Experiential exhibitions and events show Excite has a new name. This year, the London expo will take place from July 15th-16th under the title the Event and Exhibiting Show.

Clarity was the main reason behind the decision to rename the show, according to Austen Hawkins, managing director of F2F Events, the company which purchased the event last year.

"When we bought the show and analysed the marketing, it was clear that people didn't understand what Excite meant," he said.

"We spent a long time thinking about it and thought about calling it the Live Marketing Show or something like that. But, when we tested it with both visitors and exhibitors, it was clear that we needed to be very, very concise so that people immediately got what the show was about."

Unlike many of the other exhibitions which take place in the UK, the Event and Exhibiting Show doesn't focus on parties or venues and the name reflects this.

"We're not about venues and destinations or corporate parties. We're about people who are doing experiential marketing and exhibiting – both from the organising and exhibiting point of view – so that's why we are unique," Mr Hawkins noted.

At the heart of it, the expo offers a place where people and companies can get exhibiting tips, find suppliers and learn about services.

"The show really is about bringing together the various elements and people that do exhibitions and live marketing, and delivering content and products which allow them to do their job better."

F2F Events are focusing on attracting four key types of visitors, including exhibition organisers, which form the core audience.

"When we were relaunching the show, we were really clear about who our audiences are what the show is about."

He added: "The reason exhibition organisers are interesting is that they buy a number of products from our exhibitors, so to encourage them to come along, we have produced a stunning conference programme for them."

Industry people who exhibit at various shows throughout the year, as well as event managers and experiential agencies also make up the main audiences expected at this year's event, which will have plenty on offer.

Among the highlights include case study presentations from big brands Playstation and Strongbow, who will detail how they maximise the value of their participation in shows.

Expert speakers, including Media 10's Rob Nathan, CloserStill Investments' Phil Soar and Upper Street Events' Paul Byrom, will also be on hand to give advice to event organisers.

"We've also tied in with a number of organisations, like UKPI and Reed and Incisive, who are running their own 'how to exhibit' presentations at the show," he noted.

"From a how to exhibit point of view, we've hovered up some of the best trainers around like Paddy Power and Darren McGrath, people who have been doing how to exhibit training for many a year."

Mr Hawkins believes the exhibiting industry can look forward to a great future, though he admits that it have lost favour with some companies over the last few years.

"I think exhibitions are unbelievably cool. I think they are the most powerful form of marketing but somewhere along the line, I think other terminologies like live marketing and experiential, people have forgotten how brilliant exhibitions are."

He added that he hopes the show will revitalise the exhibition industry and help to make people's jobs easier in the process.

"If we can pull together context, services and suppliers that help people in this fantastic medium of ours do it better, then that's just got to be a brilliant thing."

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