Marshall Yard:

Everyone knows that the colors involved in a marketing campaign are of immense importance. Imagine a Coca-Cola or Marlboro ad that lacked the color red! Sometimes, however, it’s not only the COLOR that matters, it’s the exact shade or hue that a company depends on for a consistent campaign.

If your company uses a special “blue” that separates itself from the menagerie of garden variety “blues” in the marketplace, then this can present an immense challenge when working through a sophisticated marketing campaign. While this isn’t news for companies that are seasoned in working with their branding properties, it can become a major obstacle for newly unveiled marketing initiatives. There’s a simple solution which might not get mentioned by your ad company - but it matters for your exhibit company! (more…)

If you don’t have any questions, then perhaps this event is just not for you…

..seriously, you don’t have even ONE question?

For the rest of you, we’re hosting an event this month - the 27th, 28th, and 29th. Exhibitors have an opportunity to tour our 120,000 sq. ft. facility - take an unprecedented look behind the “aluminum curtain.” Talk candidly with our design and account management staff outside of a traditional sales environment. Learn the finer ins and outs of exhibiting - and the pitfalls that are essential to avoid.

We’ve decided to put forth some Q&A topics ahead of time:

• How do you define marketing objectives that drive the design of your exhibit?
• How to properly manage project timelines and understand hidden tradeshow realities?
• What are the practical considerations for the selection of custom elements, rental systems and hybrid solutions?

These are but a few of the topics we will be addressing - What are your questions? We want to hear them!

The blogosphere provides some tasty solder fodder for the Marshall-Yard to report on…

A client that we’ve enjoyed working with over the years had some very gracious things to say via their company blog - the B2b Marcom Blog. Check out Rick Short’s blurb, which also includes a very good explanation of our rental capabilities. Check it out…

I’d say more, but it would spoil the ending.

After a swift and positive experience with show management’s approval of a prospective client’s design, I was ready to glide through another approval. After all, getting the approval of show management is a mundane, routine aspect of life as an exhibit house - it’s not as though we don’t know the rules, and we design to these rules on a daily basis. Further, we have experience in every exhibit hall in North America - it’s tough to surprise us with unexpected stipulations. But getting the ‘a-ok’ from show management is important to getting a project completed for a client - and we get things in writing in the event that a variance is needed for a design, and to protect against convention hall staff that decide to make up their own rules!

When we approached show management with this second client’s design, we were caught a bit off guard by the emailed response we received [names have been changed 'cause I don't mean to spread ill-will]:

Sorry for the confusion – it appears portions of the posted rules and regs reflect general industry rules vs. show specific rules.  The [name omitted] Show’s height limit is 16ft. with no height variance allowance (unless it was by a foot or two at the most).  Therefore, no exhibit at The [name omitted] Show will exceed 16ft in height.

This was a slip up on our part – not sure how it happened – I’ll take the blame.

Unfortunately, we cannot grant a height variance for exhibits at The [name omitted] Show.  We’ll be sure to correct the information posted on the website right away.

Needless to say, my response was that of shock. The structure, as presented, was unbalanced and awkward as a 16 ft. booth. Luckily, so our competitors’ designs were in the same situation, since the client wanted us to maximize the height of booth [we were the only ones who checked with show management, of course].

With a tight timeframe before the show starts (less than 2 months away…), we had to go into redesign immediately. Ultimately, we presented a strong design that worked well for the client’s needs - though it may lack the commanding impact that a 20 ft. booth has over a 16 footer.

Lesson learned was that of the process we follow. It’s a reinforcement of why we do what we do. If you don’t get an approval in writing, you don’t have something you can actually sell to a client. Even if it follows the “letter of the law,” such laws exist at the whim of those running the convention hall. It’s better to reconcile a design with the actual rules before a contract is inked than to scramble through redesign, reprice, and reapproval after an agreement has been reached.

A great exhibit is only great when it garners the attention and favor of tradeshow attendees. Like a tree falling in the forest…

The past few weeks we’ve been hard at work consulting with our clients who are in search of a reasonably priced rental trade show exhibit that delivers a powerful marketing impact at their upcoming show. [cheezy statement, I know... I'm in sales, could you tell?]

