Reimagining net perceived value in the UK exhibition industry from the bottom up.
Every industry reaches a point at which it must confront an uncomfortable truth: the value it believes it delivers and the value its customers actually feel are not always the same thing. In hospitality, Five Guys famously faced such a moment. Fresh potatoes produced inconsistent chips, so instead of hiding the imperfection, they embraced the abundance, serving overflowing portions that became a signature delight. What began as an operational inconvenience became a defining gesture of value.
The UK exhibition industry might just be standing at a similar juncture. We produce events that create enormous economic value, including a total economic impact of £ 11.5 billion and direct and indirect support for 126,000 UK jobs. All driven by a uniquely skilled supply chain that brings creativity, technical expertise and innovation to every square metre of a show floor. Yet net perceived value, especially at the exhibitor and contractor interface, is under increasing pressure. We’re not unique in the sense that consumers continue to want more for less or for argument's sake, the same as what they paid for it 5 years ago. But we are an industry acutely affected by significant just-in-time cost increases and timeline compression. And almost half of suppliers say clients have a poor understanding of the logistical realities that underpin their experience.
This is the paradox: the industry creates immense value, but too much of it is invisible, even to ourselves.
If we are to secure the future strength and global competitiveness of UK exhibitions, we must get better at identifying and elevating our own version of “Five Guys chips”, the distinctive and consistent supply chain led behaviours and practices that turn operational friction into unmistakable proof of value.
Where Perceived Value Leaks Away
Today’s exhibitors expect, almost subconsciously, seamless delivery, rapid responsiveness and uncompromising safety. But three persistent challenges can erode the value they ultimately feel, almost out of sight and ultimately out of mind of our customers.
First, information arrives too late, too inconsistently, or in formats that can hinder safe and efficient planning. ESSA’s own research and that of the Finch Report made this explicit: delays in critical information flow not only undermine delivery but may breach CDM expectations. For suppliers, including designers, builders and technicians, this is the gap where rework, risk and frustration breed.
Second, operational friction has normalised itself into parts of the system. Blocked gangways during build and breakdown, access issues, inconsistent site discipline, and compressed schedules degrade both safety and perception. Not through poor intent on anyone's part, but because certain conditions have become embedded in how the industry operates, when they don't have to be.
Third, cost and value are disconnected. With operating costs up 18 per cent year on year (this statistic is pre current affairs) and many companies raising prices just to stand still, the supply chain carries heavy burdens that the exhibitor never sees. When value is hidden, it cannot be valued.
We damage net perceived value not through failure, but through invisibility. We allow vital work to remain out of sight, out of mind and therefore under appreciated and poorly understood.
Our chips must be the signature experiences and industry behaviours that exhibitors immediately recognise as distinctly and consistently part of UK exhibitions. They must be evidence of a system that works exceptionally well.
Why the Supply Chain Is the Answer
Unlike many industries, the exhibition supply chain is not a bolt on service provider. It is the engine room of innovation, safety, creativity and delivery. We are first to see risk, first to feel pressure, and sadly, in more recent times and quite prominently, the last to be acknowledged for the value we create. In fact, the opposite can be true.
To close the perception gap, the industry must treat the supply chain not as a cost to be contained or looked at enviously, but as a strategic capability to be fully leveraged.
That means earlier involvement in planning, consistent professional standards, fair scheduling and the digital infrastructure to support intelligent and compliant design.
When the supply chain thrives, exhibitions thrive. When the supply chain is constrained, value erodes at every touchpoint.
ESSA’s Role in Making Value Visible
At ESSA, our responsibility in this area is clear. We must lead the shift from invisible value to visible excellence.
When businesses say, “This is why we exhibit in the UK”, they are including talking about the quality, safety, professionalism and experience delivered by our supply chain. This also needs to be better understood by our own sector.
Turning Friction into Differentiation
The Five Guys story teaches us that value is not just what we deliver; it is how we make people feel. Our chips will not be a gimmick. They will be the unmistakable and consistent markers of excellence that transform the exhibitor experience.
Our Five Guys chips are already within reach. We simply need to make them impossible to miss.
Author - Andrew Harrison, ESSA CEO
