Bumped? What your airline ticket says about you

Deciphering the code
The letters airlines assign to certain levels of coach can vary widely, but a couple are universal. "Y" class is a widespread denotation for the highest class in coach among most major airlines, according to Jami Counter, senior director of TripAdvisor Flights and a former pricing strategist at American Airlines. These tickets are usually fully refundable, last-minute coach fares purchased mainly by business travelers. They're the most expensive tickets, but they have the most flexibility.

Some others that are generally used among the airlines: "J" or "C" usually indicate business class. "F" and "P" denote first class or premium. Full article from MSNBC

Dave Lutz on When Conference And Tradeshow Websites Fail

Here’s a few tips that succesful major events are implementing on their Web site to improve relevance and the user experience.

1. Exhibitor Search
Access to a real-time floorplan that allows attendees to search by keyword/phrase, primary product category, secondary product category, booth number or exhibitor name. The best shows are refining this list every year to make sure that they are keeping up with the times and delivering search results that match the requests. (Hint – by reviewing keyword searches, you can identify categories or sub-categories that should be added.) To improve engagement, some shows allow users to create a list of exhibitors to visit, the ability to schedule appointments and to request info. More.

Tips for Creating Traffic-Stopping Tradeshow Booths

The key to maximizing booth traffic is to make sure the booth commands attention at several distances, starting with about 30 feet away. Your booth needs something eye-grabbing that attendees can spot from that distance. "Side wing" displays that catch attention from several aisles are also a good option.

Getting in the Zone—Three Zones, Actually.

But let's say you weren't able to secure such a desirable spot—or, for that matter, invest in a fancy exhibit booth. That's OK; attendees are still going to pass your booth at some point, and you can still attract—and sustain—their interest by displaying three types of messaging, each uniquely suited to viewing from one of three distinct zones:

• The Memory Zone—about 15 feet away.
• The Sensory Zone—close enough to interact with booth materials and demos.
• The Data Zone—as much a state of mind as a particular proximity, the Data Zone is where booth visitors are looking for evidence that your product or service will solve their problems. More.
  

Choosing Appropriate Tradeshow Giveaways For Your Business

When you are taking part in a tradeshow, it is important to choose promotional products that are going to be valued by those who will visit your booth and will be an item they are going to use after the show has ended. As you carefully consider all of your choices, you would think that the best thing to do is ask yourself whether the products are something that you would want for yourself. However, there are many more things to think about when choosing appropriate tradeshow giveaways for your business. More.

Trade(show) Secrets

How to leverage tradeshows into media coverage

When contacting writers, try to schedule a new product introduction, update or other announcement to coincide with the show. If you prepare a news release to distribute at the show, perform doubly by distributing it to your prospects too. If possible, coordinate your publicity efforts with the public relations efforts of the show’s organizers. Find out if your company’s media materials can be included in a press kit distributed by the show’s organizers. More.

Most Exhibitors Have Cut Back, Some With Regrets

From Association Meetings:

Four out of five exhibitors (81 percent) have scaled back their trade show participation over the past year due to the economy, and many are regretting their decision, according to a new report from Champion Exposition Services.

The Middleboro, Mass.–based company surveyed 1,002 exhibiting companies in May and June and found that the most common trade show cutback was sending fewer staff. About 56 percent of those surveyed sent fewer staff to trade shows, and of those, 39 percent report that they regret it. More.

SISO Comes Out, Officially, Against Exclusive Services

The board of directors of the Society of Independent Show Organizers has released a statement opposing arrangements where a facility requires show organizers to use an exclusive in-house service. These types of policies, says SISO, drive up pricing and wreak havoc with multi-show deals that organizers set up with other service contractors. More.

Conference and Show Web Sites Need Better User Experience

Here’s a few tips that succesful major events are implementing on their Web site to improve relevance and the user experience.

1. Exhibitor Search
Access to a real-time floorplan that allows attendees to search by keyword/phrase, primary product category, secondary product category, booth number or exhibitor name. The best shows are refining this list every year to make sure that they are keeping up with the times and delivering search results that match the requests. (Hint – by reviewing keyword searches, you can identify categories or sub-categories that should be added.) To improve engagement, some shows allow users to create a list of exhibitors to visit, the ability to schedule appointments and to request info. More.

IAEE Social Media Task Force Releases Best Practices

DALLAS, 17 August 2010 – The International Association of Exhibitions and Events™ (IAEE) Social Media Task Force announces the availability of Social Media Best Practices for Exhibitions and Events. This free member publication provides a thorough break down of social media terms, outlets and basic requirements, as well as helpful tips for planning and executing social media campaigns as they relate to exhibitions and events. More.

