can be a long process to make the exhibitor understand the new forms – you might not be arrogant, pushy
Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002

8. Assurance for auditing company
Application form is suitable for easy processing
EDP is suitable for the purpose and unintrusable
Output EDP provides for their auditing
To know what we intend to use
(in marketing communication, positioning)
Auditing company has to get assurances of that application forms you use are suitable for easy processing
The EDP must be suitable for the purpose and unintrusable (closed circuit you can rely on its output)
It also must be suitable to make the right output we provide for their auditing job
They will also have to know what we intend to use (in the marketing communication, in positioning)
Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002

9. Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002
Do not forget!
These documents are of financial character
It is best done by professional financial auditing company
However, not a usual financial controlling
It is needed only for generating transparent, creditworthy marketing arguments, sales points!
There is always a temptation to fall in a trap of mechanical implementation. When you forget about your essential goals.
Since most of these documents are of financial character it is best done by a professional financial auditing company – however we know that this job is not a usual financial controlling process. We do not want to get the full financial control of the process. We simply wanted to generate transparent, creditworthy marketing arguments, sales points!
Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002

10. Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002
The CENTREX Story
Similar situation, similar challenges
Joint answer to an urgent need
Trust and experience
Taking what was available elsewhere
In the mid-90ies we found ourselves in the region CEE in very similar economic trends, and we faced similar challenges - maybe the grade of maturity differed.
The influx of foreign capital the immediate interest of foreign exhibitors demanded a familiar environment for them what they were used to at home - to justify their investments in attending fairs in CEE. We decided to save time, energy and explanation of the situation and of the values, qualities and thus we decided to go together.
Of course from the previous experience, personal relationships we knew each other, we have had trust in the other fellows and it was easy to set things into move.
We looked around and studied what kind of solutions opthers have found in the West-European exhibition industries. We have checked our possibilities and based our common strategy on FKM principles - the German interest is the strongest in our economies. But as a solution we went the Scandinavian way - since our individual markets are small the operation itself is of an across-the-border type - identical rules and processes now in 5 countries.
Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002

11. CENTREX use of audited statistics
Use in all our marketing communication: brochures, comparisons, press work, aggregate statistics
Publicise in the countries and internationally
Brochures help unfamiliar company make right decisions (about a first participation)
Guidance for foreign trade associations, chambers (to recommend right shows to members)
What can we do with the audited statistics
-         we shall use them in all of your marketing communication: brochures, comparisons, press work, aggregate statistics
-        we are to publish them in the country and internationally
-         from this brochures can a completely unfamiliar company make a right decision about a first participation
-         it is a guidance for foreign trade associations, chambers to recommend right shows to their members
Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002

12. Qualification and Certification
Statistics and research
Qualification starts with tested uniform categories, understanding
Certifiable and certified
Publicity of certification
We can have quantified information, data concerning exhibitions as number of exhibitors, size of the show and number of visitors. These data give us opportunity to start to qualify them. Qualification is surely relative: it always must be measured against expectations, demands, wishes of our customers. However we have to introduce certification because we need to have uniform measuring stick and this is valid not only for statistics but also for soft measuring processes like research on customer satisfation. I think in this respect we still have a lofg way to go.
We have first established a joint set of categories and a regulation on how to process data into statistics. We have added explanatory help to understand these categories and processes plus we have had almost continuous ‘open channel’ to put questions to each other.
It took us 2 years to reach the targets: by 1998 uniform categories, basic documents and certifiable output forms were the practice. If certifiable, they must have been certified - we selected a trusted auditing company active throughout Europe and in all our countries as well - but at reasonable rates. BDO was the winner of the bids.
CENTREX has first had 2 main objectives: to safeguard the transparency, the uniform understanding and the uniform, comparable output and also took responsibility to produce joint publicity: common publication of the annual statistics. Of course, by now it is not enough.
Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002

13. Quality data on exhibitions
Research among exhibitors
part available before the show - certifiable
subjective opinions during/after show
Research among visitors
Sample vs. registration
smaller investments - higher optimism
For getting quality information we ask exhibitors: part of quality factors are available before the shows - from how far they come, what size of investment they do, do they come direct or through trade companies, do they come for the first time, do they get government support etc.
These information are easy to certify - they figure on the application forms.
We all collect (or try to get) exhibitor opinions - they are / can be subjective for many reasons. These opinions are rather hard to compare, evaluate, get average quantifiable data - and hard to certify them.
Similar thing go for the visitors, but we must know that the options are different:
with some shows we can have a full-fledged visitor registration - with all their advantages and disadvantages
with many of the shows it is impossible: for many reasons. Therefore we have to bear with samples.
Since visitors spend much less than exhibitors therefore they do consider their visit favourably - they can have less exact targets as the exhibitors have. This is why I think their opinion is always relatively more optimistic. But I do not think these collected, collated and averege info are giving us reason to consider them as fully quilifiable data.
Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002

14. Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002
CENTREX geographics
Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002

15. Thank you for attention
We are available at:
CENTREX International Exhibition Statistics Union
BUDAPEST EXPO tér 1.
Phone/fax:
Or visit:
Károly NAGY Bologna, July 3, 2002