One hundred. 100. One-zero-zero. A C-note. A 10×10 booth. CWT.

I know in the realm of blogging, 100 isn’t a lot. But the number 100 has significance in the trade show industry. Read More...

…….but the size of the effort does.

Today’s case in point is the Dallas Business Journal’s outreach to the DFW business community. While this may be a small exhibit, it plays by all of the rules to make it work and produce results for it’s owners. What more could a committed exhibit marketer ask for? Read More...

Here’s why trade shows are really important: they are newsworthy and a showcase for an industry, a market or a business segment.

Our case in point today is CES, the Consumer Electronics Show. Read More...

I was talking with a client/friend of mine this morning and comparing notes on trade shows. He told me of something that is probably maddening to more than one of you out there.

Ineffective set up instructions. Read More...

It’s coming around again–the Exhibitor’s Show in Las Vegas.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year, but the package (actually, the latest one) came in the mail yesterday. It was like Christmas for exhibit people–lots of options for training and interaction. The crowd who attend are really a who’s who of the trade show and exhibit industry, both from the supplier and the customer side. Read More...

A story in today’s Dallas Morning News Business section spells out a few reasons why we chose to market via trade shows.

The story focuses on CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, opening in Las Vegas this week and the 30-plus Dallas-based companies attending. Big or small, these companies see the value in being at a nexus of their business and markets. Read More...

As we enter this new year, don’t forget to find time for you. I realize that we all live busy lives when we’re on show site and, actually, all of the time leading up to and following a show. But one does need to recharge one’s batteries or all of your work could be moot.

After a few years of traveling to shows, I finally declared that I would see things to make the trip somewhat mine. Whenever I was in a city with a MLB ballpark and it was the season, I would always make a point to take a cab to the park and buy a ticket, if even for a few innings. I’ve probably seen half of all of the parks in MLB this way. And I did it within my per diem for the day! Read More...

January has always been a big month for trade shows. Going back in my career, we had a number of shows that kicked off the year in a variety of industries. Now that I think about it, several industries anchor their years with January shows.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) is always at Jacob Javits convention center in New York City the first few weeks of January. This show started small (before moving to the big hall, it was held in hotel ballrooms and consisted of tabletops and portables) but has grown as retail has grown and changed. A large number of the anchor exhibitors are technology companies (Fujitsu, IBM, NCR, Motorola-Symbol, Oracle) as retail has become dependent on technology to target and find and define an ever-dwindling customer base. Read More...

If there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that patience is a virtue when it comes to managing a trade show program.

Like a marriage, you are in it for the long haul. You can plan and plan, but things don’t always fall into place as you think they will or should. Just because you asked for something from the exhibit house doesn’t mean it will happen on time (more than likely, in all fairness and the wish for perfect customer service, it will). Or you get the space you wanted at that all-important big show (or the small one, for that matter). Change and detours are a way of life in the exhibit marketing business. Here are some words of advice: Read More...

Let’s ring in the new year with some ideas on how to save and make your exhibit marketing dollar (peso, euro, lira, drachma) go further.

There are several ways you can make your investments and expenditures go further. Here are three ideas: Read More...