Marshall Yard:

Kevin came back early from his weekend home because he was “DEPRESSED” as Lauren put it…she brought him back to the hustle and bustle of the exhibit house chaos, but seriously, as we sit here this evening watching Crossroads, I think it is all about the music…mind you Lauren, he is from Mississippi and likes to hear the blues and not rap music.  You all know my feelings about  Stevie, well, Kevin feels that way about Ry Cooder’s blues.  

That swampy sound of the slide guitar has Kevin in a twist, down with those snakes and alligators, he feels right at home! Can a turtle get depressed, I actually have to agree with Lauren, yes, I think they can.  Let me tell you, I have brought Kevin home now for several weekends, and his little trade show exhibit mascot spirit seems to be taking a beating. Initially I thought that it would be good for the little fellow, but he just seems to sink himself deep in the water and not even the meanest of blues tunes brings him out to feed in front of his weekend collegues.

I thought I was doing Kevin a favor bringing him home on weekends, for the heat lamp and the feeding, but heck, if it is going to get this boy singing the blues, I ’spose it is best to leave him be. I noticed the fact as well as Lauren that he sat himself in the deep blue sea of the aquarium that I bought him that he is not quite as active in his weekend environment.  I can truly hear Kevin quoting Crossroads characters, “if you are going to be a janitor..mop my room.” 

Well, we get back to the Janitor..and I have visions of walking around the ISSA trade show, and thinking oh my gosh, how many more exhibits with bathrooms and toilets, and toilet paper, or fuffy smelly good stuff can I see, the answer to that, unless you are in the exhibit house business, or in the janitorial supply rep business, you can never imagine…and let me tell you, urinal cakes, make and extremely funny gag gift.

Carnival of the Capitalist September 4th Edition is online and live hosted by Welcome to Help.  Among the highlights are some interesting articles:

Edith Yeung gives some great advice on how your words and attitude can help you be succesful.  This advice and information is so plainly simple, but yet we as a whole have a tendancy to find ourself using such phrases that she has included in her article.   When it comes down to planning your marketing strategy, some of these phrases that Edith Yeung has highlighted, are clear as the nose on your face, take a moment to be aware, and be concious of what it is you are trying to convey and why.

Another great piece that follows again stems on words;  Instigator Blog has 10 Questions that Venture Capitalists and Angels Investors Will Ask.  I found this interesting as well it can pertain to questions you can ask yourself about the exhibiting experience.   What is your business all about? How far does your money get you? What’s your marketing strategy? Those are some questions that we, as an exhibit house, always try to find out up front when we are dealing with a potential client.  Knowing the client, or investor in the case  of Instigator’s article will help you be prepared.

This week’s CotC has some great other articles and links for building business, and marketing strategies.   The Tongue always outpaces Understanding shows the importance of knowing what you are talking about, getting down to brass tacks for leadership skills,  it is my opinion that a great leader does need to be a great listener.  If we are going to lead you into the tradeshow arena, you need to feel confident with our skills of communication, the preparation of exhibiting is similar to the old party line’s - its a mass communication.

I read a book awhile back by: Masaru Emoto on Hado - pronounced hadou to rhyme with shadow, broken down means to move and wave.  “Hado creates words - Words are the vibrations of nature Therefore beautiful words create beautiful nature Ugly words create ugly nature This is the root of the universe.”  Masaru Emoto  This was  a book studying the power of words on water and the formation of ice crystals.  Because words are sound and contain vibration, it shows the effects that the negative words we use on a daily basis can change the structure of water crystals, as well as the effect of the positive words.  Considering the human body is comprised of more than 1/2 water, think about what impact the negativity can have not only on yourself but the person in front of you.

When we are faced with tough decisions, deadlines or  bump’s that are in every road of business, we can let words fly around as if they are on a 747 and coming in for a landing.  Constant, and honest communication, no matter the circumstances can help you, help your clients and give them a feeling of security when it comes to doing business with you.  Knowing they can count on your communication, will keep them coming back.

Design process for trade show booths should be an integral part of everything an exhibit house does.  One of the founders of Catalyst Exhibits, Inc. is a designer.  A substaintail percentage of our team are designers.  Design is important when it comes to trade show booths.

It boils down to each trade show is different.  There may be a different audience, different messages, different products and even different intentions (trade show strategies and trade show priorities).  The focus should be on adding impact to each particular exhibit floor…and not just make items fit.   This is where a great trade show booth design team comes into play.

Creative teams.  Marketing teams.  Design Teams.  And yes, engineering teams.  An trade show booth design should pass through this process for every show.  If your trade show booth design needs to be different, it will be.  If your trade show booth design needs to showcase different products or function in different ways, it will be. 

Developing strategies to support different messages in the most cost effective ways, will continue to enchance your exhibiting experience.  If you do not like what you are seeing, the trade show booth design team should be involved to modify it or start over. 

Trade Show Booth Design does not end with fabrication.  In a way, event design begins there.  The point here is that trade show booth design is part of the entire exhibit process. 

It is important to make a distinction between “art” and “design.”  Trade Show Booth Design exists to solve business problems.  There can be no effective trade show booth design without an understanding of the challenges your business faces.

This post was highlighted in September 10th Edition of Carnival of the Capitalists hosted at About.com: Entrepreneurs