The meeting usually takes place in the booth a few hours before the opening of the show.  Mandatory, the meeting is a place to set up the expectations to the staff and give the team a complete understanding of what is happening.  The elements are:

• An overview of the show including orientation in the hall, rest rooms, hours and where to find food on breaks.
• Expectations: manners, no eating, drinking, when to take calls on their cell.
• How the lead device works and how to qualify and collect leads. Also: what the different color badges mean.
• A few words from execs to energize the team.
• Some notes on which customers of note might be calling.
• What to do with the press.

This is a starting place.  Many times you can have a debrief at the end of the day and even repeat the morning meeting each day of the show.  However, the single meeting usually works with a medium-sized booth (20×20 to 40×40) staff.

The point of all of this is that leads are by far the most importnat element of the show. If nothing else, be sure they understand that.

TTSG

We’re here with our client, Retalix, a provider of retail management software (from point-of-sale to supply-chain management) and hardware (their internal unit, StoreNext, supplies hardware and software solutions to smaller chains and standalone grocers and C-stores).  Retalix uses this show and the sister show, NACStech in the spring, to reach out to their existing and new C-store clientele.

Retalix uses a custom-built exhibit with a moudlar approach to showcase their solutions.  The six-station exhibit also includes a conference area for short meetings.  A second, rented space also serves a a meeting space for one day of the show.

Our duties here include the supervision of the set and teardown as well as the management of leads and the staff at this important show for our client.

More later as the show progresses.

TTSG

Call them. If you can’t call them, send a polite e-mail. But, above all, don’t just not contact them at all and make them hear about the “loss” from a third party. That’s like hearing about a break up from someone other than the person breaking up with you.

Be polite. It’s the only thing to do.

And, besides, if things don’t go well, you might need to have a fall back plan with the rejected vendor.

TTSG

Trust me.

While I could just as easily had the cables lay down next to electrical cables, the CAT 5’s were needed in specific places. Several rules are to be applied in this process:

• Have a clear map of where cables are to go.
• Label each cable on each end (1A, 2B, et al).
• Run redundant cables in case of failure.
• Tape the cable flat to the floor so that are flat under the pad.
• Lay the pad directly over the cables. Notch if they are too bulky.
• Be sure and pull all cables through the pad and carpet as it is cut.
• Be sure and pass all cable ends through cabinet access holes.

If you do all of this beforehand, you are less likely to have to “fish” a cable after the carpet is laid or have a cable fail during the show.

TTSG

After contacting show management on behalf of our client, Retalix, I learned that NACStech, set for May 18 to 21 at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas, will happen.

“At this time NACStech is moving forward as planned,” said my contact at the association to me in an e-mail dated Friday, May 1. The FMI-Marketechnics Show, set to open this week in Dallas, was postponed by its organizers last week amid concerns for public health around large gatherings.

Given the NACStech show is much smaller in scale than the Marketechnics show, I am curious as to how these decisions were made.

Any comments out there?

TTSG

At this time NACStech is moving forward as planned.

An exhibit actually looks drab without a wash of lights. But this short entry is about something we all need to have: basic repair skills.

When I got to the part of the AWMA booth assembly for Retalix that involved installing the lights, I found myself having to make sure they all worked. Some of the lights came out of the box and had to be assembled so that they worked.

Wires had to make contact. Contacts had to be in place. Lamps couldn’t be broken. And the “twist-ons” had to twist on the contact bar so that they came on.

These seem like little things, but in my case, it meant the difference between having 6 lamps instead of 12.

TTSG

• Put out the pen holders and other office supplies?
• Label the last crates as “Empty”?
• Cut the poly off the carpet?
• Put out the wastebaskets?
• Distribute keys?
• Lock up?
• Secure the last badges for the latecomers?
• Give the booth one last heavy wipedown?

There’s more, but that comes with making lists with some thought.

Have a great show!

Lesson learned: remember the details and the big things don’t become big problems.

TTSG

At this show we did several things:

1. Notched the pad for the cables so that the carpet on top laid flat
2. Measured from one lead corner
3. Covered our finished work with visqueen

The guys started by taping off the lines of the 20×30 space with double-stick tape. This defines the edges of the booth and will eventually hold the carpet in place.

Next, the pad is rolled out. Usually, the pad is rolled in the opposite direction that the carpet is rolled. Since we have 4 rolls of 5 x 30-foot pad, we choose to roll the length of the booth to minimize seems. Once the pad is down, we notch it to accommodate the large electrical cords that will beneath the booth. Here in Chicago, the electrical power and internet/phone come from floor boxes, two of which are within the perimeter of the space. The large flat supply cords and round extensions are cut around and taped to the floor. The pad is taped together, but not to the floor, except in a few key places with gaff/duct tape to keep the edges from sliding.

Next comes the carpet. The two 10×30-foot rolls are started from the same end, lining up from the same corner as the pad to ensure uniformity. The guys are careful to match the nap and cut edges to make sure the seem that runs down the center match so that the line is unnoticeable. They kick the carpet until it matches and peel the top of the tape to afix it to the floor. Stories of floors too cold to allow tape to stick are traded.

Lastly, the visqueen is rolled over the top and taped in place at the far edges, outside the perimeter of the booth.

Now we’re ready to start setting structure on top.

Lesson learned: roll each carpet roll in the same direction and try to roll pad the opposite direction. Notch for cables to have a flat appearance.

TTSG

There are three reasons I like this concept:
1. I can just pack my stuff and walk away at the end of the show.
2. The pricing is predictable in that I&D, drayage, and rentals (structure, carpet, pad, funishings, cleaning) are combined in a single contract (that is, if you use the general contractor as I did at this most recent show).
3. It can be repeated and works well for programs of four shows or fewer.

While it ain’t the latest in design, for a tech company or a company with a conflict or reduced budget, this can work very well. While it is a compromise in some areas, it is workable and delivers the messages that are critical for the client: those related to product and about how serious they are about cost containment.

Lesson Learned: judicious choice of vendor and display can result in immense cost savings and improved ROI.

TTSG

(thanks to Freeman Decorating and Retalix)

The show participation is down this year (about 100 exhibitors as compared to 125 last year in Nashville) according to the organizer. The show floor is about the same size, but the bigger players (Gilbarco, Pinnacle) have downsized to 20×20s.

Participation is probably down due to FMI (Food Marketing Institute) being held on the same days. Many of the companies at this show also exhibit at FMI, causing some to forsake NCStech for FMI.

Retalix has a 20×30 which is prominent on the floor. The rental booth looks great and focuses more on product and less on the exhibit.

The exhibiting companies at this show cover many categories: pay systems (Abierto Networks), POS software (Retalix, Pinnacle, Veriphone), POS and dispensing hardware (Radiant, Gilbarco, Dresser, Tidal Engineering), kiosks, displays, check recovery to name a few.

More as the days of the show wear on.

TTSG