GES expands Marketing Portfolio with Acquisition of CSG Creative

GES has acquired CSG Creative, a marketing and creative services agency focused on the association and exhibitions sectors, in a move that broadens GES’s capabilities in event marketing and experiential campaigns.

The deal brings together GES’s international exhibition and experiential marketing services with CSG Creative’s specialisation in driving growth and engagement for association-led events and trade shows.

Acquisition of Marketing Agency CSG Creative

Under the agreement, CSG Creative joins GES as part of its wider portfolio of exhibition and experiential marketing services. CSG Creative has built its business around providing marketing and creative support for associations and exhibition organisers, with a focus on helping events attract exhibitors, sponsors and attendees.

The acquisition is positioned as a strategic expansion of GES’s marketing offer, adding an established agency team and service set that is tailored to the needs of associations and trade show producers. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Combination of Exhibition Services and Marketing Expertise

GES operates globally as a provider of exhibition and experiential marketing services, working with event organisers across a range of business sectors. Its core services include exhibition production support and solutions for live and experiential events.

By integrating CSG Creative, GES aims to align its operational and production capabilities for exhibitions with agency-level marketing strategy, campaign development and creative execution targeted at event audiences. The combination is intended to give organisers access to both physical event delivery and specialised marketing support through a single provider.

CSG Creative has established a role in developing campaigns that support event growth, particularly in the association environment where membership engagement and industry-specific positioning are central to marketing strategies.

Focus on Association and Exhibition Industries

CSG Creative’s client base is rooted in associations and exhibition organisers, with services that span branding, campaign development, audience acquisition and exhibitor and sponsor promotion. Its work is directed at increasing participation, improving event visibility and supporting long-term event growth.

For GES, this sector focus adds a dedicated marketing function that is already aligned with exhibition and conference business models. The company’s existing relationships with event organisers are expected to provide opportunities to apply CSG Creative’s marketing expertise across a broader set of events.

Expansion of Event Marketing Capabilities

The acquisition significantly enlarges GES’s marketing capabilities beyond its existing experiential services. While GES has long supported organisers with event production and on-site execution, CSG Creative adds strategic planning and creative services designed specifically to drive registration, exhibit sales and sponsorship revenue.

This expanded scope encompasses campaign planning for exhibitions and conferences, development of visual identities for events, and content and collateral that support organiser sales and marketing teams. The integration of these functions into GES’s offering is intended to streamline how organisers plan, promote and deliver their events.

Impact for Association and Exhibition Clients

For associations and exhibition organisers, the combined organisation brings together marketing strategy, creative execution and exhibition delivery into one provider relationship. Clients working with CSG Creative gain access to GES’s global infrastructure and exhibition services, while GES clients seeking more comprehensive marketing support can draw on CSG Creative’s experience in audience and exhibitor campaigns.

The move reflects ongoing convergence between event production and marketing services in the exhibitions and association meetings space, where organisers increasingly look for partners that can support both the physical and promotional dimensions of their events.

Context within Exhibition and Experiential Marketing Sector

GES has positioned itself as a global provider of exhibition and experiential marketing services, working with trade shows, conferences and live events. The addition of CSG Creative extends that positioning further into the marketing agency space, particularly in segments where association governance and member engagement play a key role in event success.

CSG Creative’s track record in growing association and exhibition programmes complements GES’s operational capabilities, creating a combined offer that is designed to support events from strategic marketing planning through to on-site delivery. The acquisition underscores the importance of integrated marketing and production services for business events and exhibitions.