Growing trade shows through digital influence

Influencers are reshaping how RX events deliver value. By partnering with top creators, we’re amplifying reach and enriching the experience for our exhibitors and attendees.

From curated content to meaningful connections, discover how we are turning interactions into opportunities for brand engagement and growth.

In today’s fast-evolving event landscape - increasingly shaped by the preferences and expectations of Gen Z - traditional marketing tactics no longer suffice to capture and maintain audience attention. Recognising this shift, RX has been embracing the power of digital influencers and content creators to enhance audience engagement, boost attendance, and elevate customer satisfaction across its diverse portfolio of trade shows and exhibitions.

RX’s continued investment in influencer-driven event programming is both innovative and strategic. By integrating influencers into curated experiences such as influencer summits, lounges, and exclusive networking events, we create opportunities for authentic storytelling and real-time content generation. These activities not only build buzz before and during our events but sustain engagement long after the show closes.

This approach taps into the dual power of influencers: their ability to reach broad consumer communities and their influence among industry professionals. For example, in sectors like travel, DIY hardware, and fitness, influencers bridge the gap between B2B buyers and end consumers, driving attendance and fostering richer interactions.

Creating a festival atmosphere

FIBO, RX’s flagship trade fair for fitness, wellness and health, exemplifies the fusion of influencer engagement and event vibrancy. In 2025, over 500 influencers and creators converged with 12,000 athletes to transform the exhibition into a dynamic social media hub.

“Our influencer programme is crucial for FIBO, as we are a hybrid business and consumer show and the largest event in the fitness and wellness sector,” explained Senior Event Manager, Lucile Sannino. “It enables us to engage a wide range of influencers and athletes, which benefits our ambitions to expand into areas such as nutrition, fashion, and beauty. It also offers our community the opportunity to meet, chat and take photos with personalities who would otherwise be difficult to reach in markets or countries such as America. This personal experience is the opposite of the usually anonymous, digital exchange. For many of our visitors, FIBO is the highlight of the year, something they look forward to every time.”

FIBO cleverly harnesses influencers in strategic ways to drive attendance, promote exhibitors and inspire, entertain, and connect with audiences. Body builder Johnny Muenster (1.6M followers) spread the word ahead of FIBO 2025 with advance videos and creative activations, while fitness and wellness influencer Emilia (1.4 million followers) ran 600 km to FIBO, over several weeks, culminating in an emotional finish through the event crowds to the show entrance.

Montana Black, one of Germany’s most influential online entertainers with 3.9 million followers, was interviewed and toured the FIBO halls. The content was available to watch live on site or online via his Twitch Channel, driving buzz far beyond the event. Meanwhile, Canadian professional body building and influencer Cbum (25.5 million followers) partnered with a FIBO exhibitor to promote his newly launched brand, including a raffle to win an exclusive meet and greet session with him, creating a win-win for both parties.

Popular live streamers such as Knossi (1.9 million followers) and Isaac Kyere (2.2 million followers) amplified event highlights in real time, while meet-and-greet sessions with fitness icons like Jay Cutler and Sophia Thiel thrilled fans and generated seemingly endless selfies.

With a combined following of over 40 million, influencer coverage was central to the event’s festival atmosphere, energising both B2B professionals and consumer attendee alike. Small wonder that FIBO 2025 set new attendance records with 154,748 visitors from 129 countries!

Enriching technical industry events

FEICON, Latin America’s largest construction industry event, showcases how influencer integration can extend beyond traditional lifestyle sectors into more technical industries.

Held from 8-11 April in Sao Paulo, the 2025 edition once again dedicated space to the digital world with its Influencers’ Lounge ̶ a hub for networking, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. “This was the fourth year we hosted the lounge, designed to welcome content creators, strengthen connections, and generate valuable insights on the future of the industry,” explained Ivan Romão, FEICON’s director.

A new feature for 2025 was the FEICON Studio, sponsored by ‘Pedreiro Top Brasil’, Brazil’s first reality show for bricklayers. The studio hosted videocast recordings with influencers, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals, with the content shared during and after the event across social media platforms.

266 influencers participated in the full FEICON programme, spanning disciplines from civil engineering and construction management to architecture, amplifying the industry’s latest product and technology innovations and bringing them to a wider audience.

This year’s ambassador for FEICON’s digital initiatives was PhD, construction engineer, university professor and influencer Iza Valadão, who helped generate high‑quality content and facilitate interactions with exhibitors throughout the fair.“I’ve been attending FEICON for more than 25 years, and the growing presence of influencers has truly transformed the event,” she said.

