Remember what I said a few posts back about a “professorial” presenter being the only one? I was mistaken. Ed Jones was by far the most academic guy I’d encountered at this event. But justifiably so: he earned a BFA and then was educated as a finance person, majoring in statistics.

Ed’s presentation centered around measurement as had others at this conference. The difference was Ed layered over statistical justification and facts to give them method statistical credibility. Ok…… Read More...

Be consistent. And tough. And clear.

Those were Katharine Chestnut’s messages in this session on show measurement. This theme was almost overworked at Exhibitor’s, but it really has to be discussed and to the level and detail that it was. Ms Chestnut brings a freshness and warmth to this (and her other) topic because of her presentation style. The dry humor and engagement with the group really works. Read More...

Ok, now we’re getting somewhere. I’ve read Barry Siskind’s books, but never had seen him in action. He is a dynamic speaker (with dry, B&W slides) with great information. Actually, the earlier presentation by Ian set me up really well for this session.

Barry was clear and quick on his feet. His basic thesis is that you need to establish a baseline, a benchmark for the year for your trade show program. All of your work in measurement needs to be set against firm business objectives. This guy thinks in threes (I like that, you know) and his first three are about balance between resources:

• Financial
• Physical
• Human

He also cites three basic questions you, as an exhibitor, should ask yourself:

• Why are we in business?
• Who are we?
• What is our real purpose?

Once you can answer these (or come close or work toward answering), you come closer to a sharp focus. Two steps:

• What are you hoping to achieve?
• What will justify the time, energy and money spent?

This ream of information leads to two areas to measure:

• Sales objectives–easier to quantify
• Communications objectives–softer, but what most relationship-building exhibitors really want to know.

What I really came away with from this seminar is this formula that Barry called “doing the math”:
a. Take a total show population of 5000
b. Determine the percentage who fit the profile of the client you want to reach (10%)
c. Take the average time spent with prospects (typically 10 minutes or 6 per hour)
d. What are the active hours of the show (assume 20 for this example) Read More...

This seminar is one of the key reasons I came to this show: to learn how to apply my company’s services to the world of exhibitry. Ian Sequeira of Exhibit Surveys was the presenter. Again, a full house and a good discussion. Less audience participation and dry slides, but a good, informative discussion.

Ian spoke of process mostly. He gave formulas and statistics and few real-world examples. However, the equations seem to work. His point was “why do you do survey work?” and “you should be doing survey work” even at a simple level. The more you know about your audience, the more you can target and get your messages to the right people. The results of even a simple post-show survey (the easiest to do) will help you shape your exhibit, demos and staff training. Read More...