Trade Show Display Success Strategy

Americans are known for their short attention spans, and this is certainly true at the trade show exhibit hall. With a crowded trade show display floor bursting with hundreds of trade show exhibits, the essential job of the exhibitor is to attract immediate attention with a compelling trade show exhibit display.

Finding a fast way to capture visitor interest with an exciting trade show display booth is quite a challenge. Trade show attendees want a quick fix. Catchy trade show graphics can give a bold deliverance of message and humor can be used effectively too; but the trade show exhibit also has to be consistent with the exhibitor company's marketing message.

To be successful, the trade show booth design must answer the visitor's three key questions -- who the exhibitor is, what they do, and why a visitor should spend time inside the exhibitor's trade show booth.

According to Karla Krause-Miller, Director, Cappa and Graham, Inc., a professional event planning company in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, the psychology and strategy of trade show booth messaging is the key to success at a trade show. She advises that one follows the guidance from experienced account managers to stay on track for achieving a successful trade show display. Here are a few of her tips for exhibitors:

Focus on the big picture of what you want to have happen at the trade show. In other words, keep your company's trade show marketing goal in mind when planning a trade show display booth.

Avoid common trade show graphic mistakes, such trying to explain your new product by putting too much information in your trade show graphics -that is the job of your trade show booth staff.

Make sure your trade show graphics are readable from a distance of 10' away and from 8' above. Be sure to design your trade show booth with people in mind - what people will see when they approach from the aisle, what they see when they step inside the booth, and at the back wall.

Add excitement and pizzazz to your trade show graphics by using color and movement. Avoid boring graphics.

Use appropriate models and messages that match your industry standards.

Pay attention to lighting - have a clean, well-light trade show booth as people are attracted to light.

Make your trade show booth the place to be - people want to be where the action is -and they want to be part of the action.

Avoid being too product focused. It is best to highlight the application of what your product does, rather than relying on an unknown product name. The former Nellcor Puritan Bennett medical equipment company wanted to feature their new product, N1000, at a trade show. But instead of using the product name, N1000, they showcased graphics that featured its application--capnography, a noninvasive analysis of Co2 saturation. Visitors were better able to understand what was inside the trade show display. Nellcor was smart to focus on N1000's application rather than rely on a product name unknown to potential visitors.

Remember, it's up to you to decide what your trade show exhibit display will do to relay your company's message. If you follow the above rules, you can have a successful trade show experience; whether you have a pre-owned trade show exhibit display, a custom trade show exhibit, a custom modular trade show booth, a portable or pop up trade show exhibit display, or a trade show display rental.

This trade show exhibit advice holds true wherever you have your next trade show --whether the show is in Orlando or the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Moscone Center in San Francisco, the Santa Clara Convention Center or the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.

Understanding Party and Event Planning

New York City is one of the best places in the world to hold a party or an event. Each year, thousands upon thousands of people flock to the city to hold the special event that they've been waiting for since they were children. However, planning an event on one's own can be a stressful and difficult process; a process best left to the professionals. New York City event planners are some of the best in the world, and will help to ensure that your event goes off without incident.

What most people don't understand is that planning parties and events - especially in New York City - can be a difficult affair; one best left for the professionals. Hiring a New York event planner is the best way to ensure that your party goes off with a hitch, and that no outside incidents occur that can disrupt the flow of your evening. Those who think they could benefit from the help of an event planner would do well to immediately research those that might be in their area. Fortunately, NYC has some of the best event planners in the world, all of whom can plan your party so that it can reach its ultimate potential.

You must understand that planning an event is a very complex affair; one that is best is best accomplished by following a series of proven steps. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that planning an event - no matter how large or small - takes time. Allow yourself at least three months of planning time before trying to implement an event. Otherwise, you may find that your event ends up lackluster and ill-prepared. Do all you can to avoid a situation such as this.

The first thing you will want to do is decide where you will want to hold your event. Depending upon the nature of the party or event, you may want t hold it at either a restaurant, bar or performance venue. Get a feel for the person you are throwing the event for - as well as his or her friends. This can make all the difference when it comes to entertaining a large group of people who may or may not all know each other.

