Are visitors to Pack Expo explorers or plotters?

Do you meander or plot a path when you attend a tradeshow? With more than 50,000 expected visitors to Pack Expo International 2014 next week in Chicago (Nov. 2-5; McCormick Place), we were curious on what your plans were for attending the show. So we asked.

Plan, schplan. A whopping 83% of respondents to a Packaging Digest survey say they are somewhat likely to deviate from their plan of attack when they visit Pack Expo International 2014 next week in Chicago (Nov. 2-5; McCormick Place). Another 10% say they are totally likely to chuck it all and be wild and plan-free. Just 7% say they will stay on target and not stray at all. Can you say e-n-g-i-n-e-e-r?

So what is the most typical plan? A bit more than one-third of respondents (36%) say their strategy is to walk the show floor looking for specific products, solutions or suppliers. Another third (32%) plan to set some meetings but also leave some free time for exploring. Both make sense considering how much there is to see and how little time there is. The entire show lasts just 30 hours or 1,800 minutes. Some “Other” respondents expect to split their time between the show floor and conferences.

Surprisingly, 18% will be walking the show floor with no particular plan in advance. With more than 2,000 exhibitors to visit and dozens of educational presentations to sit in on, they’ll likely see something to make the trip worthwhile and justify the expense.

No surprise here: The vast majority of attendees won’t be alone. Nearly three quarters (72%) know for sure that others from their company or team will also be there. A small number (10%) might have colleagues also attending. Just 17% will be flying solo. If you happen to see these loners, start up a conversation to make them feel welcome.