Trade show exhibitors going “green” in a big way find benefits

Trade show experts says the benefits of going green in trade show exhibition go beyond environmental concerns, and can go directly to the bottom line. First, of course, is the “green” statement made to customers and potential buyers an exhibitor meets at a trade show; many buyers make purchasing decisions based on the ecological stance of vendors. In addition, using lighter-weight materials in booth construction can drastically reduce costs of shipping, a major expense for exhibitors. More.

Tradeshows Don’t Have to Suck

From Tradeshow Insight:

Something has be weighing on me the past few weeks. Like a knot in the stomach. I’ve been afraid to either admit it, or say it out loud, but a recent post by Dave Lutz at TSNN has given me the strength to come out with it.

Tradeshows kinda Suck.

Yesterday, I was re-reading HubSpot’s Social Media & Business Marketing eBook, and I came across something that startled me. More.

iPad is “Magic” for Tradeshow Floor Demonstrations

There is a reason Apple characterizes its iPad as a “magical” device: Physically interacting with interface elements heightens a user’s connection with the user interface, and creates a sense of immersion.

Tablet computers are a great tool for physically sharing information with someone in a way that they are immediately invested in the content that is being communicated. The small screen forces the listener and communicator to interact on a close, personal level, and the positioning of the two parties as they stand close, peering into the screen, evokes a sense of discovery. More.

Marketing Beyond The Trade Show Event

You have a lot of options for trading your business at a trade show. Marketing and advertising does not have to begin and end in trade shows though. You should be advertising and marketing before, during and most specially after the trade show event. Doing these things can surely help you make a good investment and generate higher profit. Let's learn some of the ways you can do this to market your business before, on and after the trade show event. Link

EACA Has a Blog

Exhibitor Appointed Contractors Association Link.

Top 3 Things Exhibit Marketers Wish Their Boss Knew

As an exhibit marketer, there’s a lot you’ve learned about trade shows. But what do you most wish your boss and other senior managers knew about trade shows? Read full article.

Trade Show Booth Flooring – A Key Consideration

Trade show booth flooring is often overlooked as an important trade show accessory. Yet, your exhibit area floor covering can play a vital role in furthering your company brand image, enhancing the overall booth design, and creating a welcoming environment that draws prospects into your booth.

Consider that you have invested a tremendous amount of time and money producing a beautiful, high-impact display. This includes carefully selecting your display layout and graphics, lighting, accessories, and promotional item to help ensure you maximize your effectiveness and achieve your objectives from show participation. More from the Tradeshow Guy Blog.

GOING GREEN

From Exhibitor Magazine: I want to take steps to Green my exhibit program, but with so many eco-conscious options available, I’m a little overwhelmed. So where should I focus my efforts? What eco-friendly changes will offer the most ROI for Mother Nature?

You’re right. There are seemingly countless ways to go Green. While eco-friendly products are certainly becoming more prevalent in the industry, environmentally friendly tactics now include everything from limiting solid-waste production to decreasing volatile-organic-compound (VOC) emissions. Especially when you’re green about going Green, the options can be overwhelming. But just as with any sizeable project, you have to start somewhere. And a logical place to focus your efforts is in the reduction of the carbon-producing elements in your program. Continue reading.

CRM & the Event Industry – Tips from the Trenches

From Face to Face with Freeman:

There was a question in the "Trade Show Executive" LinkedIn group posted a few weeks ago that gave me pause:

What are the most effective CRM (customer relationship management) systems out there to drive exhibit sales growth?

I have been asked this question numerous times throughout my career. Technology has become such an integral part of business that we depend on systems to solve problems and yield bottom line results. However systems don't grow a business. Systems are tools used to achieve objectives. Too often, CRM is defined as a technology solution. While there are a number of technologies that can be employed to support CRM, the practice of deepening and broadening relationships with customers is about much more than technology.

At this point I had a few choices. I could:

• Ignore the question
• Call out the person asking the question
• Reframe the question and provide a meaningful answer

I chose the final option and came up with the following: Continue.

Transparency or Decline – Your Trade Show’s Future Is at Stake

from TSNN:

Have you been paying attention to what’s going on over at the Trade Show Exhibitors Association (TSEA)? In late April, they held their inaugural Red Diamond Congress, bringing together many industry leaders. They discussed several key issues that keep exhibitors up at night and create distrust between organizers, facilities, general service contractors and other key suppliers. Read full article

Tradeshow Training Minute: Goals and Objectives

New Video from Susan Friedman. 1:45 minutes long. Link.

