It is beneficial to have exhibitors at your event because they can assist with some of the costs and attract people to attend your event. Similarly, it’s beneficial for a company to exhibit an event because they can enhance their brand awareness and visibility in the industry. 

What's an Event Exhibitor Prospectus?

An event exhibitor prospectus is a document to help solidify a list of exhibitors for your next event. This supportive document is significant because it’s an overview of your event and can give exhibitors an idea of what to expect and how they would benefit from it. 

Since there are many types of events, your process for creating an event exhibitor prospectus may be different each time and should be uniquely written for that event. For example, deciding if you want to host a simple meeting or a conference and determining whether or not the event should be virtual or in person are important facts to consider. 

Lastly, to be sure you’ve grasped potential exhibitors’ attention, include a pleasing design or font and make sure any content or information is clearly outlined. The main goal when creating an event exhibitor prospectus is to clearly showcase why the exhibition opportunity is worth it and why your company should be trusted.

5 Steps to Creating an Exhibitor Prospectus Template

Compared to a sponsorship proposal, a prospectus template can be used for one or several events. Some components an exhibitor prospectus template should include are:

• A summary of the event
• An outline of exhibitor opportunities at the event
• An explanation of how exhibitors can benefit from the opportunities

Below are 5 steps to creating a strong and compelling exhibitor prospectus for your next event - 

1. Create an Eye-Pleasing Cover

The cover for your exhibitor prospectus is your initial opportunity to catch an exhibitor’s attention, so it’s vital that the cover is appealing to the eye. Elements that should be included on your cover page are: the host of the event, the event name, the name of the venue, the location of the event, and the date of the event. Whether you’re planning to host a hybrid event or send out the prospectus on behalf of multiple events, those five details should be included no matter what.

Read and Learn: What our Survey Data Revealed About What Attracts the Most People to Events

2. Include Company & Event Details

The next important step when creating a prospectus template is to introduce the company or organization that is hosting the event. By doing so, this can establish trust with potential exhibitors and give them a better understanding of everyone involved. For example, an organization may want to feature their history, mission statement, goals and anyone who holds a leadership position. 

Additional information you could include in your event prospectus are the names of previous exhibitors. This can be beneficial for you because you can potentially increase demand by showing how trustworthy you are and the good reputation you’ve obtained.  

Lastly, it’s strongly recommended to create and include an exhibitor schedule for them to follow. This will allow potential exhibitors to plan out their schedule, get familiar with the venue, where they would want to set up, and how long they would like to exhibit at the event.

Questions Potential Exhibitors May Ask

When reviewing the event exhibitor prospectus, some questions that may come to mind from an exhibitor are:

• What is the goal of the event?
• What is the event about?
• What is the meeting structure of the event?
• Will any activities or sessions occur?
• How will exhibiting benefit them?

3. Create a Consumer List and Venue Layout

By creating a consumer list, potential exhibitors have an idea of the type of consumers who may visit their booth and/or would be interested in their products or services. Information you can include in this section of the prospectus is information about your attendees such as: where they are located, the type of organizations or industries they work for and the types of products or services they are interested in.

This section of the event prospectus could also include testimonials from people in the past who have exhibited or attended one of your events and can speak from their own experience. This too can help establish trust and excitement for any prospective exhibitors. 

When preparing step three of the prospectus template, you’ll want to be sure you include information about the overall environment and set up of the event. For example, you can include the floor plan of the exhibition booth hall, emergency exits, restrooms, where food will be served, and the main entrance of the venue. A floor plan of the exhibit hall may be appreciated because an exhibitor can envision where they’ll be and how they would like to arrange their booth. 

4. Include Pricing to Exhibit

With it being one of the key elements of securing exhibitors, it’s a must that you include the price of how much it would cost if an exhibitor were to showcase at your event. Although this step may be intimidating, the rest of your event prospectus template should both justify and support the cost of booths. 

Another option you can provide for your exhibitors are pricing for different booth sizes and/or packages. Depending on how many options are provided, the different booth packages and sizes can be presented in a table format so that exhibitors are able to compare the different benefits, features and prices they have to work with. Despite their decision, be sure to include a description of everything that comes with the purchase of an exhibitor booth. 

A strategy you could use when it comes to encouraging exhibitors to purchase a booth could be offering a discounted rate early in advance. By offering a discounted special, potential exhibitors may move urgently to secure their booth which could then help fill the exhibition space faster by the date of your event. 

A way to help further increase your revenue could be to offer potential exhibitors any add-on or sponsorship services. These opportunities can enhance the exhibitor’s visibility and booth space. 

5. Finish Off with Rules, Regulations and Contact Information

To conclude your prospectus template, you’ll want to provide contact information to officially secure the payments from your exhibitors. Following that, you’ll want to send out a booking form or application for the exhibitor to fill out which should include the company’s name, payment information, booth preferences and any add-on services they would be interested in. 

7 Exhibitor Prospectus Examples

Checking to see if you’re going in the right direction of creating an effective event exhibitor prospectus can be by comparing yours to past major events that have previously occurred.  Below you will find seven exhibitor prospectus examples that can be used as a credible reference for when you’re ready to write your own. 

