Bringing the show to the customer is one thing, but bringing the customer to the show is another.

Many companies supplement or replace their trade show programs with internal marketing centers or demo rooms. Recently, I had the opportunity to tour the Hewlett-Packard (formerly EDS) marketing center in Plano, Texas. My host was Susie Tobin. Read More...

As a follow up to my earlier post about shows fleeing cities: here is a list from a recent LinkedIn discussion by trade show professionals on the 5 best and worst cities to work in:

From and exhibitor or exhibit house point of view list the TOP 5 MOST DIFFICULT cities to work in: Read More...

We should all take the opportunity to get to know a business top to bottom, side to side. There isn’t a job you shouldn’t want to take on.

For example, in order to learn the motorsports marketing business, you should try taking on any job at a national event. If you are a marketing guy, try selling tickets. If you are a finance person, try being an usher. If your expertise is in HR, maybe you should work in concessions to see the depth of the business. Read More...

Our colleague, Mike Timmesch at Skyline in Minneapolis, had a great article on their website recently. Extracted from his story is this list of key ideas:

1. Know your customers better than anyone else.
2. Market segmentation is essential.
3. Push marketing is broken because the customer is in control.
4. Don’t just measure ROI, keep improving it.
5. Marketing goes beyond the marketing department.
6. Have a marketing career path.
7. Know and live the difference between environmental sustainability and greenwashing.
8. Bridge the sales and marketing divide.
9. Keep your marketing education going after graduation.
10. Market your marketing. Read More...