Public Relations Etiquette

When I bring up PR etiquette in a conversation it usually generates a few chuckles. Now why would that be? Maybe I should refer to this as public relations professionalism. Whatever you want to call it the recent Ag Media Summit provided several opportunities to comment on it. During the event’s InfoExpo I had two situations that provide a real good lesson in what “not to do.”

The first one involved me walking to a scheduled appointment with an exhibitor to conduct an interview. While walking past a certain exhibit one of the people in the booth grabbed me by the arm, stopping me and “asking” if I could interview their representative who was at that moment already being interviewed. I explained that I had a scheduled interview and could come back later. My arm was still being held and further pressure was applied verbally to stay. I don’t know about you but even though I like a good welcoming hug, I’m not fond of being grabbed. Needless to say I did not return to this booth. Continue reading.

13 Common Trade Show Mistakes

Mistakes happen whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned trade show veteran, but you can avoid the 13 Most Common Trade Show Mistakes by following this advice. So, let’s take a few minutes, while your competitors are reading about Lindsey Lohan or watching reruns of Jersey Shore, to super-size your trade show marketing skills. Read more.

Event holders talk serious numbers

Event organisers in the Middle East are undertaking professional audits of visitor numbers amid accusations of practices such as exaggerated attendance reports and inclusion of catering staff in official figures.

So far, only a handful of exhibitions among the hundreds hosted in the region every year undergo audits from professional bodies such as BPA Worldwide. But the need for sponsors and exhibitors to justify the expense is providing an increasing impetus to change, said Aspen Aman, the Middle East business development manager for auditing BPA.

Organisers “are realising that the events industry is having the same squeeze on it as the rest of the media industry,”, Ms Aman said.

“They’re trying to establish some kind of differentiation between themselves and other shows. It’s that lack of accountability that makes it hard for any sponsor or exhibitor to arrive at any ROI [return on investment] on what they put into a show. More.

Going to a trade show in China: Selecting the Right Show for Your Needs

Picking the Correct Show

Probably the most important decision that you will make prior to coming to China is what tradeshow you will attend while here. In China alone there are thousands of shows every year. There are hundreds of lists of shows on the Internet separated by country, industry and date. A nice searchable example for worldwide shows is Global Sources Tradeshow Center.

From the huge bi-annual fairs in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong to smaller regional and industry specific fairs that are held all over the country, the options are almost endless. How to choose between so many? Base your decision on a few key factors. First what vendors are going to be showing at the fair; and second, who attends the fair (who is the target audience).

Which vendors will you be able to meet when you get there? This is the most important question because if you wind up at the wrong fair it doesn’t matter how well prepared you are. Going to the wrong show in your own country can cost you hundreds of dollars and a few days of wasted time. But going to the wrong show in China can cost you thousands of dollars and more than a week of wasted time. You need to be sure that the people you want to meet are exhibiting—manufacturers, factory reps, traders, distributors, professionals. Who are you looking for? Full Article.

URL: http://able2know.org/topic/159512-1

“Tradeshows and ROO/ROI it is not that big a mystery.”

How do YOU measure the effectiveness of the tradeshows you exhibit at today?

Have you written a list of the established goals for each event and each booth staff worker?

What is the cost per lead for each of these shows?

Do you know the answers to these questions? – If not, how do you know you are exhibiting at the correct shows and receiving the proper the return on your investment? Full Article.

Tradeshow Training Justification

From Exhibit City News:

Hello Class, it’s great to be back to share another lesson with you! Today we will be focusing on how to gain support and obtain approval for training activities that will help you and/or your teams improve results, and return on investment (ROI) for your tradeshow programs. As a general rule, there is no such thing as too much knowledge or too much training. There are plenty of options to choose from. One option is a custom program, delivered by a consultant such as myself. This type of program is designed specifically to address and improve a company’s specific sales and marketing goals via tradeshows. Another option is attending tradeshow industry events such as the EXHIBITOR Show and TS2. These shows offer a variety of general educational sessions focused on helping exhibitors improve tradeshow results.

However, obtaining approval for training is often overlooked or dismissed in many companies due to tight budgets, or simply being focused on current projects without thinking of how tradeshow training can directly impact and improve those efforts. This leaves it up to you to take the initiative of explaining to management the value such a program can deliver to the company’s bottom line. Just like anything else in the business world, there is a ROI to communicate to your decision makers. More.

Does the Exhibition Industry Need a Makeover?

Aug 4, 2010 2:44 PM, By Dave Kovaleski

The exhibition model isn’t broken, but panelists at a session at the International Association of Exhibitions and Events Mid-Year Meeting in Boston said there is room for improvement. Pre-show marketing, co-location, labor relations, and virtual events were just some of the topics discussed at the session titled, “Exhibition and Event Industry Makeover.” The hybrid session, held on July 12, was attended by 60 industry executives in Boston and watched live by about 40 people online .

