I stand corrected. My copy of Trade Show Executive arrived today and in it was their annual “Gold 100” of top trade shows. NACS is number 52. I had my stats wrong. The show typically over 380,000 square feet of exhibition space, it does move between cities (rotating through Chicago, but including Atlanta and Orlando). […]
I’m traveling on Wednesday to a show that is significant in American marketing and the trade show world: the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS). I’ve never been to this show, so this should be a treat and an experience. The exhibition is held in conjunction with the NACS conference and educational sessions. The conference
I made my regular visit to Mr. B, the man who shines my shoes, and came away with yet another life lesson. No, I’m not going to talk about hiring one of those shoe-shine girls for your trade show booth to build traffic. We’re going to talk about customer contact and service. Whenever I stop
Shoe shines and trade shows Read More »
Consider that the well-planned and executed trade show does these two things: 1. Enhances all of your other marketing efforts2. Brings your brand to life Enhancing other efforts. When your ads, web pages, direct mail, sales collateral, electronic direct marketing, personal selling and publicity all have the same messages woven into them and match your
The well-planned and executed show Read More »
From the AAF speech: There are three things you want to have as the underpinnings of your show program or approach: 1. Strategy2. Planning3. Measurement If you don’t have a strategic direction, it’s just a space that isn’t accomplishing anything. Know why you are going to a show, how it fits into your program and
The three basics in show planning Read More »
How do I use premiums to my best advantage at a show? Should I have more than one kind? This was a question posed to me at the AAF-Abilene regional seminar yesterday. The questioner was concerned that have a bowl of giveaways was just playing to the general “lookie-loos” at a show and a waste
Effectvely using premiums and giveaways Read More »
I recently purchased a home and I found that I’ll need my trade show planning skills to help me execute this move. It seems there are a lot of similarities between show planning and move planning: 1. Make a master list2. Pay attention to and adhere to deadlines3. Watch your budget Make a master list.
Show planning is like moving Read More »
“Walking a show” means just that: you are going to visit a trade show to learn more about it before you choose to exhibit. The idea is that if you get a feel for it by being there you will more than likely understand and make a better judgment of its value to your company
Managing a trade show program of more than one show require broader thinking. Because you are using properties in multiple locations (and for possible different mixes of products and services), you really need to look at cost beyond the cost of each show. In fact, combining costs across your spectrum of shows allows for economies
Total Cost of Program Read More »
I know I dwell on this, but let’s talk about leads. Gathering leads is one of the primary reasons we are at shows–we are there to itneract with suspects, prospects and clients and maybe find a few new ones in the process. So, let’s talk about one way to classify leads. Whether you are collecting
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