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The Millennium Dome bonanza that boosted 1999 workloads may be long

past, but exhibition companies are showing no signs of slowing down.

Instead, the picture is of a continuing emphasis on exhibitions and

events as 'experiential' - three-dimensional expressions - of a

corporate brand.

The lion's share of this market is divided between three companies, each

with an eight-figure turn-over: Imagination, which regularly tops the

league, but is absent from this year's table because it chose not to

submit separate category figures; top-placed Jack Morton Worldwide,

formerly Caribiner; and live-events specialist PCI Live Design, which

jumps to second place in the league with a turnover of pounds 13.3m,

formed two years ago from the merger of PCI and Pile Probert Kelly. It

now works for clients such as the AA and BT.

A second notable omission from the leagues is HP:ICM, which did not take

part in the survey. The following pack is led by third-placed Firbank

Kempster Group.

"There's a polarisation between full-service agencies, the small

specialists and the ones in the middle - those are the ones that will

have to watch out," says Lois Jacobs, executive vice-president, regional

director for Europe and Asia Pacific, of Jack Morton Worldwide. She

expects an increase in turnover again in 2001 with strong performances

in the markets for financial services, automotive, telecoms and

management consultancy.

Combining skills

A turn-key approach combining all the design disciplines suits clients

and helps achieve a more holistic brand experience, she adds. "We win

because people feel they're getting it in one place with a consistent

brand expression. We're used to bringing these different disciplines

into the communication of a brand."

Of the rest, Qudos is a notable newcomer to the tables, shooting up to

fourth place with a sector turnover of pounds 3.88m and clients

including Siemens, BMW and Australian airline Quantas. Like the larger

players in the sector, it can offer a turn-key service combining brand

communications, exhibition and interiors and management skills and

content delivery by its own composers, and video and new media

specialists. "Especially in the present climate, clients need to

maximise any investment in communications and if you can think at the

beginning about uses for the solution, it's easy for them to see the

benefits," says Qudos director Shaun Evans.

Mark Elgar, head of sales and marketing at design and production firm

Barsby Prince & Partners agrees that clients are thinking harder about

how they invest in exhibition design.

"Our clients are questioning more established shows in terms of value.

People are spending more wisely, rather than not spending at all," he

says. "More clients are moving away from one-off bespoke stands to ones

that reflect the company's vision and can be reused."

Events for employees

Events that address internal audiences are growing more sophisticated as

clients realise the need to retain staff and live the brand, according

to Richard Zucker of seventh-ranked AMD In Real Life, which has handled

branding projects for Pearl.

"In the 80s it was big 'sheep-dip' events, where people came out

inspired, but six weeks later it's all gone. Today it's using some of

those techniques, but hard-wiring change into an organisation. More

organisations are realising that building the brand inside out is a

prerequisite to success."

Although there is a little edginess in the sector as to whether a

recession will bite, the trend for turning exhibitions and events into

more experiential activities for both external and internal audiences

looks set to grow - and with it a greater reliance on companies that can

provide and manage all of the design disciplines on-brand.

TOP 20 EXHIBITION AND EVENTS AGENCIES

Agency Turnover 2000 Exhib/events

(pounds) (pounds)

1 Jack Morton Worldwide 32,122,000 28,909,800

2 PCI Live Design 13,300,000 13,300,000

3 Firbank Kempster Group 6,000,000 4,800,000

4 Qudos 5,554,268 3,887,988

5 Barsby Prince & Partners 3,000,000 2,700,000

6 The Northcross Group 5,200,000 2,444,000

7 AMD In Real Life 7,241,000 1,955,070

8 Shelton Fleming Associates 2,049,719 1,639,775

9 Cairnes 2,604,832 911,691

10 Wheel 15,776,000 788,800

11 Checkland Kindleysides 12,500,000 750,000

12 SBR Design Consultants 2,971,055 713,053

13 TMA - The Ideas People 2,000,000 400,000

14 Marketing Matters 4,436,000 354,880

15 Warwicks UK 6,900,000 345,000

16 Deepend London 4,550,000 318,500

17 Proctor & Stevenson 6,007,971 300,399

18 Tayburn 7,260,000 290,400

19 Conran Design Group 7,245,000 289,800

20 Lawson Marshall Cole 2,600,000 260,000