Do You Need a Creative Kick?
If you ascribe to the notion that moving every seven years helps alleviate "stuff" accumulated during that time, then I have accomplished that task three times over, especially with our most recent move. And boy, did we find, and get rid of, a lot of "stuff"....
Accidents and Trade Shows - They Happen. Are You Ready?
No one ever plans to get into a car accident. You also never know where and when you will need the advice and sage knowledge of an expert. In almost 40 years of driving, I am fortunate to have been involved in only a few minor bumper taps. None involved an injury more significant than being shaken up a bit....My wife Shelley was not so lucky the other day....
Is Your Competition Out-Gaming You?
Can anyone think of a for profit or non-profit entity that operates as a true monopoly? You remember the word monopoly from your economics class that you struggled to stay awake in, don't you? A monopoly occurs when a company or group has exclusive control over a commodity or service. Yes, Monopoly is also a great board game. There is no sweeter feeling....
Do You Know the "Basic 10"?
If you spend any time researching the planning and execution of a successful trade show program, you'll discover no shortage of material on the subject. Publications like Exhibitor Magazine, Exhibit City News and Trade Show Executive are great sources, along with the EDPA. There are countless social media pages and blogs devoted to industry best practices....
Expertise Needed in Aisle Eight
"Excuse me. Do you work here?" "Me?" I pointed to myself. I had to juggle the 12-pack of soda and jar of peanut butter I was holding. My shopping trips involve very basic needs. "Do you know where the Saran Wrap is?" I checked to see if I was wearing a blue polo shirt with a store logo and a name tag. Nope. "I don't work here, but I'm sure we can find it together," I said....
Planning Ahead Can Be Easier on the Feet
A friend of mine ran his first marathon last fall. He set the goal of successfully finishing the race almost two years earlier. He started with 5k races. I know the first few were more walking than running, as my friend was not an experienced runner, and had been a smoker for several years. From 5ks, he went to 10ks and then two half marathons....
Has It Really Been This Long?
In January, I will be celebrating 34 years of being involved in the trade show industry. Yep, in January of 1983, I was introduced to the Nomadic Instand. The Instand, according to Exhibitor Magazine was one of the "10 Ideas That Changed the Trade Show Industry". If I would've known 34 years later....
Wrinkled Fabric and Shipping Labels
There will never be a shortage of advice, paid or free, when it comes to managing a successful trade show program. Go ahead, Google it or go to your choice of exhibit industry social media groups. They are all there: ship to advance warehouse, take advantage of discount deadlines for ordering show services....
Discovery! Is There an App for That?
Three things I learned this week: penny candy is now a dime; the Waze app might be too good; shipping in not cheap anymore.
Yes, I remember penny candy. Penny candy was a tradition in the 1960s. This was a time when there were different shopping pattens. Mom and pop stores and general stores were common in the neighborhoods. They sold everything....
The Trade Shows of September Come Early
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'gitche gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early.
If you are like me, the lyrics of Gordon Lightfoot's 1970s chilling ballad, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", are etched in your brain....
I Got It. Sure You Do.
Water skiing. Holding onto a big, half-filled, water balloon. Herding cats. These are examples of tasks that would seem fairly easy once they've been successfully completed a few times. The reality though, is just when you think you've mastered them...Splat! You fly off your skis and face plant into your own wake. Trade show planning should be added to this list....
Viva la Difference
The sales process - the steps of getting a customer to say yes - hasn't changed much over the years. I do feel though, that the mystical sales curtain has been pulled back in so many instances. Not only has the great wizard been exposed, but so has the puppy dog close and "Do you want it in red or green?". Those who have been selling for more than a few years know what I am talking about....
Prepare Yourself
A few months ago, I did something that I had been meaning to do for years. I joined a local Toastmasters club. Toastmasters is an international organization with local clubs, where members give speeches that are in turn evaluated and critiqued by their fellow members. It's been around since the 1920s. Some of the more famous Toastmasters have included....
We're Not Just Being Nosy
"I need this on the 17th." When you live in the trade show and event world, where dates are the tail that wags the dog, you need to know exactly what a date means. ..."Is that the day your show opens?" "Why, yes." Dates mean different things to everyone....
Is It Getting Too Complicated to Remain Loyal?
Having heard so much about the recent change in the Starbucks loyalty program, I was reminded why I decided to quit drinking coffee over 10 years ago. It just got too complicated....
