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Labor Reform Bill, How It Affects Exhibitors

Joshua Rush — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 22:15:34 +0000

Earlier this summer the Illinois General Assembly passed the Labor Reform Bill, a new law establishing an 18-month period to develop and implement reforms that will result in lower costs for exhibitors. I know you’re probably rolling your eyes now but the new law opens to the doors to some pretty significant changes in the way trade shows will operate in the future. What does boil down to for you, the exhibitor?

New labor work rules that reduce crew sizes, require less overtime pay.
Exhibitors OK to do their own work, regardless of booth size.
Restructuring capital debt to allow the MPEA to further lower costs for customers.
Allowing shows to select outside electrical and food service contractors.
Auditing contracts to ensure savings are passed on to customers.

Source: http://meetinchicago.typepad.com/chicagomeetingmatters/2010/05/historic-legislation-to-cut-costs-and-keep-mccormick-place-competitive-becomes-law.html

Vegas Attendance Up 12% In September

Joshua Rush — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:40:59 +0000

Trade shows in Las Vegas attracted 401,319 attendees in September, an increase of more than 12% over the same period last year, according a recent report from the Las Vegas Convention & Visitor’s Authority (LVCA). This is great news for anyone fighting to rebuild trade show marketing budgets that have experienced cuts in the last year.

Have you seen any recent uptick in attendance at your events?

News via Tradeshow Week.

Get Rich Quick… Its sooo easy!

Chris Brown — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:49:51 +0000

A colleague and I were sitting outside of Starbucks today talking about sales trends and strategy when I noticed a gentleman who had a library of “get rich quick” books under his arm. I started to day dream a bit about quick wealth, vacations, an outdoor kitchen, finishing the basement and maybe even buying a YACHT!! So many people buy into these “get rich quick” concepts but so few are successful in them. In a tough economic condition, how can we find success today; even more important, how can we position ourselves today so that we are successful tomorrow?

In a soft market it is persistence coupled with forward thinking that is going to create success and wealth, the key lies in taking action not just to withstand the soft market but rather to take advantage of the opportunities it offers for future growth. At Echelon we have dialed in on three opportunities in which we feel will set us up for success going forward:

using technology to be more effective and productive
infusing energy and creativity into our marketing collateral and efforts
developing ways to increase our value to clients and expanding on relationships with our customers.

With reports indicating that the U.S. economy is on the mend, there are many reasons to feel good about the near future. In fact there are 7 reasons in this article “7 reasons to feel good about the economy” which you can read here. ”The number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell for the third straight week, evidence that layoffs are continuing to ease in the earliest stages of an economic recovery.” and you can read that article here. With no shortage of luck things are going to turn around and buyers will be ready to make deals; have you taken advantage of the opportunities offered in this soft market so that you can insure future growth?

If this topic interests you then you may also find these two blogs by Josh Rush, “The advantage of exhibiting in a down market” and “Trade show strategy overhaul” to be a good read.