• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, December 16, 2008

Trade shows, which for the past couple of years have been the one silver lining for the B-to-B media marketplace, are the latest media category to feel an economic pinch. Revenues for B-to-B trade shows and events, a category the American Business Media has re-branded "face-to-face media," have declined 3.7% during the first nine months of 2008.

That's a double whammy for the U.S. business press, which already had been experiencing an ongoing erosion of its print advertising base. Through the first nine months of the year, B-to-B ad publishing ad revenues are down an estimated 5.9%, according to the ABM's Business Information Network database, but ad pages in the business press - considered by many to be a more accurate barometer of actual revenues - are down 8.3%.

The ABM estimated that the combined trade show and magazine revenues have declined a total of 4.8% for business publishers, indicating that the B-to-B marketplace is eroding at nearly three times the rate of the consumer media marketplace so far this year. According to recent estimates from TNS Media Intelligence measured consumer media outlets are down 1.7% through the first nine months of 2008.

All things considered, ABM President-CEO Gordon Hughes said B-to-B media "appears to be holding up well" within a volatile economic climate. "For the long term, we believe that B-to-B media will continue to serve the needs of the marketing community with superior products and services, and will grow accordingly," he stated.

The ABM does not breakdown its event revenues estimates, but according to its magazine advertising database, revenues have fallen in 16 of 21 categories tracked by the organization.