We’re sincerely honored and thrilled to have Echelon Design and Tradeshow Insight be nominated for “Best Coporate Blog” in this year’s Eventprofs Blog Awards. The nominations included over 40 event blog submissions and includes seven different categories. The winners will be announced live at EventCamp Twin Cities, on September 9.

While we’d LOVE to have your vote, the nomination alone is truly humbling.We’d like to thank everyone who has participated in our blog over the past year. The conversations that are started here are only as good as those who read, comment and share the information, to keep those conversations growing. This nomination is truly in part to having such an amazing community of individuals willing to share their ideas and opinions for continuing progression in the tradeshow and events industry.

So again,

Thank you!!

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.

Ouch. Sandwiched between Telemarketing and Direct Mail in the pit of Interruption based marketing. Is this truly how marketers view tradeshows?

I’m realizing, it’s a broken system we’re in. I’ve been afraid to say it, but if the industry is to survive, this image needs to change. I have increasing conversations with exhibitors that reflect these flaws. I’ve heard this one over and over, “We’re only exhibiting at this show because our competitors are.” Really? Have we watered down and stripped the value of tradeshows so much to the point that the vision of tradeshows, being exposed to hundreds, if not thousands of qualified customers and prospects, has become a mirage to exhibitors? What happens when someone takes a stand and refuses to exhibit? Take the competitor out of the equation, and chances are you’ve lost this exhibitor as well. Let the dominos fall.

The value is fading.

Though I try, I can’t get past the idea that tradeshows are viewed as Interruption based marketing. We’re in the middle of a major shift in which Permission based marketing and advertising is dominating our culture.

Most of us have viewed the famous “Did you Know” video series, which supports this shift away from traditional marketing:

• In 2009, traditional advertising saw a steep decline:
  • Newspaper: -18.7%
  • TV: -10.1%
  • Radio: -11.7%
  • Magazine: -14.8%

While none of these numbers may be directly reflecting of tradeshow industry, the fact is traditional marketing is dying. Stack that up against statistics that show a 2.9% decrease in March, 1.4% decrease in April and 4.0% decrease in May for meeting and convention totals, it makes me believe the proverbial elephant has just entered to room…with friends.

We have a problem.

Regardless, I firmly believe there is an unending value in face to face meetings. A value that can’t be replaced by technology but instead is rooted in our humanistic need for that handshake or look in the eye that helps establish the trust we need to develop and sustain business. I don’t believe the current trends and views on tradeshows are because of a flawed vision for the industry, I believe it’s simply failed execution and lacking adaptation.

The good news is that I believe tradeshow CAN be permission based. Tools like Social Media, videos, blogging and community building are PERFECT for tradeshows. Relationships can now be formed before an event and sustained infinitely beyond it. Instead of being that guy, who looks like a lost puppy dog, waiting for attendees to clammer over his newest product brochure, we can develop networks and communities that support a field of business and use tradeshows and face to face environments simply to extend beyond it. To deepen and solidify those relationships.

Whatever the strategy, another thing needs to change: Universal value. If organizers are the only ones benefitting from tradeshows, why bother? How much long can we leave exhibitors, attendees and sponsors in the dark and expect them to put up with it? A four-sided partnership needs to be developed between these parties and structured to ensure benefit to all. Without one of these “gears” in the machine, the entire thing ceases to work.

Lara McCulloch recently illustrated how the events industry, as a whole, is shifting. She states, “The events industry is changing and our silos are breaking down.” Conference planners, meeting speakers, tradeshow vendors, are slowly being woven together in a world that is shrinking with tools like Social Media. This gives us the power to collectively adapt and make the changes necessary to better our industry. The question is – Are we ready for the task?

Stand together, or die alone.

On the heels of the Fall closing of WSA 2010, comes news of Xsensible winning best exhibit for the under 800 square foot category. This 20′ x 20′ island exhibit was designed and built by Echelon Design specifically for both Spring and Fall WSA exhibitions.

Were you at WSA this year? Please share your photos and/or stories with us!

Below are just a few of the award winning photos of the Xsensible exhibit.

Earlier this year, I shared a few iPhone Apps that would be perfect for the tradeshow environment. With the introduction of the iPad, many immediately saw the value of this niche product for the event world. With a few months for a library of exclusively design apps to accumulate, I’ve decided to follow up with a list of my favorite applications.