Dealing with trade show management can be a smooth experience, and it can be anything but. In my own recent history it has been both. We’ll start with how the experience should have gone, and follow up with a horror story later this week.

I had been working with a new prospect for over a month - yet we had not inked the deal. I wanted to get confirmation that the booth conformed to the show rules. We designed it as such, but we had not received something from show management in writing. After a very cordial phone call, and a brief email exchange, wherein I sent the design off to show management with an explanation of the details therein, I received my written confirmation, along with a compliment about the allure of the design. Still awaiting review by the Fire Marshal, I sent him a certificate of the Power Net canopy we were using. The certificate details the fire retardant qualities of the fabric, as well as the mesh of the netting, and how permeable it is for a convention hall’s emergency sprinkler system. With all of these details, I received my final approval from the Fire Marshal. - I had a booth I could really sell!

With this upbeat experience under my belt, another client was at a similar stage in the game - we had designed to the show’s posted rules and regulations, they were considering our design and two competitors’. Time to run it by show management for an approval in writing. Business as usual in the exhibit industry - or so I thought…

The Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association hosted their annual meeting this past week - June 13-16 in Tampa, Florida. This year’s focus was on budgeting, marketing trends, and healthcare industry codes. Catalyst’s exhibit featured new display tables, and our revamped 10×20 custom exhibit.

As the industry deals with the challenges posed by the current recession, we’ve found a niche in a custom rental marketplace that is underserved, and growing in its ranks. We look forward to many exciting opportunities with Healthcare Exhibitors in the years to come.

This year’s show was highlighted by our European and International representative, who helped tie together our capabilities beyond domestic tradeshows - offering exhibitors the confidence that they can not only exhibit in Chicago, Orlando, and Las Vegas; but also Shanghai, and Dubai. Having a partner to help us facilitate those needs has proven essential in the flat world of 2009.

I’ve recently begun work with a trade show coordinator who has a very astute perspective with regards to the design of his company’s trade show booth. It was with very little surprise that he revealed to us (during the design input meeting) that he’s been designing trade show exhibits for much of his career. Only recently had he begun coordinating exhibits for his company.

As a designer, he understands how the trade show exhibit space functions - the balance between aesthetics, function, and marketing message. He advises his team on how to value the various designs that exhibit houses have created for an upcoming show. In this case, it’s for the Worldwide Food Expo, held in October at McCormick Place. The WWFE is largely an equipment and product show for restaurateurs of various stripes. The demands placed on exhibits are similar to other shows where product and equipment demonstration rules, and visibility, marketing message, and architecture must all revolve around the placement of a large machine, or a number of smaller products. In order to get attendees to see your widget, you need to separate yourself from the crowded “skyline” of hanging signs, towers, and video monitors. Something exceptionally pleasing needs to draw the eye of those passing through, and this coordinator understands that. (more…)

As Iran erupts into riots and chaos with their recent election (and by “election” I mean “perfectly executed exemplar of the democratic process in its purest form”), I thought I’d tally up the votes for and against virtual trade shows.

I’ve had a cruel fascination with virtual trade shows for quite some time. In fact, I have between 5-10 aborted blog posts wherein I abysmally attempt to analyze this topic. Too long winded, and a bit too “soap box-ish” when it came time to post, so I thought those subjects were better off in blog-limbo (”draft”).

Here’s how virtual tradeshows have been treated here in cyberspace (there seem to be 3 general arguments):

1. Tradeshows are so expensive that virtual trade shows will continue to gain importance: they’re the wave of the future, and super-duper-green to boot.

2. Virtual tradeshows may never quite overcome tradeshows, because business people need to meet face-to-face, hug, and cuddle over that freshly inked contract.

3. Virtual tradeshows are stuck in the social networking fluff-world - not conducive to replace the serious business that actually takes place at trade shows

Because this tradeshow blogger always thinks he has an exciting new viewpoint, I’m going to offer my own spin: (more…)

NPE is the big buzz at McCormick Place this week of 6/15/09. If you don’t know what NPE is, go here, here, here, or here. I’ll be bringing some highlights from the show, as well as photos and stories of any travails I encounter.

