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Tag Archives: trade show opportunities
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
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
What if You Were Googled & it Came Up, ‘Never Heard of ‘Em’?
If no one knew who you were, how would you present your brand? It’s a powerful question for anyone to ask, but it’s especially potent for companies that have been around a long time. What if this was your very first trade show … What if no one knew a thing about what you do or what you stand for. Everything is brand new and shiny: The slogan is new. The identity package is new. The product positioning is new. Consider it a corporate time machine, and you’ve got the key. Continue reading
What Happens in Vegas … 10 Tips for Surviving the Vegas Trade Show
I am now halfway through a two-week stretch of trade shows: ISC West is just ending and NAB is underway. Both are in Las Vegas, as are two shows upcoming in May. Under the circumstances, it seemed only fitting to share some Sin City Survival Tips. Here’s my Top 10 “don’ts” that will make sure you DO have a great trade show experience. I hope it helps you one day … Continue reading
Tear Down Your Trade Show Booth
We all want a better trade show booth. We all want to be the hit of the show—the booth that has otherworldly magnetic pull and Gorilla Glue on the carpet keeping those attendees stuck in your space. And we all wish there was an easy way to make that happen.
Well, in some ways, there is! Although it might mean having to be a bit brutal with your booth. Continue reading
The Value and Power of Audience Polling
Any trade show exhibitor should be able to instantly spit out 20 things that are driving their attendees (their potential leads and customers) crazy. I’m talking about real pain points, real needs and real solutions. It’s simple enough, but it’s shocking how difficult it is for many trade show exhibitors to respond. Continue reading
Top 5 Ways to Host a Successful Trade Show
Supercomm is no more. If you’re curious what that means for the trade show industry, be sure to read Part I on this topic. Today’s subject is the Top 5 Ways to Host a Successful Trade Show — and not be the next Supercomm or Comdex. Continue reading
A Live Presentation is Like ‘Preventative Medicine’
We recently participated in a major Chicago trade show that was not very well attended. In the pictures I saw online after the event, most booths looked like carpeted ghost towns. The writer of one story said you could have easily held a sporting event in the aisles. The only picture I saw featuring a massive throng of people happened to be a shot of our booth, during one of our live presentations. People were packing the aisle, and I remember thinking one thing: “WHEW.” Continue reading