Why the iPad is perfect for tradeshows:

The iPad goes where your laptop can’t and it’s size is advantageous over the iPhone. It’s the perfect “in-between” device for both attendees and exhibitors to be productive and share information with each other. The brilliant and beautiful screen display is perfect for demos and presentations and it’s speed and integration with other progressive products and software makes it an impossible display to ignore.

bCards Pro ($1.99)

Most business cards are thrown away within the first 24 hours of exchange. Many of those are due to the inconvenience of manual data transfer. Business cards scanners are great for obtaining your attendee info, but nearly as important is ensuring YOUR info lands in your attendee’s address book.

bCards Pro will send your contact info, in a vCard format, via email or Wifi transfer directly to your attendees smartphone – instantly. Be creative – leave a personalized note in your contact details or a friendly ‘thank you’ for the time they spent with you.

(also available for iPhone)

Simple Job Proposal ($4.99)

So you’re nearing that deal on the tradeshow floor. Using Simple Job Proposal, you can create a customized proposal for your customer, on the spot. Using an iPad stylus, you can even pull signatures into your proposal. No need to print documents. No need to fax a copy. Simply email the document to your customer and end the paper trail before they leave your exhibit.

Dropbox (Free)

One of my personal favorites, Dropbox is leading the way in cloud based storage and document management. With your free account, you can view and manage photos, videos, documents and presentations from your iPad. Furthermore, your Dropbox account allows you to synchronize between your computer and other mobile devices.

Developing a directory of tradeshow collateral with Dropbox makes sharing brochures, product specification sheets, presentations, photos, demos, videos, etc. extremely convenient. You’ll also free yourself from the expenses of printing and shipping materials, which can be easily shared with anyone right from within the app.

(also available for iPhone)

Conference Pad ($4.99)

A large advantage with the iPad is the high versatility with a fairly competitive cost. If you’re giving a presentation at a tradeshow, you can simultaneously control your demo on any number of iPads, iPhone or iPod touches. By passing out devices to attendees or strategically placing them throughout your exhibit or conference, you can deconstruct the projection screen and customize your presentation around your environment. All devices respond as you do – slide changing, pinching and zooming, even a laser pointer function – all adds a touch of user interaction.

Popplet ($8.99)

Add an interest and level of interaction with your attendees with creativity from Popplet. This app is a visual idea sharing organizer. Create an idea board based on a topic or question and let your attendees add their own responses to the board. Incorporate photos of attendees or their experiences throughout the event.

(a Lite version is also available)

Are you using the iPad at your tradeshow at events? What creative apps or uses have you come across to utilize this new piece of technology? How do you think it will effect the tradeshow industry in the future?

As an Apple fanboy, I’m immersed in the culture of the brand and pay special attention to not only HOW they effectively market, but its effect on their customers and the feelings that are evoked. Much of their success comes from being able to market an element of mystery. Was the iPhone 4 leak truly a “leak”? Either way, it undoubtedly increased the buzz and viral effect around a product that was nothing more than speculation at the time. Every since the launch, Apple hasn’t been able to keep the new  iPhone 4 on the shelf.

However, there’s a balance in which your message needs to be clear and established. The above image was something I captured while driving by a local fast food chain. Is this message clouded in mystery? Yes. It is clear and established? Absolutely not. It could be anything from a hoagie to that nasty peanut butter and Miracle Whip sandwich that my dad ate. The product has been lost in a vague message, and frankly, I’m just not that curious to find out.

Take a look at your exhibit marketing strategy. Are you selling sandwiches? Has your brand been lost in the marketing purgatory of “check out our exhibit” and “our service is superior” messaging? It’s important to spend time effectively transferring your marketing message to an exhibit environment and ensure that a few things are clearly strategized:

Why are you there?

An elementary question, it may seem, but truly ask yourself and your staff WHY you have elected to exhibit at a specific event. Is it to connect with existing customers or to make new ones? Is it to simply maintain a presence in your industry? Is it to develop partnerships and relationships with other exhibitors and attendees? Identifying the WHY is necessary to addressing the WHAT and HOW for your messaging.

