by Chris Brogan If you’ve been to one trade show, you’ve seen them all, in a way. There are the exhibitor booths, the plush carpet, the signage, the fishbowl full of business cards in exchange for a free gadget giveaway, squeezy balls, little dishes of candy. Occasionally, there’s a “fun game” thrown in there, some […]
Ever wonder why a new trade show director’s hair goes gray by Day 3? by Tony Compton Johnny’s smartphone alarm rang precisely at 5:30 in the morning, but today he didn’t need it. He was already sitting in the drive-thru of his favorite fast food restaurant awaiting his routine cup of coffee. It was Johnny’s first […]
by Caroline Meyers Think about the last time you went a trade show, conference or networking event. There was a hubbub of noise and conversation. You are there to learn, meet, listen and, if you are booth staff, greet and teach. Imagine that you are approached by someone, or maybe are seated next to someone, […]
by Silvia Pellegrini The most difficult things to sell ALWAYS end up being products and services people actually need–the kinds of products and services they feel are almost forced upon them. When we have to make a logical purchase, like car insurance to protect ourselves and our financial future, for example, we aren’t at all excited […]
by Bob James A telling statistic lies deep within CEIR’s new report, Cost to Attract Attendees. It could in part explain why association-owned shows have recently seen a falloff in attendance, exhibits and income. Association organizers, according to the new report, have cut their marketing spend during the past four years. Associations now spend 20% less on attendee […]
by Michael Hart You had to figure it was going to end sooner or later: After 25 consecutive quarters, tradeshow industry performance experienced a decline at the end of 2016, according to the most recent CEIR quarterly report. The year-over-year decline was a modest 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016. The decline in […]
by David Brull Event marketing will never go away. In fact, it’s gaining importance to exhibitors, even with so many other distractions out there. According to The State of Customer Marketing 2017, a survey of over 200 marketing leaders (primarily from B2B companies), companies identified three key areas for success in customer marketing efforts: relationship building, communication and customer […]
by Robert Hughes Whose show is it, anyway!? After twelve months and hundreds of exhibitor interviews, one of the many findings that I found surprising is that exhibitors really do not understand who owns the show they exhibit in. There is a significant disconnect about who owns and puts on the tradeshow that the exhibitor […]
by Jo-Anne Kelleway Matchmaker, matchmaker, Make me a match, Find me a find, Catch me a catch. Matchmaker, matchmaker Look through your book, And make me a perfect match. Fiddler on the Roof Fiddler on the Roof is a 1964 musical set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in 1905, where the parents of three daughters approach a matchmaker to […]
by Silvia Pellegrini Not too long ago, a study was conducted by Dale Carnegie in conjunction with MSW that indicated 29% of the modern workforce is engaged, around 45% is not engaged, and around 26% is actively disengaged. Dale Carnegie Training has been conducting such studies over the years and the latest statistics are definitely alarming. In the […]