1. Power Up

Held for the COMMON Community in Atlanta, Georgia, the event Power Up was developed for business professionals such as consultants and entrepreneurs who were looking to network and launch businesses. 

Highlights from their event exhibitor prospectus: 

• The floor plan of the event venue and the exhibit schedule are displayed to show the potential exhibitors where their booth would be located and when they could plan to set up.
• Following the cover page, the exhibit packages and pricing information are outlined. In this prospectus, there are three exhibitor package options, each priced differently to offer higher-paying exhibitors exclusive benefits.

2. Convenience Distribution Marketplace

This marketplace event was hosted for industry providers, manufacturers and suppliers of convenience store products to give them the chance to network and sell their products to buyers. 

Highlights from their event exhibitor prospectus: 

• This event prospectus outlines the different exhibitor categories for the event and emphasizes the connections that can be made with distributors. They also inserted an exhibitor testimonial to further convince potential exhibitors.
• The final page of the prospectus includes instructions on how to secure an exhibit space. It also displays important dates and details, along with additional promotional opportunities that will help the event increase its return and help the exhibitors increase their visibility.

3. NASP Annual Convention

This anticipated convention is held for companies to exhibit their services and products to a range of people such as graduate students, researchers, practitioners and administrators.

Highlights from their event exhibitor prospectus: 

• The third page is a detailed, color-coded floor plan of the venue including labels to show the potential exhibitor where they may be located during the event.
• The last page explains the rules and regulations to establish transparency about how the event and exhibition will operate.

4. ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition

Created by the American Dental Education Association, this annual event is hosted for students and staff from 78 different dental schools. This event allowed them to visit exhibitors who were promoting dentistry items and equipment. 

Highlights from their event exhibitor prospectus: 

• The ADEA chose to reward loyalty to members of the association by offering lower exhibition rates than for non-members. They also vary the exhibition rates based on when an organization signs up to incentivize early commitment to exhibiting.
• This prospectus lists previous exhibitors to highlight and demonstrate what types of organizations have exhibited at the event. It also lists out the attendee’s interests to show potential exhibitors what the event attendees will be looking for at the exhibition.

5. DIA Global Annual Meeting

Hosted by the Drug Information Association, this event was created for thousands of professionals coming from the life sciences industry to connect with each other. 

Highlights from their event exhibitor prospectus: 

• One of the pages from this event prospectus example underscores the event’s “International Audience.”  Each country where the attendees are traveling from are listed out for the event to further highlight the broad audience. This page also describes the association’s member communities and the various responsibilities members have.
• Details about how to become an exhibitor are given along with the price, inclusions, benefits, and schedule. Another useful element they included is an illustration of the different booth sizes. Showing this can help potential exhibitors visualize what they could do with their space at the event.

6. Small Business Expo

Small Business Expo is America’s biggest business networking event! Used for a hybrid expo, this event prospectus was created for a business to business trade show where small business professionals were able to network. 

Highlights from their event exhibitor prospectus: 

• To ensure they are maximizing their visibility, exhibitors can choose to add on different workshops and/or the main stage keynote as part of their package. Providing this option helps the organizer get more of a return while giving attendees more opportunities as an exhibitor.
• A benefit of becoming an exhibitor also comes with a sponsorship. Each exhibitor package includes a different set of features that increase visibility. The various features are outlined to convince potential exhibitors to exhibit.

7. Photo LA

An event exhibitor prospectus was designed on behalf of a photography show hosted in LA.  It was created for aspiring photographers who are looking to gain exposure and take away knowledge from others in the industry. 

Highlights from their event exhibitor prospectus: 

• This event prospectus starts off by highlighting the numbers of attendees, collectors, curators, and consultants. Having a high attendance at the event can be convincing to a prospective exhibitor that registering would lead to a strong ROI.
• To conclude, the event prospectus contained information about what has been featured in past programs such as special panels, lectures, and tours. This is included to show that the event attracts reputable stakeholders in the photography community.

Conclusion

Drafting an efficient event exhibitor prospectus requires time, patience and consideration, but the more frequently you do it, the easier it may get.  Referring back to the prospectus examples like some of the ones we included above can be a great help and guide until you feel comfortable creating them on your own. 

Once you have finally got in the groove of making an exhibitor prospectus, you then will have to market your exhibition opportunities and follow up with people who may be potentially interested!And, if you want to take your next hybrid event to the next level, Hubilo is here to help! Hubilo is a powerful platform that can help you streamline your event planning and management process. Its robust features, including virtual event solutions, networking tools, and real-time analytics, make it an excellent choice for businesses, organizations, and individuals looking to create engaging and impactful events.

By leveraging Hubilo's technology, you can create a seamless and memorable event experience for your attendees, increase your ROI, and achieve your event goals. Whether you're planning a virtual conference, a trade show, or a product launch, Hubilo has the tools and resources you need to make it a success.

If you're interested in seeing Hubilo's capabilities in action, we encourage you to request a demo today. Our team will be happy to walk you through the platform's features and show you how it can benefit your specific event needs. Book a demo here.