Marshall Yard:

Catalyst Exhibits, Inc wishes you the happiest and safest of New Years!

When Wednesday hits and we all return back to our routine - do not forget to begin marking your calendar for upcoming shows and start planning accordingly.   Remember the time frame for exhibit design and details.  If you are planning on a trade show in March, April or May.  The best results will be reached if you begin your planning strategy right after the New Year holiday.

Just a few of the larger shows that will be taking place the first quarter of 2008, get your exhibit strategy in place - Think Early - Think Smart

AAOS - American Academy of Ortopaedic Surgeons will be held March 5th - 9th in San Francisco

GlobalShop 2008 - will be held at McCormick Place Chicago  - March 18th - 20th, 2008

HIMSS - February 24th - 28th at Orange County Convention Center in Orlando Florida

ConExpo/ConAgg 2008 - March 11th - 15th, 2008 at the Las Vegas Convention Center

Smart Detail & Smart Design are two concepts to keep in mind with the opening of the 2008 first quarter trade show schedule.

Happy New Year

As the busiest season is just upon us, there are many tips and ideas for your upcoming trade show success.

When you start to plan for your upcoming exhibit, finding a marketing partner that will consider your message is the beginning steps of a successful outcome.  By knowing what it is you are trying to accomplish will make it much easier for the exhibit house to understand the avenues in which to take you; to get you across that finish line with the first place ribbon.

Time is always of the essence when it comes to adding value to your marketing strategy and plans for success.  We all know that there are last minute opportunites that come up and sometimes we may not know that we will be at a particular show until the it presents itself.

Establishing a time line for an exhibit whether it is a , 10’ x 10’s trade show booth or 10’ x 20’ trade show booth, should be approximately eight weeks before the trade show event opens.   If you are planning on larger exhibits the time line should increase slightly.  The last thing you want is to get strapped with rush fee’s for deliveries – which are staggering with the price of transportation and gas.  

Printing time increases as well for graphic banners and turnaround times can become more delayed and leave little time for last minute changes.  With custom trade show display rentals, you have many more options and a lot more flexibility. 

The benefits of trade shows:

Maintaining relationships

Transmitting messages to key accounts

Remedying service problems

Stimulating add on sales

Determine needs

Transmitting messages and

Committing prospects to a callback or sale

Plan early!

Plan smart!

Our pet’s become our family, no doubt about it.  Catalyst Exhibits holds our employee Dog Day every year before Christmas.  This year was no exception as the dogs, about 20 of them came in every shape and breed.  From mutt’s to pure breeds, they roamed the halls.

We were hopeful that we would have Duchess - who was attacked recently by coyote’s right outside her backdoor.   The little trooper looked a little bit roughed up but it did not stop her from joining in.

There are several things to be cautioned about during the colder months as alot of these wild coyotes are in search of food and as our towns develop and grow, pushing them out of their natural habitats and right into ours.  Please take precautions and don’t say it won’t happen to me.

It is fascinating to watch the dog’s interact with one another and yet there are the shy one’s, such as Bodie, who last year waited by the front door until his mom returned from an errand.  This year, he followed her everywhere.

Carl - I have to mention Carl, he was with my cube mate, and I have never seen a more adorable little face.  He sat nicely and visited me each hour. 

We as consumers rely on the independant representatives from the Pet Industry to supply us with the fun gadgets, intereseting pet products and educational information to keep our animals safe:

Remember: Cold Weather Hazards such as Antifreeze, Liquid Potpourri, Ice Melting Products and Rat and Mouse Bait.

February 14th, 2008 - Global Pet Expo  will be hosted at the San Diego Convention Center - as previously posted there are several items to avoid feeding your animals during the holidays.  There are several other items that are around our house during the holidays and winter seasons that can cause issues for our pets as well.

Holiday Hazards:

Christmas Tree Water (may contain fertilizers and bacteria)

Electric Cords

Ribbons & Tinsel

Batteries

Glass Ornaments

There are several area veterinary facilities in the Crystal Lake area, if you run into an emergency during off hours, you can contact them.

For all of you Forrest Gump fans, I ran across a great piece of material that I wanted to share, in my opinion, in everything we do in life, if approached in a GumpStyle, we would all be better off.  Thanks Jon from OnMoneyMaking!

By: Susie Kleiner 

I recently pulled up Make your Business Stand Out  and I found some profound statements written.  Brand Awareness continues to be at the fore-front of many marketers minds as it should be in the competative arena for any business.  Award winning trade booth design has always been the approach that has worked in our industry.

Being Different as stated in the article written by Nikole Gibbs in the marketing section caught my attention, because if you leave an impression and give your potential clients, something different, they will not only become repeat clients, but they will become loyal clients. 

When you give your clients solutions they will remember the product and service that you have provided.  3D marketing can speak to an turn your company into a trade show superhero.    

One of our clients was questioned, in a pre-show survey, and stated they thought that just 26 percent of attendees considered the company a market leader. But after the CEO was in the booth at the exhibition talking about the industry, and the research and development staffers were talking about new products during the show, 96 percent of those surveyed post-event perceived the company as a market leader.

Rule number one in any marketing plan should be questioning your clients and gathering feedback from potential and current clients.  People in general love to hear themselves speak, and they also love to hear that their opinion is wanted.  Without information, and in the information age, if you don’t..shame on you. 

If for a moment you forget that on the other end of the phone, email, conference call or contract is a human being, you could have lost a potential project.   27 Exhibiting Do’s and Dont’s by Susan Friedmann has some very valid points, and I enjoyed #10-Don’t” “throw up” on attendee’s, it made me laugh, but it validates my point, ask them questions, let them talk.  They are going to be the one’s using your product or services.  Do not tell them constantly what you can do for them, let them tell you what they need done, and collectively come up with a solutions.

Designing exhibits for upcoming trade shows, can be a challenging task, listening to our clients, and understanding what they are trying to convey in their industry can only be learned by hearing what the client has to say.  

I would like to engage anyone in conversation that has exhibited at trade shows in the past year or two.  I would like to know your disappointments with your custom exhibit, rental exhibit and anything that you found frustrating on the trade show floor.  Is there a certain element missing from your exhibiting experience? Was there something you needed while on the show floor that you couldn’t find? Was there a lack of traffic during any specific time period?

I would love to hear from you.

December 3rd Edition of the Carnival of the Capitalists has hit the online community.  Hosted by One-Man Band with some fantastic information in regards to Analytics, Small Business, Commodities, Economy, Management, Marketing and Productivity. 

With Christmas looming not to far away, yet how could we tell that in the Windy City with all the rain that fell this weekend.  I loved the post under management in regards to the Office Christmas Parties written by Wayne Hurlbert at the Blog Business World  he couldn’t be more accurate in saying that you are still at work.  I think we have all been tempted to tip back another, but remember your surroundings, and remember the consequences.  Which, so often now a-days, we do not do, and we do not want to take responsibility for our actions. 

Another great post that was included in the Carnival of the Capitlists is a post from The Money Walks Blog regarding negociating your salary and benefits packages, I loved this piece because this just happened to me over the weekend regarding a piece of artwork that I did.  I listened to my husband, and shot high, and low and behold.. I got it! Never under-sell yourself, it only hurts you.  And as stated in the Money Walks Blog, it cant hurt to ask!