Search “Hey Newman”
Magnet Productions
-
Recent Blog Posts
- Coming Soon To a Trade Show Near You
- Rethinking Trade Show Swag
- What Happens in Vegas … Surviving CES 2013 (or any show in Sin City)
- Singing In The Rain
- How To Scream “THANK YOU” (and why you should.)
- A Tip For Exhibitors: Don’t Go To Your Next Trade Show
- Did You Pack Your Trade Show Tool Kit?
- ‘GOT SWAG?’
- “Smile”
- “That’s NOT in my Job Description”
Blog Archive
Blog Categories
Popular Topics
affordable options big benefits booth assistants booth buzz Booth design Booth staff booth traffic brand loyalty building trust clarity connection consultations crowd gathering flow free stuff going green happy exhibitors human behavior humor industry studies lead follow up lead generation live presentations Movie trailers Nominated passion performance training pre-show marketing qualified leads recycling Rock Band saving money signage size matters skill sets social beings storytelling Sundance Film Festival swag targeted giveaways trade show opportunities trade shows trade show trends Twitter visual cliffGet in Touch
Fill out the form below to send me a message:
Category Archives: Lead generation & follow up
“Smile”
Actual dialogue from a recent trade show: Me: Traffic’s really down this year, huh? Exhibitor: Yeah, a lot less people. Seems like about HALF. Me: Well, it’s not the greatest destination. Exhibitor: No kidding. But, it is what it … Continue reading
“That’s NOT in my Job Description”
This week’s “Hey Newman” blog was to be about ‘going-above-and-beyond, ‘thinking-outside-the-box,’ ‘getting-things-done.’ But instead of speaking about this in the abstract, I decided to invite fellow blogger, Jennifer Canale, to share her recent experience at a small trade show in … Continue reading
Making Pre-Show Videos is Easier Than You Think
Last week we talked about previewing your trade show blockbuster. Now let’s figure out how to do it …
If you have a phone, you have a camera. If you have a laptop, you have a camera. And of course, if you have a decent camera … well, you have a camera! So there’s no excuse not to record something compelling.
So, when you have it, what do you do with it? Continue reading
Coming Soon to a Trade Show Near You
Movie trailers are a part of our culture. We expect them. We anticipate them. And we even seek them out when word spreads. Movie trailers create buzz. They’re easily shared. And they frame what’s to come on their own strategic terms. They are, perhaps, the ultimate form of pre-show marketing.
And yet, we put on our (trade) shows each year without making use of this essential tool. Can you imagine moviegoers arriving at the theater—their minds blank—learning about films and deciding which to attend from the posters on the walls?
Can you imagine a studio that has staked its year on the success of a blockbuster, doing nothing more than sending a flyer to a few thousand past customers?
You have all the tools you need built right into your smartphone. Got a laptop with a camera in the lid? Then, you’re a producer.
Whatever you do, don’t think of your next trade show as anything less than a feature film. Continue reading
Have Trade Shows Made You Numb?
The trade show environment is loud. Bright. Flashy. Full of strange imagery and sounds nowhere to be found in the “real world.” (Well … Vegas aside.) It’s enough to overwhelm the senses and dull them to what you’re actually putting before the attendees on the floor—and how that compares to the choices made by every other vendor at the show. If you no longer hear the incessant beeping of badges being scanned, if you’ve gone deaf to the screams of “WHO WANTS A FREE SHIRT?!” … or if you no longer even register the spandex-clad-brand-ambassadors strutting around the show floor, then you may need to rekindle your senses, one at a time.
Stand in front of your own booth and close your eyes. Focus on the sounds from your own personnel and electronics. Focus on the voices and the words of the crowd you’ve gathered. Think about what you hear. Think about what it means for your company and your trade show presence. Next, try a noise-canceling headset and just observe in silence.
Do you want to engage your customers in a conversation? Or do you just want to add to the noise? There’s much you can learn from your own senses … Continue reading
Create a Traffic Jam at Your Booth
You’re driving down the highway. You see a billboard. You glance at it. Then, your eyes are back on the road. You don’t slow down and read the fine print. You don’t pull over and climb the ladder to get a closer look. You just glance at it and it’s gone. Those advertisers know what they’re doing. They KNOW their audience is a moving target with a very small window for impact and success. So, that message has a powerful graphic. It’s simple, with a memorable message. It brands the company and it’s evocative. It’s the classic example of effective high-speed advertising.
And your booth better be the best damn billboard you’ve ever seen! Continue reading
‘Hi. Can I Help You?’ … And Other Guaranteed Ways to Kill a Conversation at a Trade Show
A few weeks ago at the Supercomputing ’11 trade show in Seattle, I decided to conduct an experiment. I took off my headset microphone, borrowed an attendee badge, and started cruising the show floor. And unlike many trade show attendees, I actually walked into most of the booths. And what I experienced could very well have served as a crash course on “The Top Ten Ways to Get People To Run Away From You.” Continue reading
Want Better Trade Show Results This Year? Improvise.
Be careful that you’re not on autopilot with trade show planning, presentations, marketing and booth design. If you’re just going through the motions and making the safe choices you know will get through the approval process, the specter of “trade show death” is already hovering. I mean, if you’re bored, don’t you think that’s reflected in your trade show presence? Don’t you think attendees can pick up on that tedium and strut right on by? Ennui isn’t exactly a trade show aphrodisiac. Continue reading
How To Piss Off Your Exhibitors
I almost didn’t write this. I wasn’t interested in simply firing off an angry rant about a bad trade show experience. I told myself, “If I’m just venting, I don’t have to do that in a public forum that’s meant to be for the benefit of others.” So, I waited a bit until I had something constructive to say—something that might save a Company planning a trade show from having a whole lot of their preferred guests screaming at the top of their lungs (literally) for an explanation. And that something is this: No matter how awesome you think something will be—no matter what brand or company image you’re looking to present—you cannot afford to lose sight of the intention of that event. Continue reading
Auto-Scan Hell – When Knowing ‘Everything’ is Worse Than Knowing ‘Nothing’
They’re at it again. I can personally report from a recent large and well-known trade show that this time they’re armed with massive mounted RFID auto-scan receivers. Yes. It seems that many trade show exhibitors are still on that ill-fated mission to capture the details of EVERY attendee at the show. Sure, right now they’re “only” capturing every attendee in the vicinity of their booth … but why stop there? Just a little more wattage—a little more juice—and you can return to Headquarters touting 40,000 leads from your last show. You. Can. Have. Them. ALL. (Insert diabolical laughter, here.) Continue reading