Identify your TRUE audience

Had that sandwich been revealed to me more clearly, there’s still a good chance that I wouldn’t have stopped to explore it. It very well may have been that nasty peanut butter and Miracle Whip sandwich. But there’s also a chance, had it  been conveyed to me properly, that it sounded so good that I risked a barrel role out of my car to try it.

We often mistaken EVERYONE as our audience. It’s important to understand that 30,000 attendees are not all potential customers. When you attempt to mass market, you begin to generalize your message to appeal to a larger amount, when in fact you’ve simply watered it down to those who may be your true audience. Understand that your product or service has a narrow, more specific target, and don’t compromise.

Focus on the Attraction

Creativity is a key component to developing an attractive message for your product or service. But don’t get too cute and sacrifice clarity for an attempt at creating an interest. Focus on what makes it great. Maybe “Try our New Spicy Chicken Sandwich” is a bit more specific, but something like “Free Glass of Milk with our New Spicy Chicken Sandwich” raises the attraction without sacrificing the message.

What examples have you seen, in or outside the exhibit world, that have stood out to you as strong, creative and clear messaging?

As a student of fine arts, I’ve been subjected to numerous stylistic lessons on drawing, painting and design. From the basic principles of color to aesthetics of element layouts, I’ve been engrained with ideas to enhance pleasure to the eye. Beyond that, artistic expression, boundaries and interpretation are all defined by its creator and how it’s best served to deliver its message to the viewer.

Despite freedom beyond extraordinary limitations, most of us are still boxed in by tradition and habitual conformity. In one particular exercise, our classroom was given an assignment to produce an outdoor landscape, consisting of fields, grasses and trees. Regardless of artistic talent, regardless of instructional enlightenment and regardless of that expressive freedom, a vast majority of students struggled to articulate beyond the idea that grass was to be depicted by skewed lines, trees were to be depicted by a morphed set of circles and sun light was a shape.

Creating an optimal environment for receiving information must first come with a deconstruction and rebuilding of our own principles and habits for what our audiences need. Despite an increasing palette of tools from which to create this channel, we often design around a vanilla box of standards that our habits have allowed us to fall in love with. It’s time to kill habit and blow up that vanilla box. It’s time to represent our grasses as dancing strokes in wind, illustrate trees as a silhouettes of color and sun light as an array of warmth and shade.

Instead of strictly focusing on the message, the channel for delivery is most critical and its design is what will be the ultimate successor. And in order to properly design this channel, we must identify the medium and palette of tools for which our audiences will be receptive. As a sponge for information, I know that not everything that I see, hear, taste, smell or touch will be retained. However, I know that if that channel or environment has entrenched a memory, the message is likely to endure as well.

Identifying your palette is predicated on your message and your audience. Picasso painted “The Old Guitarist” after the death of a close friend and much of his emotion is expressed through the palette in which he used. That message would be muddied had the painting been a watercolor with bright, warm colors. Understand you message, destroy the habitual, traditional palette of delivery and design a new one that better suits your evolving audience.

I’m a big fan of step taking as a metaphor for building success. I’m also a believer that one way to take steps is to envision yourself at the top and take those steps backward. A new friend of mine, Lisa Petrilli, recently wrote about the importance of identifying your vision before you start building. Instead of starting at the beginning and succumbing to the vanilla box, identify what success looks like in your meeting or exhibit space. What does a satisfied attendee look like? What have they taken away? This is not to be defined by comment cards or surveys…this is your message, idealistic and received effectively and pure. Defining this success is the first step, followed by the backward steps. And with each of those, identify the palette of tools that make it possible.

Yield to the cultured routines for developing your canvas of learning. Put habits inside your vanilla box…then burn it to the ground.

(image by Tony the Misfit via Flickr Creative Commons License)

Events are entering a new era, and social media is becoming an increasingly important and visible element in the transformation of events.  As events evolve away from fixed, didactic experiences to more collaborative, fluid, and participatory experiences, social media has become increasingly integral to the event experience.

As this white paper demonstrates, particularly through key case studies, evidence is mounting that social media is having a significant impact on a whole range of event functions.  In fact, social media has become central to the success of a growing number of events, and entire events have been developed around social media.