Second, you'll want to get all of the person's tastes in mind - their likes and dislikes. Planning the right party is all about knowing what the person's likes and dislikes are. For instance, if the person is interested in music it might be a good idea to purchase tickets to a concert and present that as the gift for the evening. Remember - this is his/her night; not yours. Purchase tickets for a show that your friend will enjoy, even if you will not.

It is also important to remember that you shouldn't invite a massively large amount of friends to whatever party or event it is that you are looking to plan. Keeping your event small is a great way to ensure that your event is kept to a level that is manageable. By keeping the invite list at a minimum, you won't have to worry about paying for a large group of people that the birthday person may barely even know. A general rule of thumb is to keep the amount of people invited to a small number, made up generally of a core group of friends.

It can be possible to plan a party that doesn't cost a good deal of money, and a New York City party planner can certainly assist you in doing such a thing. There are plenty of activities around the city, such as going to museums, art exxhibits and other low-key venues that can not only save the party planner a good deal of money, but can also lead to a cultural experience that the person celebrating the birthday may not have otherwise had.

Anyone who is planning on hiring an event planner to plan a party or event in New York City should know that it will not be an inexpensive affair. Hiring an event planner can cost a good deal of money, which is something that the hirer should be aware of before the process event begins. Hiring an event planner is a surefire way to having your event run as smooth as possible. Not surprisingly - however - it comes with a price.

When choosing a party or event planner, be sure that he or she is comfortable with planning the type of event that you are interested in holding. For instance, you do not want to employ an event planner that has never had any expertise in planning a nature hike if that is the type of event you are interested in holding. By matching the expertise of your event planner to the type of event you are interested in planning, you can be sure that your even will go off without a hitch.

One thing that many people forget about is the importance of keeping a secret. Since the person you are planning the party for will not be aware of any of the details, it is important to keep it this way and to not spill any details to outside people. Doing so can increase the chances of the person finding out what the surprises are, which can flat-out ruin the entire experience of the birthday party.

By far the most important thing to remember if you are trying to plan a party or event is to relax during the process. After all, planning an event of this type can be very stressful and can utilize your patience to the point of no end. Be sure that you are ready for what planning an event might have in store for you, as it is not an easy process.

If you can utilize organization and relaxation, however, your event planning process will smoothly. Remember to take a deep breath between every task, and you will not disappoint those who rely on your expertise.

Event Planning, Making Movies Or How to Learn From My Mistakes

I worked in the movie business for a few years on such films as Jerry Maguire, Dante's Peak, Hollow Man, Twister, American Pie, Congo, and Starship Troopers to name a few. I started out as a production assistant for a company that created and produced the computer graphics on the storm chasers computer screens in the movie Twister.

After a few years of incredible experiences, horribly long hours, no vacations and unimaginable stress I decided I needed to do something a little different for a while and moved on to other things.

Then a couple of years ago I decided I was tired of working for someone else and thought if I was going to have to work long hours I might as well work for myself. Although I loved my time in the film business it wasn't something I was dying to do again and I wanted to have my own little company so I thought about what kind of work could I do with my particular skill set.

And then I got what I thought was a brilliant idea... why not start an event planning company. Making a movie I reasoned is about being creative, having the ability to handle details and knowing how to please everyone and all at the same time. I had planned production meetings which included directors, DP's (Director of Principal Photography), planned and produced company wrap parties, managed big budgets and had played a creative and technical role in film set design. It seemed to me at the time that planning and producing events would use many of the same skills I had acquired working in the film business.

So how hard could it be I thought to start an event planning business. I thought I'll just throw up a website and I'd be ready for those first client calls. I can now say and with all honesty I had no idea what I had just got myself into.

What had originally seemed like a brilliant ideal, that of owning my own event planning company, slowly turned into a kind of nightmare. I found trying to break into the event planning business was like being in a line with a thousand other actors all trying to get a break. I kept telling myself all I needed was a couple of small parts in even a "B" type of event to get my name out there and then I'd start to get those big parts that paid enormous amounts of money and get my name in lights. Well, maybe not my company name in lights but maybe a lot of cash. But the reality was that there was a long line of people in front of me wanting the same thing I wanted and I was at the very bottom of a very very long list.