“I don’t know how to put this, but I’m kind of a big deal.”

HCEA is the Healthcare Conventions & Exhibitors Association. Their annual tradeshow for exhibitors is coming up! This offers Healthcare companies to see some of the latest and greatest ideas from exhibit houses, and determine the best direction for their 2010’s exhibit program. That means exhibitors are trying their hardest to sell, sell, sell themselves [and their shiny new display booths] at the ‘09 HCEA show.

“ABC. A -Always, B -Be, C -Closing. Always be closing. Always be closing.” … “Coffee’s for closers, ONLY.”

We’ll also be taking a look at virtual trade shows; an experience I recently encountered with a graphic designer turned trade show coordinator; as well as critical aspects of evaluating exhibit designs. It’s going to be a great week here at the Marshall-Yard: the #1 trade show blog in the United States, and [arguably] the #7 trade show blog in Nepal.

Sorry for the awkward humor, but I’m heading to the second game of the White Sox’ double header today (weather permitting). The main pitch [sorry] of today’s trade show blog post hits at the three distinct business models present in our industry. First, there are design agencies, who design home run exhibits, and must broker out the manufacturing of the exhibit to various other vendors. Next, there are exhibit companies, who also create championship booth designs, but who possess the internal capabilities to create the displays that have been rendered for clients. Lastly, there are companies who are neither of the above: They contract with design firms - who then design exhibits for the exhibit company’s clientelle, later to be built by the exhibit firm. What are the advantages or disadvantages of these three business models?

Let’s consider the cost of designing: The agency will likely bill the exhibitor for design time. The exhibit company with in-house designers will [sometimes] consider design part of the exhibit overhead. Buried in the price of your exhibit is the time spent on your custom design, but based on a very rough estimate of how many hours any project of a certain scope would take to create. Other companies with in-house capabilities will still charge hourly for design time, so this second group is actually varied with how they handle design time. The third group - who contract their designs through a third party vendor - is similarly varied. Some may handle the design cost in the price of the exhibit - likely marked up to account for the risk therein. Others may charge up-front for design. When it comes to how designing is charged to exhibitors, it would be a smart idea to get clarification of this detail up front (like on the FIRST conversation with an exhibitor). In some occasions I would even try to get this information in writing. With a sour trade show economy, there are floundering firms whose behavior leaves something to be desired. What do you think the best business model is for your needs? Up front design charges, overhead treatment of designing, or direct billing, after the fact? More importantly, how do these business models affect execution or implementation of your exhibit design to a working, walking, talking exhibit booth? (more…)

In the 1990’s and early-to-mid 2000’s, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler survived based on the unbridled success of the Sport Utility Vehicle. Heck, Chrysler acquired AMC, who built the first “SUV,” the Jeep Grand Wagoneer, which then became the Jeep Cherokee. And the Tahoe/Suburban and Ford Explorer are still synonymous with our concept of what an SUV “is.” What’s my point?

SUV’s have been a largely successful enterprise. They captured the rugged individualism that many American’s espouse, and made it into the “BIGGEST” automotive fad ever. The big 3 were successful in developing, producing, marketing, and selling their SUV products to consumers. They may have suceeded in spite of themselves, but one can’t deny the stated premise.

The SUV wasn’t the sole cause for the peril that Ford, GM and Chrysler are exhibiting- there’s the economic slowdown, and greater challenges that I wont get into here - but the continued reliance on SUV and light truck sales, amidst competitive and market forces that demanded a new strategy, contributed to their present woes. SUV’s shouldn’t have been their “bread & butter” product in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. $4 gas, remember?

So what on earth does this have to do with Trade Show Flexibility?

Let’s suppose that you find the perfect design for this year’s BIG SHOW. Should you try to sell the same SUV at next year’s show? What if all of your competitors come to next year’s show with a copy-cat booth? (it happens!) What if your business changes and you radically change how you’d like to approach the show? Important questions.