Marketing was a particularly hot topic. Not enough exhibitors do pre-show marketing, said panelist Beate Halligan, president, H+A International, a Chicago-based marketing company. Event organizers can’t afford to stand idly anymore, she added, they have to help exhibitors market. “The days of build it and they will come are over,” said Halligan. “It’s a new world.” Event organizers have a good story to tell, but they need to do a better job of telling it, she said. Full article from Association Meetings.

New Labor Rules Take Effect in Chicago

Beginning Aug. 1, Phase 1 of sweeping new labor rules that were voted through the Illinois General Assembly will take place at Chicago’s McCormick Place and Navy Pier.

• Standardized straight time, overtime and double time provisions for all show work completed by workers represented by the following labor unions: Electricians, Plumbers, Carpenters, Decorators, Riggers and Teamsters.
  

• Expanded exhibitor rights that will allow exhibitors or their full-time employees to complete a wide range of tasks which were previously prohibited. The rights will be extended to all exhibitors, regardless of the size of their booth.

• Significant changes to Focus One operations, including a new name (Exhibitor and Technical Services) and changes to pricing and service delivery.

• New pricing plans for banquet services, and cash sales provided by Chicago Restaurant Partners.

• A new automobile and small utility vehicle policy that will allow exhibitors to deliver, unload and reload certain exhibits, equipment, and materials without paid assistance.
  
• Full article from TSNN

Ways to Draw Crowds to your Tradeshow Booth

This is a fairly typical scenario for tradeshow marketing planners: You have made the decision to have a tradeshow exhibit in your industry’s leading tradeshow. You have planned properly by selecting the appropriate tradeshow, nailed down the key objectives and goals of your company’s tradeshow marketing team, and hired professionals to build a dramatic, eye-popping tradeshow display. Now all you need to do is wait for visitors to find your tradeshow booth. You believe in the motto “If you build it, they will come,” right?

Well, not exactly. With tens of thousands of square feet of tradeshow floor and hundreds of competing tradeshow exhibits, prospects finding their way to your company’s tradeshow booth can be an overwhelming challenge.

Fortunately, there are proven ways to get crowds to your tradeshow booth. Continue reading.

Kicking Out Clutter: The Latest Trade Show Exhibitor Booth Design Thinking

Ways to eliminate exhibit overload.

Exhibit clutter. It’s easy to define — an overabundance of products or visual elements that don’t allow or are too confusing for the audience to focus on an exhibit’s meaning. But dealing with clutter isn’t always easy.

“We’ve all been faced with 10 stakeholders who each want 25 percent of the booth for their products,” says MC2 Senior Designer Ethan Hostetler. And that can lead to massive amounts of clutter. “It’s important to find ways to work together towards the common goal — THE BRAND.”

What can you do if multiple people are clamoring for exhibit space? Basically, you have two options: Limit the number of products you’ll display or find a way to squeeze all the products into your exhibit without blurring your message. But before you decide which option to exercise, you have some prep work to do. Full Article.

Study Reveals How Attendees Would Redesign the Convention Experience

Here are the top five trends identified, including some quotes from responding participants:

1. The commercial exhibit hall can be an overwhelming, inefficient learning experience for attendees.

Time constraints, crowds, lack of directional signage, shotgun use of multimedia and video and space constraints. All of these are factors that result in inefficient message absorption, learning, and use of time for physicians.

"Often times there are so many people, so many noises and so much activity that I have to try to close these potential distractions out in order to focus and prioritize," said a participant.

"I am always overwhelmed by the exhibit hall. It is so confusing where to start, how to figure out if you have missed anything and where to go next with your limited time," noted a participant.

2. Attendees want to be in control of their booth experience.

Most attendees have only a few minutes to spend at each booth, so it is crucial to allow them to control their experience while you control the environment.

As one participant surveyed put it, "I prefer to be by myself, and if I have any questions, I would approach someone. I want to get an idea first for me then explore deeper if necessary." Full Article.

Trade Show Apps Extend Attendee Engagement

By Bill Mickey
07/30/2010

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While digital editions are a common format for producing show guides and show dailies, apps are becoming another popular platform for integrating dailies along with much more functionality. Penton Media's Custom Solutions group partnered with the Food Marketing Institute to build an app for FMI's annual event, FMI 2010, in May. The app, which essentially wraps a show program, show dailies, exhibit hall map and exhibitor directory into a smartphone interface, was offered free to the event's 10,000 attendees and downloaded 6,000 times. Full Article.