I soon realized that although I had a lot of business skills that would help me in starting an event planning company I also realized there were things I didn't know enough about. And one thing I knew almost nothing about was how to sell my company services using my website as a marketing tool.

Reality dawned and I realized that if clients couldn't find my company website I'd never be getting those calls that I was so anxiously waiting by the phone for.

All this rambling now takes me to the point of this article, which is; I wish I had known then what I know now. Or how to learn from my mistakes.

Although I had a graphic design background and I knew I could design a visually presentable site what I didn't have was the technical know how and skills to create a website that search engines would like and would then hopefully place me in a spot on their pages where clients could actually find me.

To further illustrate just how naive I was at the time I actually thought all I needed to do was design a visually decent looking site describing what I do and people would come to my site.

I remember the horror I felt when I first Googled the word event companies expecting my company name to come up in the search. What did come up in the search was hundreds and hundreds of event related companies but with my company name nowhere in site! To say my new business suffered as a result of my lack of knowledge is an understatement.

Just recently I have started a new company offering a different kind of event service and one, which I feel, is more suited to my likes and talents. And I decided this time around I was definitely going to do things a little bit different when it came time to creating my website. This time I decided that I was going to put some real energy and time into learning how to get traffic for my site.

I knew I needed to get the attention of those big bad search engines so potential clients could find my company website...But how?

Unfortunately I didn't have a clue as to where to begin or what I needed to know.  Although I had seen words like SEO, page ranking, and back links tossed around on different sites and knew they were a clue to a successful site I had no idea what they meant or how important understanding them was to getting visitor traffic for my site. What did it mean to optimize a website? Or what were keywords? And how did they affect my ranking? What did it mean when a search engine "crawled" your site?? I was absolutely lost!

My lack of "know how" seriously worried me and what where the chances of my web site's success when I was competing for a spot with countless numbers of event related business sites already on the web: wedding planners, event planners, event vendors, event production companies, vendor referral services and more. How could my little site when thrown in among all those hundreds and hundreds of other sites going to be noticed by anyone if it was always listed on page thirty or forty or even page fifty of a Google or Yahoo search.

I definitely felt a serious panic attack coming on!

Since I didn't have the money to hire one of those high price Internet marketing companies to help me with my site I begin to do the only thing I could do and that was to educate myself. I researched web site after site on event planning businesses, web design and promotion. I read everything I could find and I mean I read everything. I was not going to post a site this time around and set back and hope that clients would miraculously find my site.

Well, to make a long story short I've learned a lot in recent months about the business of web site design, marketing and promotion and I understand even more than when starting out just how complicated and confusing trying to create and maintain a successful site can be. And believe me I now know that creating a successful site is not an easy task to accomplish and even more so if you're doing it without the help of skilled professionals. But I think it can be done.

So for you all newbies faced with the seemingly daunting task of creating a successful website, or to put it another way a site with lots of visitors, allow me to alleviate some of your anxiety about this challenge by sharing some simple yet important beginners advice.

Just because you put a web site up doesn't mean anyone will visit it.

You have to realize that there are thousands and thousands and thousands of websites out there so you need to work like the devil to get the search engines to notice you. You'll never get much business if your site is always on page thirty of a client's Goggle Search.

Just listing your company name on an Event or Wedding site along with the hundreds and hundreds of other names doesn't automatically bring clients to your web site or lead to paying clients.

On many of these sites unless you put out some cash for top placement you'll be listed with hundreds of other vendors and unfortunately if you're not on one of the first few pages most potential clients will search no further than page one or two and so they'll never see your listing. You'll most likely be waiting by a phone that never rings.

So how do you get noticed... how do you set yourself apart from all those other hundreds of companies on the web...It may seem like a losing battle but you just need to start at the beginning and go from there. First things first.

Learn everything you can about web design and site promotion.

Long gone are the days when you could put up a site and just sit back and you'd get visitors. There are way too many sites now.

When you begin the process of planning your website to use as a marketing tool learn everything you can about the how to make your website work for you. Learn everything you can about how to best design your site for those pesky search engines and understand the process of how to promote it.

