How is an advisory committee different from an exhibitor survey?

A survey asks many people once, after the show. An advisory committee is a fixed group that meets several times a year and comments before the organizer settles prices, the floor plan and move-in hours. The two complement each other.

Should committee members get better booth locations?

No. If they do, their opinions will be suspected of serving their own interests and other exhibitors lose trust. Thank them by listening and responding, not with priority points.

May the committee discuss what member companies charge for their products?

No. The agenda should hold only show business. When competitors sit at the same table, the organizer has to keep the meeting away from prices and private customers.

Exhibitor Advisory Committee: Listening to Aquaculture Exhibitors

Some organizer decisions reach exhibitors only when it is too late. The hours of the loading dock. The order of seminar sessions. How price zones are drawn on the floor plan. Once these are announced, anyone unhappy has two options: phone to complain, or quietly not re-book.

An advisory group brings exhibitors into the conversation earlier. This article explains what an exhibitor advisory committee is according to the CEM guides, then looks at how to build one for an aquaculture trade show.

What an exhibitor advisory committee is

The CEM guides describe an exhibitor advisory committee as a group of representatives of exhibiting companies who act as advisors to show management on procedures, exhibitor needs, marketing and growing the show. The guides list it among the business meetings held during an exhibition, next to the annual membership meeting, the board of directors meeting and other committee meetings.

The point to hold onto is the word "advisory". They speak, the organizer listens, and the organizer decides. The CEM finance guide even carries a cost line called "advisory board costs" in its sample budget, which tells you this is treated as a normal expense of a serious show and not a courtesy.

Why an aquaculture show needs one

Aquaculture exhibitors are not alike. Each group needs something different from the hall.

Hatcheries and probiotic firms want technical conversations with farmers, which calls for a quiet spot and a few small samples.
Feed companies need a dealer reception area, meeting tables and room for sample bags.
Pond equipment makers need a floor that takes weight, a wide loading route and power for test runs.
Monitoring technology needs stable Wi-Fi and a large screen.
International exhibitors need clear schedules, interpreting and customs procedures.

An organizer team without people from the trade will struggle to remember all of that. An advisory group reminds them early, when a fix is still cheap.

A conversation right after a meeting, while exhibitors' comments are still fresh

How to build the group

Choose enough representatives. Every segment of the value chain gets at least one voice: seed, feed, medicine and probiotics, equipment, technology, processing. Add one international exhibitor, one small company and one first-timer. Choosing only the largest booth buyers produces a meeting that sounds sensible but does not match what most exhibitors live with.
Keep the group small enough to hold a meeting, for example around ten people. Larger than that and the meeting turns into a place for reading reports.
Set a term and rotate. Two editions of the show is a reasonable span, and part of the membership should change each time so the views stay new.
Write down the mandate. Members advise and do not decide, unpublished price and floor plan information stays confidential, and the organizer commits to responding.
Tie the calendar to real milestones: after the previous show, before prices and the floor plan are published, before move-in.

What to discuss

Keep the agenda on the real matters of the show, not generalities.

The exhibitor prospectus and the price list: how price zones are split, payment schedule, pricing strategy.
The floor plan and the priority point system: is the order of choosing fair?
Move-in and move-out schedules: dock hours, material handling fees, loading bays.
The seminar program and the quiet hours for visitors on the show floor.
The exhibitor rules: how well exhibitors understand them, which ones cause friction.
Visitor quality and how it is measured, as the article on auditing visitor numbers discusses.

A group of business people discussing around a table

Three things to avoid

First, the committee is not a place to exchange selling prices. When competitors sit at one table, the organizer has to keep the agenda to show business. Prices, customers and private strategy of any company stay outside the meeting.

Second, do not give members better booth positions. A committee seat traded for priority points will make every opinion worthless.

Third, do not let the advice die in the minutes. After each meeting, send every exhibitor a short note: what the committee said, what the organizer will change, what will not change and why. A "you said, we did" note shows exhibitors that their input counts, and it is part of keeping customers, as the article on booth re-booking rates explains.

Picture a case. A hatchery representative on the committee points out that a session on the main stage is scheduled for the morning, just as farmers pour in, so visitors leave the hatchery booths to listen. The organizer moves the session to early afternoon. The hatchery booths stay busy, the seminar still fills up and nobody phones to complain after the show.

Need an advisory group for an aquaculture show?

If you need a charter, a proposed member list and a meeting calendar for an exhibitor advisory group, you can send a request through the quote page or book a call with Nguyen Anh Trung. Send the exhibitor list from the last edition so the proposal fits your actual mix.

An exhibitor who was asked before a decision is usually more forgiving of a mistake than one who only received the announcement.