"Second shows are arguably trickier than inaugural ones because expectations are perhaps a little lower, but with 18 weeks to go we are around 280% up on where we were last year," said event director Nick Craig Waller, who aims to beat last year’s visitor haul of 2,526 with a target of nearer 4,000 for this year's event.
This year’s show on 23 and 24 October at Business Design Centre, Islington, was quickly gathering momentum, he said. More than 40 print, marketing and publishing suppliers had signed up to exhibit, with another 40 to 60 expected to follow suit.
Exhibitors already confirmed for the show include St Ives Group, Kodak, Pensord, Premier Paper, Adestra, Circdata, Data IQ, Headley Brothers, Imprint, Konica Minolta, Layar, LimeTree, Outbrain, Paperhat Consorcio, Papermule, Semaphore Partnership, Shuttleworth, Sitecore, Translate Media, Waggener Edstrom, Woodwing, Workflowz and Xeikon.
"This is for printers who want to demystify what cross media means to them and how they can be involved," said Craig Waller. "Printers are still quite a long way from embracing the concept, but they can no longer rely solely on ink on paper. Cross media will improve revenues and margins.
"Our show offers the perfect platform for print service providers, marketers, brands, agencies and designers to engage with suppliers and keep up to date with the latest to help maximise the ROMI on cross media marketing campaigns."
Cross Media 2013 is themed on ‘Joined-up thinking – the power of multi-channel marketing’. St Ives Group marketing director Scott Logie is to talk on leveraging data, while other speakers are being lined up from Canon Europe, Pensord and other big names including Twitter, Fiat, Crew Clothing and British Gas.
Logie said: "As the world of marketing develops from single channels into a truly cross-media discipline it is essential to have trade shows that give suppliers, agencies and clients the chance to interact.
"We are excited to be part of Cross Media 2013, not just for the chance to show off our group companies, but for the opportunity to meet and learn from a range of different organisations that can help our business develop in line with our clients’ needs."
More than 50 seminars will be held in five dedicated theatres, while the industry’s major print and marketing associations are supporting the show including the BPIF, Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing, Direct Marketing Association, and the Internet Advertising Bureau UK.
The bureau’s director of marketing and communications Kristin Brewe said: "Businesses can leverage digital to meet consumer needs and stay competitive. In today's connected world it's no longer a question of whether a business gets digital; it is more about how they adapt."
Around 28% of last year’s visitors to the debut Cross Media show were print and marketing services providers, 59% were brand owners or agencies, and 13% were publishers or other content creators.
Organiser Informa Print & Media Group is part of Informa Exhibitions, which runs over 150 business exhibitions a year including Ipex. The group employs over 8,000 people across 150 cities and says it is the world’s largest publicly owned organiser of shows, events and training.
To pre-register for Cross Media 2013 visit www.crossmedialive.com/register.