The experts interviewed for this white paper lend credence to the notion that social media is truly transforming events into more dynamic, enduring, and rewarding experiences for attendees, event producers, speakers, and exhibitors alike.  But they also stress the importance of judiciously applying social media in events to achieve the right impact, and caution against frittering away social media applications in events with haphazard implementation and underdeveloped strategies.

This white paper is designed to offer a broader perspective on the role of social media in events, and highlight key strategies for maximizing the impact of social media in events.

Simply fill out this form to download the nine-page report. Your information will not be used or distributed in any way.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

I hate cars. As much as I rely on them to get me around, I despise the care that’s needed to keep them running. I’m automotive illiterate. My dad showed me how to change a tire, change the oil and other basics for car maintenance, but I quickly learned as an adult that opening my wallet keeps my hands clean from dirt and grime. Even still, I tend to avoid an auto mechanic like a pack of rabid raccoons.

Recently, I had been in need of brakes from my car, but as my quest was to avoid the automotive dentist, I put it off and put it off….until I noticed a nasty grinding and squeaking sound from my car. It was unavoidable now. My presence was known for miles with the hideous sound and making the issue an afterthought had now become the first thing attributed with me on the road.

Tradeshow exhibitors often fall vicim to this routine. From exhibit planning, service orders, shipping, graphics and more, there’s a number of items, intentional or not, that are often overlooked. Some exhibitors accept this as part of the process. They sacrifice here to ensure their resources are spent over there. This stigma is simply bogus and the battle for tradeshow sanity can be won if you commit to the battlefront with a proper strategy. Avoid your small oversights and negligence to grow into a nasty representation of your exhibit brand.

Have a Service Team – If you’re a event marketer for your company, nothing would be better of your time than to do that. The saddest thing to see is a marketing strategy that has been killed because of the hours a company has spent simply getting to an event. Enlist members from your company to handle the logistics and services, while you can focus on making your event a success.

Exhaust your Resources - Are you working with an exhibit company? If so, let them take some of the pressure from you and your team. Many exhibit companies will coordinate service logistics and many have ties to best management practices. Is your event in New York but you live in Phoenix? Ask your exhibit company to assist with recommendations for carriers and local labor if you’re in unfamiliar territory. Often times their knowledge and relationships with these service providers means cost savings for you.

Detail your Shipments – There’s one undebatable waste of dollars – Time. Your time, employee’s time, laborer’s time is not meant to be utilized tracking down your newly printed set of brochures on a floor of crates a boxes. Take the time to itemize every box as to its content, and develop a system to easily identify items for quick and easy access. If you’re missing a critical component for your exhibit success, that success may take a vacation.

Don’t Sacrifice Quality for Quantity - Be wise with your budget. Having a large 50×50 island is nice, but does little good if you’ve sacrificed accurate brand representation to get in that space. Instead, construct a vision for your brand and identify it through all levels of representation; exhibit structure, graphics, colors, lighting, etc. Let your brand dictate the space and not the other way around.

Chances are, you’ve been successful in building an image, a brand around your company. People associate your company’s name with an identity, be it quality, service, professionalism, etc. Afterthoughts are little gremlins who  attack those attributes and even the littlest one can overshadow the most firm strategy. Destroy those gremlins with proper planning and systematic execution.

As marketers, we must embrace the task of also being educators to our clients. We must first give our customers what they expect; delivery of services and goods. But much of what ‘sells’ somebody is beyond your baseline of services. What you offer beyond expectations is what garnishes trust and establishment as an industry leader.

The Social Deficiency

It’s been interesting to watch the changing tone of Social Media conversations. “Isn’t this shiny object great?!” has changed to “Hey, this shiny object can help your business!” to now starting to identify ”here’s how you can use the shiny object.” Even still, I shutter to think that the majority of our customers are listening, let alone looking for us. The tone of the conversation is that of throwing darts in the dark.

Our customers and audiences need to be grown and harvested. We understand that attention is needed for this to happen, but have you found the right seeds? Are you laying the soil and preparing the area for these customers to grow? Without giving them a foundation, and understanding of the landscape of which they are to receive your messaging and nourishment, there’s nothing to establish roots.