Lose Some Weight in the New Year
It started as a quick, "How are you doing?" phone call. Our client just finished her first full year of managing the company's trade shows and events (among other things). "If you told me a year and a half ago all the things I didn't know, that I know now, I really would not have believed you." She went on....
Establishing Budgets and Saving Money in 2016
Every year when December rolls around, we generally are talking with customers and prospects about one of three things....
So...
So... you want to take an island space at one of your annual trade shows. Your company has grown from a simple 10' inline with two sales people collecting leads, to a 20' space with more function. You added a salesperson, integrated a 42" monitor on the backwall and included a special counter with storage for literature and give-aways. The exhibit even featured a small area for more in-depth conversations. Now, the vice-president of marketing is contemplating a 20' x 20' island....
It's Cooler By the Lake
If you live in or around Chicago, August is often referred to as the "dog days" of summer. There's usually a week or two of hotter weather and higher than normal humidity. For my friends and family out west, humidity is the thing that makes it feel like you have 50 extra pounds on your shoulders as you walk down the street, curls your hair, and makes seats at a Cubs game stickier than normal (even before you drip a Frosty Malt on it). Luckily, we have the world's greatest air conditioner, Lake Michigan....
Training Your Exhibit Staff, Easy As 1, 2, 3, 4!
What seems like more than a lifetime ago, there were only three sales organizations in the United States for a revolutionary product, the Nomadic Instand. I was fortunate enough to work for one of them. For those of you who might not know the history of the Instand, it was the first self-locking "pop-up" style display. In fact, Nomadic invented the portable display as we know it today, and was mentioned in....
Time to Vent! (or, Put That LinkedIn Down)
In the movie "Glengarry Glen Ross", Alec Baldwin's sales manager character calls out the sales staff. "Put that coffee down. Coffee is for closers only." (Warning: Don't click on the link unless you want to hear some very foul language!) Well, it's time to "put that social media down."
Still Crazy
Returning from the Exhibitor Show (ExhibitorLive 2015) in Las Vegas last week, I sat on my return flight to Chicago, eyes closed, headphones plugged in. Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years" started to play….I smiled...
I Was Amazoned!
For years, I have been fighting the urge to use Amazon as my "go to" source for purchasing items I need for home or the office. My friends keep telling me it's super easy and saves time and money. For the most part, I just like seeing a product before I buy it. If I can put it in my hands and read the package, all the better. As a member of a chamber of commerce, I prefer to support local businesses when it makes sense. Money that is spent in a community....
Don't Cut Off Your Nose to Spite Your Face (or Don't Let Material Handling Freeze the Sales Process)
"Don't cut off your nose to spite your face," was a phrase I heard my grandmother say from time to time. It's not used too often these days but it literally means, don't go ahead with an action that could make things worse for you farther down the road. This is especially true if the action is done as a quick reaction, out of anger or not thought through. I wanted to say this to a long-time customer the other day....
The Case for Building a Better Treehouse
When I was 13, my friends Markie, Ted and I decided to build a clubhouse. We didn't have any money or real know-how, but there was a construction site about a block from our houses, and the collective lunacy of three 13-year old minds went to work. We scavenged wood and other materials and very crudely, constructed a 7' cube complete with a swinging door, roof and floor....
It Only Takes Money!
Brainstorming sessions are fun. The idea is to have a free-flow of ideas, wants and desires without the thought of possible impediments like actual cost and logistics. The sky is the limit and anything is seemingly possible....When it was announced that the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago was going to be home to the "David Bowie Is" exhibition for a few months, I was told I was going....
Nickels and Dimes
Some friends from Germany recently visited the U.S. for the first time. We were happy that their first stop was Chicago. It was good to see them and it provided an opportunity to show off the city....The one negative comment they expressed was, when purchasing something, the price was more at check out....We call it being 'nickeled and dimed'.
Kissing Frogs, Finding Princes and Trade Show Success
A customer new to exhibiting visited our showroom last week. We talked about her goals for the event and some of the ways she could present her message. We also discussed the basic 4-step process that can work effectively in a smaller environment...Attract, Engage, Qualify and Action. ...Whoever said you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince, had it right.
Tech Talk
"How do you use technology in your trade show program?" That was the topic at the last meeting of the Midwest Exhibit and Event Professionals (meepro.org). The panel working through the discussion was comprised of two seasoned trade show coordinators, a consultant and an industry supplier....All very interesting to say the least....