Research, read and learn everything you can about not only the business you are in but also website design, development and promotion by attending seminars, going to networking groups, and finding and learning from on line information sources.

Understand that your site is your business calling card.

Don't just throw up a site. Your site speaks for you. It's got to say I'm a professional and this is what I can do for you. If you can't pay for a professional web site designer there are sites that help novices like I was to create a simple yet professional site. Or put out an ad to design schools with talented students who have knowledge of how to design a search engine friendly site.

Don't put up a site that you're not proud of. If a client goes to your site and it's a mess with graphics placed anywhere, or tons of different fonts or misspelled text or one that's designed so poorly the client can't figure out how to navigate from one of your pages to another I can tell you that as a client I wouldn't be looking at your site for very long and I certainly wouldn't be inclined to do business with your company. And you can pretty much bet no one else will either.

Learn everything you can about SEO or Search Engine Optimization.

This is critical to the success of your site. There's loads of free information on line. Just do some research and be aware that the information is out there just be determined and keep learning everything you can.

So to reiterate: For all you website newbies who want a website that helps sell your company; be aware of how absolutely critical it is that you have a knowledge of web design and web marketing, how important it is to your survival and how this knowledge or lack of can mean the difference between a profitable or a non existent company

Remember if you want a starring role you want to see your company name in lights you've got to study your lines, understand your character and audition every chance you get. In other words learn everything you can about the business of promoting your company, learn the business of web design and promotion and take every opportunity to promote your company by making your website the ultimate salesperson.

Gail Wise

Event Planning - Planning A Charity Event

Event planning covers many areas and charity or fund raising is one of them. Charity or fund raising for a welfare is a real noble cause and many people especially women and children are interested to participate in such activities. But one thing before planning for a charity event should be remembered is that event planning for this kind of event is quite different from other types of events. As here you have to make all the arrangements in a certain budget and try to collect maximum charity.

At times people arranging a charity event have to deal with several commercial issues which can not be ignored or else the event can completely collapse. So to avoid such mishaps you should keep some points in mind and let your event go smoothly.

The first thing to do before setting an event like this, make a team who take the responsibility and look after all the details of the organization. There would be many features concerned in the process of planning a charity event so you might need several hands to work for it. Delegation of responsibilities to appropriate persons can make it successful event so make the concerned people the member of the board.

Usually charity events are exempted from tax so it is better to inquire that whether your event qualifies for tax exemption or not so you can enjoy this advantage and plan even better. But keep all the receipts saved so you can present them to the authorities after the event.

Plan a theme for your charity event for example plan for a walk a cause or charity auction. Spread the word through internet. Take favor of a person who is good at art and make banners and posters for the event. Make a humble request to people to get a charity basket for auction.

You can arrange different stalls of used stuff like old books or old but useable house hold items; ask people who can not help by giving cash can contribute like this and try to involve as many people as you can by this.

Be prepared with alternative plan because sometimes things tend to get wrong which can spoil the whole event for example natural elements like rain fall or any extreme weather condition. In event planning you are taught to make a back up plan.

So whenever you plan a charity event keep these points in mind and remember to involve as many people as you can and make sure to involve the concerned people and make your event planning successful.

Advantages of Team Building Programs for the Corporate Sector

Team building programs are referred to a series of activities that are organized for schools, businesses, sports teams as well as religious or nonprofit organizations to improve team performance. The main focus of such programs is to bring out the best in the team and make certain that there is positive communication, self development, along with leadership skills and the ability to work collectively as a team to solve any problem. It is an excellent way to communicate, learn and have fun.

Team members get a good opportunity to communicate and express their opinions while participating in any activities. It offers a practical experience that allows individuals to contribute towards a common goal. Various team building programs enable developing synergy in teams as well as corporate team building.

Some of the benefits of fun-based team building programs include:

• Motivating employees who are not interested to participate
• Facilitating communication between team members
• Working towards a common goal as a single team
• Tackling difficult situations together as a team
• Giving personal opinions and improving participation
• Improves leadership skills and employee morale

Corporate trainings are essential to develop group skills, communication as well as bonding between team members.