Iza and her team of digital influencers enjoyed average engagement rates between 4-8% for their posts. Reflecting on their learnings she recommended a combination of people-focused topics that engage the audience with others focused on converting people to attend the event. She also suggested investing in narrative content and personal stories to cement the emotional connection between the event and its audience.

Amplifying the buzz around innovations

The hands-on and product-focused nature of the hardware and home improvement industry has paved the way for influencers to become key drivers in shaping consumer decisions, and in turn, a valuable attendee category for the National Hardware Show (NHS) in Las Vegas. In response, the annual trade event for the home improvement and hardware industries debuted its Influencer Summit in March 2025, a two-day curated experience tailored to DIY, woodworking, gardening, and home improvement content creators.

The Influencer Summit provided exclusive networking opportunities with exhibitors and industry leaders, hands-on content creation sessions, and fun competitions and challenges – such as the ever-popular NHS Cook Off and a Collaboration Contest that challenged influencers to pair up to create standout content showcasing the show’s latest innovations ̶ all designed to increase social buzz and drive foot traffic to the trade show floor.

Highlighting the dual benefit for brands and influencers alike, Marketing Director Lauren Csire said: “Influencers complement the core B2B nature of NHS by allowing brands to connect with both digital communities and key decision-makers, bridging the gap between broad consumer reach and direct business opportunities. We’ve seen tremendous success and satisfaction from both the influencers attending the event and the exhibitors they engage with.”

To ensure they were curating a relevant and engaged community, Lauren and her team carefully processed each influencer registration to verify criteria such as the presence of an active platform and an alignment with the objectives of the event. “We look for influencers who want to make a genuine impact within the hardware and home improvement space, whether through social media, blogs, video content, or other online platforms,” said Lauren. “This ensures that the influencers attending the event are not only relevant but also have the potential to create authentic connections with the brands and products showcased at NHS.”

Asked about their metrics for success, Lauren said: “We focus on several key areas: engagement, direct feedback, and measurable impact on product visibility. We track the level of interaction between influencers, exhibitors, and attendees, as well as monitor social media conversations and content created by influencers before, during, and after the event. Additionally, gathering direct customer feedback is a top priority to gauge overall satisfaction on both sides.”

Expanding exhibitor visibility and knowledge

Given the impact of influencers on leisure travel, it’s no surprise that RX’s travel industry events, including World Travel Market (WTM), Arabian Travel Market (ATM) and IBTM World are at the forefront of influencer initiatives that expand exhibitor visibility beyond conventional channels, whilst also educating them on the ‘how’s and ‘whys’ of influencer marketing.

WTM London, which takes place each November, hosts the largest gathering of international travel media globally, including a growing number of influencers and content creators. The pinnacle of the show’s influencer engagement is the Travel Influencers’ Networking event, an exclusive event first introduced in 2023, which attracts 100 top travel influencers and 50 exhibitors, offering a unique platform for networking and collaboration.

WTM works with influencer-marketing partners to curate guests and offers access to tools like WTM Connect Me, a meetings tool, to schedule pre-arranged meetings with exhibitors. Influencers also have access to a dedicated Media Centre, supporting content creation and meaningful connections between exhibitors and influencers throughout the three-day show.

Arabian Travel Market launched its first dedicated influencer programme in 2025, featuring an Informal Influencer Speed Networking event to bring together exhibitors with 50+ travel influencers and bloggers. “The event is designed to spark authentic collaborations that amplify exhibitor visibility and enrich content creation opportunities. It also underscores Dubai’s global appeal as a trend-setting hub for influencer marketing,” said Exhibition Director Danielle Curtis.

The business events industry is also keen to learn more about influencer impact and strategy via global forums like RX’s IBTM World, held each year in Barcelona which is why they are expanding their programme for event marketers in 2025. This new day of content, called ‘Exceptional Experiences’, will explore community building, storytelling, and how strategies like influencer marketing can transform the way we design and promote events.

“Influencers matter because they bring events to life in a human, relatable way. They help destinations, hotels and planners build trust, reach new audiences, and create communities — and that’s what drives lasting impact,” said IBTM World Conference Manager Lucy Dyer. “IBTM World plays a pivotal role in this education process and will evolve conference content to meet this demand going forward.”

A catalyst for event growth and customer satisfaction

RX’s strategic use of influencers and content creators represents a transformative approach to event marketing, blending digital storytelling with real-world experience. By fostering authentic partnerships, curating immersive experiences, and prioritizing measurable engagement, RX enhances audience interaction, drives attendance growth, and boosts customer satisfaction.

As influencers continue to shape consumer behaviour and industry trends, RX’s events remain at the forefront of this evolution, delivering unparalleled value to brands, attendees, and the broader event ecosystem.