Here’s one: What if you make a big impression with show attendees - they’ll be looking for you at next year’s show. Do you want to DO SOMETHING with all that attention? Or bore them with “oh, they did that last year… What’s new?”

Are you sure you want to build another SUV?

This week, the buzz around the office is all about the RSNA show (the Radialogical Society of North America’s annual meeting & expo). We have a multitude of outstanding clients at the RSNA’s. They range from Imaging on Call, who has a 20 ft. x 20 ft. custom rental booth, to the other extreme, Siemens, with a whopping 110 ft. x 220 ft. exhibit. Building a miniature “village” of different structures in a matter of a few days is fun to watch.

Word on the street (perception) is that trade shows will have fewer exhibitors in 2009, taking up less convention hall space, and with smaller exhibits, as the broader economy heads into recession. I think that’s true, by and large, but there are individual companies that are exceptions to this rule. Which side of the coin is your company on?

Tails:

Revenue is declining, profits are tighter (or in the red), and the marketing budget has a large “blip” that is “Trade Shows/Events.” In order to survive, your company decides to cut back everything, and the exposure and opportunity that a well executed trade show can offer gets thrown out with the “bathwater.” Hopefully these companies do not own their trade show exhibits - else they are wasting big marketing dollars that were invested when the economy was more favorable. In addition, there is a continuing expense of storing their exhibit property. This is a reality many companies are facing. Either scale down, or kill the program entirely.

Heads:

Your company has continued gobbling up market share, or may even be consuming competitors’ businesses via acquisition or attrition. I have a number of clients who are in this position: They are GROWING their tradeshow presence in order to undertake some major corporate agendie- Rebranding, launching new products (perhaps integrating their new acquisitions’ product line), or merely establishing their role as industry leaders. Sometimes they’re doing preventive work on potential misconceptions of who is struggling, and who is surviving, in the new economy. An effective trade show exhibit can allow a company to accomplish all of these goals in one space. A custom rental booth can be designed for each individual trade show, to ensure that the message that is conveyed is timely and precise for todays trade show audience, not last year’s.

Heads or tails, it seems like the company that rents their exhibit is better off. If you can’t afford to exhibit, you can cross off that expense for FY09. If you can afford to exhibit, you can do exactly what you want for 2009’s exhibition (e.g. - Siemens and Imaging On Call can build totally different designs for every show). It depends on what the reality is for your company, but at least you get to decide on how you’ll be perceived.

Somewhere else in the blogosphere, I’ve heard some interesting ruminations about what should and should not be driving forces behind why a company should undertake a trade show effort. One of these rules struck a nerve with me as pertaining to the present credit crisis and rampant recessionary fears.

Reason #3: To correct a misconception.

In a business environment where everyone thinks everyone is at risk of going totally Lehman, what a better way to cure that paranoia than through your exhibit booth at your next trade show. Of course, if you own an expensive custom trade show property, you might lack the flexibility to actually change your design to accomplish any particular change in directive. Hopefully 2006’s business plan will keep working for the next 2 years while you amortize your custom built booth. Even better, maybe your company’s just too big to fail.

Meanwhile, your competitor has a new look, is effectively launching their new product, adapting to the product life cycle of their existing product, and reinforcing the belief that they are constantly growing their market share. Oh, and surely this sort of thing never happens in industries other than ours.

One more thing: I’ve picked up on two ways in which companies have tried to combat wild speculations about their fiscal strength in moments of extreme doubt- Press releases and employment solicitations. If we’re offering jobs, and telling the press that things are GREAT despite headlines to the contrary, then everything’s supposedly “all good.” Apparently, people are starting to see through this sort of rubbish…

The clean lines and different finishes of this sleek exhibit design gave Evolution a creative environment in which to display their innovative drop solutions for the cable & telecommunications industry. Clients and competing exhibitors alike were captivated by the enclosed architecture of this 30 x 40 exhibit that created a dominate presence in the show hall.