Team Prairie
Twenty years is a long time, but when you are busy doing whatever it is you do, it can pass in the blink of an eye. Hard to believe it was just 20 years ago (1994) when O.J. Simpson fled from Los Angeles police in the now iconic, low-speed chase in his white Ford Bronco....Harry Styles, member of One Direction, was born. Yikes! Oh, and Prairie Display/Chicago, opened their doors....
Connections
Earlier this year, I met Alberta Bell by chance. Walking down the hallway of the extended care floor at a nursing home, I smiled and said hello as I passed her, seated in a wheelchair. "Hello!" she barked back. "I'm Alberta Bell and I was named after my uncle. His name was Albert." "Oh really?" I turned, and introduced myself. "I'm pretty sure my mother named me Steve because she liked Steve Allen." Alberta did not miss a beat....
Check This Out
In May, I posted a commentary on why I thought certain retailers were missing the boat by offering customers the option of using self-checkout lanes. I wrote that in an effort to speed up the process and reduce labor, these retailers were actually creating distance between the value they provide...
Going Smaller? Stay Realistic!
An experienced exhibit/marketing professional will tell you that participating at a trade show in an inline space is very different from exhibiting in islands and peninsulas. The amount of time spent with attendees is usually shorter. Group presentations can be challenging...
Captivate Like Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard passed away the other day at 87, in his Michigan home. For those of you who are not familiar with him, Elmore Leonard was one of the most prolific American fiction writers of westerns, crime novels and suspense thrillers, in the last 50 years. He also wrote screenplays....
Pixilated About Pixelation?
I can't remember the exact date, but it was probably around 1990. The company I worked for operated their own screen print shop. That's how we produced solid color, large text and logo graphics....
Can Event Marketing Be Truly Sustainable? Part Two
A few weeks ago, Part One of this blog was published (see below). I suggested that exhibitors and supplier partners have to do more to become eco-friendly and avoid needlessly wasting Earth's natural resources....Here are some examples of what our customers can do to reduce, reuse and recycle in our industry....
Can Event Marketing Be Truly Sustainable? Part One
According to GES' recently published 2013 "Trend Tracker", when it comes to design, sustainability should be on the minds of exhibitors and how they relate to their customers. About sustainability, it reads...
Unexpected Item in the Bagging Area
If you ask me, grocery store chains and some big box retailers are messing up big time. Yep, messing up by relying on self-service checkouts. We've all used them....
Don't Drive Thru Please!
Hamburgers are all the rage in our town. In the last two years, four new restaurants opened specializing in various types of custom (higher end than fast food) burgers. This - if we add the seven fast food restaurants and a dozen or so sit-down places where you can order a burger - brings the options for raising my cholesterol and body fat to an all time high. ...
Again and Again, Then One More Time
Leo Olson taught advertising in the Journalism Department at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois during the 1970s and 80s. Although Leo passed away in 1989, he left behind a lasting legacy to thousands of J-students who passed through the doors of Cole and Reavis Halls....
Winter Blues and Convertibles
Every February in Chicago, when the winter doldrums start to really take hold and everyone is sick and tired of cloudy, gray days, the Chicago Auto Show moves into McCormick Place for a 10-day stay. The Chicago show is billed as the largest in the world and has been going on for over 100 years....
My Trade Show with Marilyn
I recently watched the 2011 movie "My Week with Marilyn". The movie is about a young intern on a movie set in England. Marilyn Monroe is one of the actors and the intern is assigned to keep Marilyn company and get her to the set on time. Marilyn is difficult to work with...
A Must-Read for All Trade Show Exhibitors
The Exhibit and Event Marketers Association (E2MA) recently posted their 2012 Advocacy Study Presentation titled "Enhancing Exhibitor Value Enables Show Growth" on their website. I urge everyone to click on this link...
It Wasn't Raining When Noah Built the Ark
I recently met with a new client who was just hired by her company, and one of her job functions is to handle their modest trade show program. ...
An Open Letter
Dear Marketing Managers, Vice Presidents, CFOs and anyone associated with hiring personnel to manage trade shows and marketing events...
First Blog: Baby Steps
About 10 years ago, a close associate urged me to start writing a book based on my experiences in sales and the trade show and event industries. I tried....