Exhibitors Connection
Exhibitors Connection is a Chicago-based, privately held trade show and event staffing firm founded in 1988 that supplies vetted brand ambassadors and event personnel to B2B clients nationwide, drawing on a curated network of over 7,000 trained professionals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1988
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Exhibitors Connection does
Exhibitors Connection is a US-based private company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1988, that provides trade show and event staffing services nationwide. The firm supplies trained brand ambassadors, registration personnel, session monitors, hostesses, crowd gatherers, product demonstrators, national marketing personnel and greeters, scaling from single-day events requiring a handful of staff to large-scale trade shows requiring hundreds. Its operating model is built on a curated network of over 7,000 vetted professionals, with a stated emphasis on matching individual staff strengths, emotional makeup and grooming standards to client brand requirements rather than a volume-based 'fire hose' matching model. Services are sold to B2B clients via direct sales and website inquiry, with quote-based, customized pricing tied to event size, duration, location and personnel requirements. Customers disclosed in source material include Redbox, Organic Valley, Kia and Spartan Races, spanning entertainment, food/agriculture, automotive and sports/fitness verticals.
The company is privately held by co-owners John and Jennifer Dixon, with an internal headcount of 11-50 supported by a much larger contract/temp talent pool. The core technology is not a software platform but rather a personnel-matching and training capability layered on top of industry experience accumulated over 27+ years. The single product extension beyond pure staffing is 'EC Tech,' announced in January 2015, which added on-site technical support personnel to the service catalog. There is no public pricing, no funding rounds, no M&A activity, no parent company, and no patent or trademark portfolio disclosed. The company markets itself primarily through a content-led motion: a company blog, industry articles, white papers, video content and an Instagram presence that positions Exhibitors Connection as a thought leader on staffing best practices and the limitations of AI in event staffing. Its operating thesis, articulated explicitly in 2023 content, is that human curation of personnel outperforms algorithmic matching for in-person brand representation.
Exhibitors Connection firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Exhibitors Connection
- Legal name
- Exhibitors Connection
- Website
- https://exhibitorsconnection.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1988
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Exhibitors Connection is a Chicago-based, privately held trade show and event staffing firm founded in 1988 that supplies vetted brand ambassadors and event personnel to B2B clients nationwide, drawing on a curated network of over 7,000 trained professionals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Exhibitors Connection industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Event Staffing Services
- NAICS
- Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Booth Staffing & Brand Ambassadors (Product Demos, Hosts) (THAHAHAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Trade Shows & Exhibitions (Booths, Show Management) (BPAFAGAD)
Keywords
Where Exhibitors Connection is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Exhibitors Connection business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Event Staffing Services: Provides trained brand ambassadors, registration personnel, session monitors, hostesses, crowd gatherers, product demonstrators, national marketing personnel, and greeters for tradeshows and events. Revenue generated through professional services fees for staffing events.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom event staffing solutions |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Exhibitors Connection product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Exhibitors Connection is a nationwide tradeshow and event marketing company that supplies trained brand ambassadors and event personnel to companies participating in trade shows, corporate events, product launches, and marketing activations. Services scale from large-scale tradeshows requiring hundreds of personnel to single events requiring a few staff, covering roles such as registration, session monitoring, hospitality, crowd gathering, product demonstration, and greeting. The company also expanded into technology-enhanced on-site support with its EC Tech offering in 2015.
Product overview
Exhibitors Connection is a nationwide trade show and event marketing company that has operated since 1988. The core offering is brand ambassador staffing services, providing trained personnel for trade shows and events across the country. The product portfolio centers on the Brand Ambassador Staffing Services as the primary offering, supported by specific service modules including Registration Personnel, Session Monitors, Hostesses, Crowd Gatherers, Product Demonstrators, National Marketing Personnel, and Greeters. These services scale from large-scale trade shows requiring hundreds of personnel to single events needing a few staff members. The company also announced EC Tech in 2015 as a technology-enhanced service expansion. All services emphasize human-centered interaction with extensive training on individual strengths, emotional makeup, dress and grooming, and crowd interaction skills.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Brand Ambassador Staffing Services Core service providing trained brand ambassadors for trade shows and events across the United States, with staffing scaled from single events requiring a few personnel to large-scale tradeshows requiring hundreds. Personnel are vetted for personality traits, dress and grooming, crowd interaction skills, and brand alignment to represent client brands professionally.