Heidi Thorne, promotion products marketing expert, accurately points out that by staying “ahead of the curve” and running towards new strategies, we risk leaving our customers behind. What good does it do you to learn a new language that nobody speaks?

The emergence of Social Media has been a bit of a rat race. Much of its utilization from business has been to “stay ahead of the curve.” While there is certainly value in keeping an edge in your industry and establishing a thought leader role, who is aware of it if you’re alienating your customers in the process?

If a Social Media strategy grows in a forest and nobody is there to notice, does it ever make a sound?

Guidance = Maturation

Education goes beyond Social Media. Some customers know what they want and they simply want the fastest, most efficient and most economic way of getting it. But some simply think they know what they want. There are often opportunities of guidance for our customers that go beyond any immediate benefits of “upcharges” or added services. In fact, the quicker you can identify the problem and generate a solution, the faster you can incorporate its resolution into your baseline.

Nobody wants to be oversold on an idea beyond their original expectations. But providing a premium service when expectations are for a standard service is invaluable to your customer, and eventually, you.

You might be an Alienator….

If you incorporate a project strategy to benefit your needs and overshadow your customer needs….you might be an Alienator.

If your primary goals are to exceed competition….you might be an Alienator.

If your objectives differ from your customers…you might be an Alienator.

If your social audience consists of industry professionals, but little of your customers…you might be an Alienator.

If you listen more to the “next big trend” instead of listening to customer needs…you might be an Alienator.

What have you done to keep from alienating customers? What benefits have you seen from being an educator on top of your service to them?

(image by Phillie Casablanca via Flickr Creative Commons license)

So it’s been three plus weeks since my past writing. My Google reader has had nearly 2,000 undread alerts and my volume of tweets and Facebook posts has dropped. Call it a Social Media hiatus. Call it burnout. Call it whatever you wish. The simple fact is, I’m stuck.

Even more frustrating is the fact that I’m just a couple short weeks removed from the single greatest event I’ve ever been a part of in SOBCon 2010. My head was swimming with passion and inspiration but with no identification of the ideas in which they were to drive.

So what do you do when you’re stuck?? I’ve learned rather quickly, and by quicky I mean failed significantly, that the idea that insanity is represented by repeating the same thing over and over expecting different results is quite a truism. So I’m writing thought to keyboard, which is frightening. If you’re reading, I fear mainly for you.

I have also learned, however, that getting stuck is usually the predesessor to step taking. We go through life and our careers climbing an staircase to which there is no end. Each step is filled with uncertainty and often laced with fear. Like breaking through a ceiling, that next step has invisible barriers before you’re truly on top, assessing the new landscape.

Amongst this step taking I’ve been also struggling with understanding a marriage of confidence and caring. It might appear rudimentary, but the success I want needs both. However, I think often times the two are balanced with one give way to the other. The confident, driven individual who lets little get in the way of goals versus the pacifistic, caring individual who sacrifices his/her own ideals for others gain.

So smack me in the face, here comes SOBCon 2010. An event that exemplifies this proper marriage and emulates the very persona of one of its founders, Liz Strauss. I’ve been privy to conversations with Liz that have punched me in the gut with kindness, smacked me in the face with care and cut out my legs while raising me up. My weekend at SOBCon was no different. Surrounded by people who pump ideas and thoughts from a factory that daily changes the environment in which our livelihood and businesses survive, I was overwhelmed by 149 others who emulated this marriage to me. Was I wrong in assuming that ego and insensitivity was the dominant virtue in a model of success? In short – hell yes I was.

It’s all good to have a Kumbaya moment and have a proper ideal for character engrained in my being, but what does this do for my business? How does good feeling beget paying my bills? I understand it isn’t quite as black and white, but B2B, B2C, whatever you have, is always going to be Person2Person and nothing muddies that relationship better than overthinking each detail in a minutia pile of doubt and uncertainty. Now would be a good time to simply quit burying an identity in excuses. Time to quit the drivel. Time to quit defining it and BE IT.

If you lasted this long, you’re likely dizzied from incoherency. I apologize as this is really more for me than it is for you, it’s a needed therapy to get me un-stuck. I’m not going to scrutinize for a half hour over each word. I’m not going to spell check. I’m not even going to add a cute picture. Sometimes insanity needs to be killed with insanity.