Influencer marketing is growing in popularity and use in the trade show and B2B event industry. As the power of influential voices is amplified across platforms, some event organizations are leading the way in leveraging this traditionally consumer-focused approach to bring new audiences to their shows. Trade Show Executive (TSE) is sharing exclusive insights from the upcoming feature Trust or Bust: Influencer Marketing for B2B Events that will be published in June 2025 to give young professionals a sneak peek at some of the successful strategies and pitfalls to be aware of.
Media Partnerships Are Changing
The benefits of increased brand exposure, audience reach and credibility through media partnerships has been well-known, but as trust decreases in legacy media outlets in response to changing societal conditions, according to a Gallup survey from February 2025, show organizers have an opportunity to harness a new way to market exhibitions and events.
There are two major drivers of this increased focus on partnering with less traditional media like internet influencers.
First, the demographics of the U.S. workforce is changing. Employers are being hit with the entrance of Gen Z, a group of tech-savvy, purpose-driven, digital natives, who now outnumber the Baby Boomer generation. At the same time, Millennials and Gen X make up the majority of the workforce and are shaking up the cultural dynamics within organizations as they ascend to more influential positions.
It comes as no surprise that the Millennials, who were early adopters of the internet and digital technology, and Gen Z, who grew up with continuous connectivity as a norm, spend more time than any other generation on their screens.
Second, the U.S. has a trust problem. According to a Gallup survey, only 31% of the respondents said they trusted the mainstream media “a great deal” or a “fair amount” — the lowest level it has been in 50 years. Freeman research and data also supports these findings in decreasing trust levels in well-established channels.
Influencer Partnerships Drive Awareness and Engagement
For the feature, TSE spoke with Kevin Thornton, Senior Vice President, Infrastructure and Construction at Informa Markets, about the launch of Build Show LIVE. The in-person event was launched in partnership with YouTube’s The Build Show host Matt Risinger, who approached the Informa Markets team about bringing his brand and content to a live setting.
“One thing led to the next, and we formed a partnership,” said Thornton. “Through that partnership we were able to tap into his established audience of loyal followers, driving attendees who already trust and value his expertise to the show. Similarly, he saw tremendous benefit in leveraging our expertise in live event experiences to ensure his community was able to not just learn, but connect and do business.”
Thornton also shared the significant impacts of the established deliverables and the challenges the team faced.
At RX, authenticity is the name of the game when it comes to influencer marketing and influencer programs. The organization has introduced different influencer badge categories across key events, and applicants are reviewed to ensure credibility and quality.
While onsite, influencers can take advantage of experiences and brand partnership opportunities the RX team produces, and RX is able to lean into the year-round value influencer and user-generated marketing provides, such as content focused on trends and education takeaways, and fun internet trends like “get ready with me” segments.
RX’s Head of Marketing, Kate Youngstrom, also shared more about what the RX team is working on to evolve value-driving experience in the influencer marketing space in the full feature story.
The World Pet Association (WPA) team behind SUPERZOO shared insights about their influencer program, which has guidelines such as influencers must be retail focused, committed to producing a certain number of posts and meeting a specific threshold of followers to ensure they are aligned with the show’s target audience.
The WPA also officially partners with a small number of influencers who are responsible for more posts than influencer-attendees, but are also able to increase their exposure through participation on panels at the event.
These creator-partners also created successful campaigns in 2024, generating a 160.5% increase in impressions, 218.2% increase in engagements and 826.3% increase in earned media value over 2023.
The Importance of Realistic Expectations
Getting candid, leaders from Emerald’s HD Expo + Conference and Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) shared that one of the biggest challenges they faced while executing an influencer marketing program was setting realistic expectations on deliverables from their influencer-partners.
While official influencer-partners were tasked with specific guidelines around posting on-site at the shows, it proved difficult for them to fulfill the program requests while also participating in the show’s programming and furthering their own business objectives.
“I think the biggest lesson we learned is that simply partnering with well-known names isn’t enough. These names also need to have the bandwidth to create engaging content in real time, when excitement and demand is high, or at the very least work with us to ensure that content is timely,” said Jennifer Yarber, Vice President of Marketing, Design Group at Emerald. “A dedicated team member and filming schedule for the ‘Design Spotters’ could have made a difference in the amount of content produced.”
Hear more from Yarber and from Rachel O’Connor, Vice President Marketing, KBIS at Emerald, in the full-length feature, out June 1.
Rethinking Who is an Influencer
At Clarion Events North America, rather than just partnering with traditional influencers, the organization is empowering its employees to position themselves as influencers to help bring awareness and personality to its brands.
“At Clarion, we’ve taken a unique approach to influencer marketing by leveraging the Leaders of Tomorrow program. Rather than focusing solely on traditional influencers, we’re cultivating internal influencers within our organization who not only amplify their own voices but also represent Clarion’s values and brand on platforms like LinkedIn,” said Hala Dean, Vice President of Organizational Leaning and Development at Clarion Events North America.
From bringing more awareness to an event to actively engaging with stakeholders on LinkedIn to producing a monthly newsletter, leaders at Clarion are bringing expertise and authenticity to their shows, creating deeper connections with their audiences and the industries they serve.
Hear more from Nicole Peck, President of ITC Vegas and Executive Vice President of the Digital Innovation Portfolio, and Angela Harar, Vice President of Strategy and Growth for MAU Vegas, in the full feature.
Guest Blogger: MADDY RYLEY, MANAGING EDITOR - https://tradeshowexecutive.com/tse-case-study-preview-influencer-marketing-and-programs-for-trade-shows/