- EC Tech Technology-enhanced event staffing service launched in 2015 that expanded Exhibitors Connection's capabilities beyond traditional brand ambassador support to include on-site technical support personnel for events and tradeshows.
Companies that use Exhibitors Connection
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Exhibitors Connection technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Exhibitors Connection partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Exhibitors Connection competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- PromoStaff: Event staffing and promotional staffing agency offering brand ambassadors, models, and trade show personnel across the U.S. Operates in the same niche as Exhibitors Connection with a comparable service model.
- Sparks: Experiential marketing agency delivering brand experiences at trade shows, events, and retail activations. Overlaps with Exhibitors Connection in staffing-heavy live event execution, though typically at larger enterprise scale.
- Trade Show Staffing: Specialized trade show staffing agency providing brand ambassadors, models, and booth staff for exhibitions nationwide. Closely comparable to Exhibitors Connection in core offering and customer base.
- ON Services: National provider of event staffing, brand ambassadors, and event production services for trade shows and corporate events. Directly competes with Exhibitors Connection in booth staffing and brand ambassador deployment across the U.S.
- Ainsley Agency: National event staffing firm providing brand ambassadors, models, and promotional staff for trade shows, conventions, and corporate events. Direct competitor with overlapping target customers and delivery model.
Broad incumbents
- Jack Morton Worldwide: Global experiential brand experience agency producing events, exhibits, and activations for major brands. Competes with Exhibitors Connection in the staffing and on-site execution layer of trade show programs, but at much larger scale and with broader creative capabilities.
- MKG: Experiential marketing and event agency delivering brand experiences at trade shows, conferences, and live activations. A broader incumbent with overlapping capabilities to Exhibitors Connection's staffing and on-site event execution services.
- George P. Johnson Experience Marketing: Large established experience marketing agency specializing in events, exhibits, and trade show programs for global brands. Overlaps with Exhibitors Connection on staffing components of trade show engagements.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks3 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Exhibitors Connection social profiles
Digital presenceExhibitors Connection financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Exhibitors Connection leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Exhibitors Connection funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Exhibitors Connection M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Exhibitors Connection
What does Exhibitors Connection do?
Exhibitors Connection is a nationwide tradeshow and event marketing company that supplies trained brand ambassadors and event personnel to companies participating in trade shows, corporate events, product launches, and marketing activations. Services scale from large-scale tradeshows requiring hundreds of personnel to single events requiring a few staff, covering roles such as registration, session monitoring, hospitality, crowd gathering, product demonstration, and greeting. The company also expanded into technology-enhanced on-site support with its EC Tech offering in 2015.
Is Exhibitors Connection a public or private company?
Exhibitors Connection is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Exhibitors Connection founded?
Exhibitors Connection was founded in 1988. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Exhibitors Connection based?
Exhibitors Connection is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Exhibitors Connection make money?
One revenue line is on record: event Staffing Services.
Who are Exhibitors Connection's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are PromoStaff, Sparks, Trade Show Staffing, ON Services and Ainsley Agency. Broad incumbents are Jack Morton Worldwide, MKG and George P. Johnson Experience Marketing.
Does Exhibitors Connection have an API?
No public API is recorded for Exhibitors Connection.
What industry is Exhibitors Connection in?
Exhibitors Connection's product category is Event Staffing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAHAHAO, Booth Staffing & Brand Ambassadors (Product Demos, Hosts), with a secondary code of BPAFAGAD, Trade Shows & Exhibitions (Booths, Show Management). Its NAICS code is 561920 and its SIC code is 7311.