The hospitality area and strategically placed demo areas welcome attendees, allowing for seamless interaction with potential buyers. The overall architecture creates an inviting and cutting edge environment. The identification prominent from all sides commanded attention on the show floor, ensuring that Evolution’s experience at the International Cable Tec 2008 was rewarding and profitable.

Coordinator =  liason between departments

With the vast amount of trade shows in all the various industries, the primary focus is to draw attention to your service & product. 

A well designed custom rental exhibit will give you the framework necessary to interact with potential clients.   Forming an allegiance with a full service exhibit house can give you that Coordinator - liason between departments.   Helping boost those trade show results and enhance your trade show experience. 

The arena is full of competition, your exhibit space needs careful attention to detail,  it is important to achieve continuity for your product & services within your exhibit space.  Your products and services need to tell a streamlined story with emphasis on each chapter.  

An experienced exhibit house can help you with your 3D Marketing Strategies and coordinate between your companies departments to that the continiuty and the message you are trying to invoke is clear and precise. 

Henry Ford carried out a vision with the Model T, which changed the face of the twentieth century in American life.  In 1914, Ford was producing nearly 50 percent of all automobiles in the US. 

Fords entire story of growth, is not all about positive achievement, Ford did not embrace the Law of Empowerment.   His stubbornness kept the company from growth.  The Model T that he envisioned and created was kept in its original design, he wanted no one to change, modify, or grow it.  It was for this reason for almost 20 years Ford only offered one design, that of the original Model T.

With innovation & technology at it’s height worldwide, there are many avenues to pursue growth, not only growth within a company but growth within your personal thinking in order to better achieve the goals that are being set either by an employer or by yourself. 

Stagnate—to stop developing, growing, progressing, or advancing this type of  thinking breeds disappointment as well as boredom, when we become bored, you could just as well throw the creativity out with the weekly trash, because that is what begins to happen when you are not allowed to grow.

If Ford would have allowed for “thinking outside the box”, he would not have been quite as appalled when his designers presented him with a prototype of their innovations.  Eventually he agreed to allow the growth and innovation, despite being on top of the game early on; the resistance to change stifled the growth of the company.

Henry Ford was hesitant to take direction from those he put into place.  It was his son Edsel that led the company out of a downward spiral by embracing growth.   When Edsel died suddenly, his son Henry Ford II took over the company, which had not seen a profit in fifteen years.  Similar to his grandfather, young Henry Ford II did not live by the Law of Empowerment.  His father Edsel, had a different line of thinking than Henry Sr. and Henry II, if not for his sudden death, Edsel could have streamlined Ford Motor at a much quicker and efficient pace. 

Secure leaders are able to give the power to others, for the sole purpose of growth and expansion.  The resources available to use in present day are endless, allowing people authority and responsibility and allows them to achieve at greater levels.  Encouragement from a leader that is dedicated to the success and growth will in turn empower an entire team of people. 

Without the ability to release power to people that are put in place, leaders can not be born.  The Ford story is one that could have been written differently in history, and without the leaders that saw an opportunity to grow, Ford very well could have lost its influence in the marketplace, because of the undermining of authority that he originally put in place.  

Empowering your leaders is a great approach for growth within a company, as well as a personal growth.  When we are led by someone that is enthusiastic, creative and innovative, it creates a connection of positive attitudes, which will give you far better results with productivity and commitment.   With productivity and a commitment comes growth. 

Obligations and commitments should go hand in hand, obligations are contracts that we either have with an employer, family or ourselves.  When we commit to being the best we can as a leader, mentor, employee, spouse or friend, we form a bridge between obligation and commitment.  That bridge is the structure that allows us to continue to grow.  If the bridge was not over the rising rivers, we would not be able to cross easily.  Could we cross, sure, at some point and time, why not use that bridge when it is right in front of us, for the continuation of growth.

Growth is commitment, when we are committed to something and can believe in it whole-heartedly, that commitment will grow.   When we commit ourselves to a plan, it may not always see the light of day, but with the proper backing and understanding of the final goal, and the commitment of others around us, that goal becomes a little bit easier to obtain. 