Some adventure based team building activities include:

1. The Incredible Race Challenge
The Incredible Race Challenge is one such team building program that challenges teams to work jointly. It allows the team to race together by means of various transportation forms that range from public transport, scooters, and auto rickshaws to walking on own feet to get maximum number of points.

2. Mobile Adventure Programs (MAPs)
Mobile Adventure Programs are mobile activities that are flexible enough to be set anywhere at any time. If you don't have time for an offsite trip, you can also get your employees engaged in activities inside your conference room or if required in your office campus. The Mobile Adventure Programs include several team building games, such as Towers of Hanoi, turning Point, Mine Field, Key Punch, Helium Hula and many other exciting and fun-loving games. Such fun and play corporate training programs are thoroughly enjoyed by employees than the traditional programs.

3. Cooking Challenge
The Cooking Challenge tests the ability of the teams to become "Chefs for A Day." The challenge includes simple cooking to earn points and these points are related as learning points in the dynamics of the high performance team.

4. The Rafting Challenge:
The Rafting Challenge is one team building events that can help examine the teams' determination as well as commitment. The challenges involves paddling across the waters using "SELF MADE" rafts towards the finishing line. The team has to first make their rafts and sail using it all the way towards the shore.

The Event Management Business in the Crisis

With the start of 2007 the event management business was one of the leading business categories in the world, events were the trend. A look at the event management companies during that time will reveal interesting facts such as ridicules pricing for events, although costs are not much affected, and the working companies in the business are of 3 levels large, medium and small companies.

With the start of the world economic crisis, companies have started implementing cost cutting strategies. Event management as a business was affected by such strategies, business opportunities are less than before, less fish in the pond.

This new situation has forced the event management companies into implementing strategies of reducing costs themselves, simply decreasing the prices of their services. This was a very good step at the first glimpse, but looking thoroughly it had its side effects that has started to take place and will still go on for the next 6 months. Large companies reducing their prices to make up for the loses in business by increasing the number of jobs in hand, most of them took this decision without a proper study so some of them started to see loses now, the reduced prices, but not costs, or reduced prices by reducing costs affecting the quality of the work. Small companies, the biggest loser in the situation, when the large companies reduced their prices, this had a direct effect on the small companies, resulting into a lot of closure of most of them in the United Arab Emirates as well as other countries in the world, they lost their bargaining power, price. For the medium-size companies, they are the only winner in the business, their chances suddenly became better, they have the experience in cost-effective events with very good quality service.

One of the other factors in the above situation as well, the fact that clients of the business are themselves looking for more competitors to pitch for their business. That was because of two factors, one is getting better price and saving money, second factor is looking for new minds, new ideas to run their events for better results. For clients, money is important but new fresh ideas were of the same importance to them. And the lucky winner was as well the medium size companies.

This was the time of the rise of the medium-sized companies, for the smart ones whom have the intelligence to see through the dark curtain of the crisis and see the benefits of it.

Large size companies were affected and have taken the steps to adjust to the crisis but they do not have the experience, the effects of their actions will be seen within the next 6 months.

Social Media Vs Face to Face Marketing - The Death of Real World Networking?

There is a myth that face to face marketing is retiring and we are moving on to bigger and better things. Face to face marketing includes everything from live events, seminars, outdoor events, trade shows, and conferences. The younger group, known as generation Y, or those born between the 80's and early 90's, highly depend on technology for not only work but personal relationships as well. The rise in people's need for technology to function has led others to believe that meeting with clients for face to face marketing is not necessary anymore and has become a fossilized tactic. So what is the point in wasting money to meet with clients if it is an outdated tactic?

The point is that meeting face to face is absolutely effective and vital to building strong relationships with clients, or anyone for that matter. People who are wrapped up in the virtual world still have a strong desire for personal relationships, which is what they try to falsely attain through technology. All relationships are the same, whether it be a business related relationship or a personal relationship, they all need to make that face to face connection. By using technology you almost lose that relationship, the more people see someone the less likely they are to treat them poorly. So, this goes both ways, each individual who is engaging in face to face interaction will mutually treat one another better, which leads to better business. People have bought into this myth that face to face interaction is no longer important and have begun adapting to technological alternatives. But, face to face marketing has and always will be effective; it is a strategy that best fits our descending economic status.

A study released by UCLA stated that an astounding 93 percent of communication effectiveness is determined by non-verbal cues. This means that if you are communicating via e-mail, texting, etc. you are losing 93 percent of your intended message because it is not as effective on the target. Somewhere within this 93 percent of nonverbal communication it is a good idea to take advantage of eye contact. Making eye contact with someone, especially when relating to business, is important in the sense that it shows honesty and credibility. The more eye contact you have with someone, the more they are willing to trust you. Companies certainly want to do business with someone they feel are trustworthy, most notably during difficult times. Face to face marketing needs to have little promotional content and a lot more useful information so that the customers walk away knowing a lot more about whom you are and what you do rather than how much something costs. You need to take it back down to the basics, because people do not want to be wooed into buying something. One of two things will happen if you spend all of your time exuding promotional content, either they will become defensive and in return ignore anything you have to say, or walk away with something that they will later regret buying. Neither of these scenarios can benefit your business long-term.

All of this information is relevant to the trade show industry in that they are not dying out as some may think. Trade shows are notorious for their face to face marketing strategy, which is true but exhibitors can be inventive in how they utilize this strategy. Trade shows are generally a way for exhibitors to get to know some current or potential clients. Trade shows are also a great way to show off new products. Or if you offer services then your clients absolutely want to know who they are working with. Putting a face with a name is always a positive. This is backed up by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, who pronounces that 76 percent of attendees at a trade show rate face to face interaction with potential vendors and suppliers as extremely important in performing their job. As well as, 86 percent of exhibitors at trade shows who rate face to face marketing as being very important.

But there are some disadvantages to face to face marketing that come as a package deal with today's harsh economy. Fuel prices are rising, cutting into traveling funds, and people are working longer and harder to keep businesses afloat. But, the economy does not have to get the best of anyone; companies can have great turn outs at a trade show, or any event, without having an enormous amount of individuals actually at the show. If you do have an enormous amount of attendees that's great, but if not, your event can still be successful through word-of-mouth. Even if a company extends invitations to an event to any number of individuals, then all who received an invite will acknowledge your credibility and expertise. This lets others know that you are willing and ready to get out there and talk face to face about what you have to offer. First hand experience of a product awards knowledge and understanding of your company and how it works. Even if a few individuals attend your show and you present your material in a memorable manner, they will tell another person about your show and you can potentially generate an entire line of business. According to recent research, done by Jack Morton Worldwide, people exposed to live marketing on average tell 17 others about their experience. So, if you can get your message across to 5 individuals who find your show interesting you potentially have gained an actual 85 people who are interested in your company and what you do.

Society's need for technology can be turned into a constructive characteristic for face to face marketing, but particularly for trade shows. People are using "virtual worlds" or social media more and more everyday. There are numerous amounts of social media programs which you can use to your advantage. Since these technologies have made their stamp in our society, why not work with it? Social media marketing can be tied into your face to face marketing as well. If you encourage attendees to visit your company's Twitter account, Facebook account, etc., they will recognize that you are up to speed with current trends and still value that face to face connection at the same time. Customers like to have options, and giving them the option of using a virtual world or a face to face meeting is a great strategy. Social media is not too far fetched from face to face communication as emails and such tend to be. Social media still allows for your client to see exactly what is going on, you can post videos, or have live feed on your website of your booth at the show. You are also able to instant message chat on some social media programs, which still gives you, as the exhibitor, the opportunity to answer any questions someone may have instantaneously.

Businesses need to stay up to speed with today's technologies, but keep old values at the same time. Face to face marketing values interpersonal relationships and gives your client the trust they crave. It is time to get inventive and think of current ways to keep individuals engaged during a face to face interaction. Attention spans are short and if you can show the client, in the short amount of time you have captured someone's attention that you are trustworthy and all about business then you have achieved success. Face to face marketing has come full circle; it was out and has now been shoved back in by the economy. This time around companies may realize how highly beneficial face to face marketing is for business.