Ideas can grow like fine flowers when they are properly cared for, coming at things from different angles should always be part of the cycle of growth, coming together to meet in the middle.   A ball of clay does not become a masterpiece with out the commitment to create a masterpiece.  

NPE  will be hitting McCormick Place in June of 2009, start planning your exhibit design,  it is not to early to focus on your exhibit and marketing strategy.

NPE 2006 showed an increase in attendance from previous years, with an expected attendance of 75,000 plus for the 2009 show,  exhibiting at NPE 2009 is a fantastic opportunity for your company. 

New Technology Awards and Technology Conferences are being planned, introducing new products and technologies into the marketplace at the International Plastics Showcase Tradeshow, is a great doorway for companies that want to get in front of industry leaders.

Exhibit design and creating an impact on the tradeshow floor should be a well thought out process and teaming up with an exhibit house early on, can help create a unique and succesful trade show experience. Wrapping your new products and services with a customized rental exhibit can help you focus on gaining the traffic into your exhibit booth.  With a stunning variety of graphic solutions and exhibit design, it will help in every aspect of operation when the trade show opens.

Creating a total experience through exhibiting should focus on the message you are wanting to convey.  Your exhibit should be more than just timber and glue.  Presenting a detailed but simple plan includes a time line.  Smart Detail and Smart Design, planning early will give you an edge to focus on the clients and the audience you want to speak to. 

M - Manage your time between online campaigns, print campaigns & make sure you have personal
contact with prospects on a weekly basis if not more often.

A - Advertise yourself where ever you can, the online possibilities are endless

R - Reach out to multiple audiences by attending a variety of tradeshows

K - KISS - Your message should be “Keep it Simple & Straightforward”

E - Evaluate the competition and plan your strategy for upcoming trade shows & conventions

T - Target your market by making an exhibit booth that will shout…………………

I - IMPACT - Idea generation with an experienced Exhibit House Team can bring easy 3D Solutions

N - Networking at trade shows and conventions can bring your product and/or service to the front lines

G - Global Marketing can be effective through online tools, advertising networks, social media marketing,
blogging!

There are several tradeshows that are upcoming in the spring time, while researching a few of the events that will be taking place at Offshore Technology Conference on May 5th, in Houston, Texas.  I thought the theme “Waves of Change” was a very fitting not only to OTC 2008, but could be equate this to each and every industry we come across.

When you are launching a new business and trying to break into the fast paced growing industry standards, your marketing endevour for first time exhibiting can be quite frustrating, I recently read a post at Domestic Diva that brought to light the struggles of exhibiting for first timers. 

Decisions to exhibit should be weighed carefully and several months in advance, looking for prime trade show floor space with alot of traffic.  If you start early, you are more apt to get a prime location for your exhibit.  National Hardware Show is another tradeshow that will be taking place at the Las Vegas Convention Center - May 6th-8th.  There will be over 18,000 buying attendee’s, planning to exhibit at a tradeshow in your industry could bring in new relationships, transmit your message to a large audience, help with service related issues and stimulate add-on sales.

Looking ahead at trends in booming marketplaces can become a complex process, recent advances in technology can help you capture your prospective clients attention.  If you are not infront of them, someone else will surely jump at the chance.

If you are contemplating exhibiting and marketing your business in the trade show arena, look ahead and start your strategy with an exhibit house that can offer you customized solutions.  Customized Rental Exhibits give you flexibility and can assist in your branding efforts. Offering you a valuable opportunity to introduce your products and services in a 3D Marketing environment.

With the IMTS - International Manufacturing Technology Show just around the corner, September 8th - 13th in Chicago. Is your trade show exhibit ready to hit the floor in cutting edge style for the Emerging Technology Center? With research and development at the forefront, exhibiting at IMTS gives you the opportunity to network and partner with leading industry organizations.

Suggestions from experts at IMTS  in controls, computers and technology will allow you to gather valuable resources, gaining knowledge that can offer ways to help eliviate several of the challenges in productivity.  IMTS 2006 brought in over 1200 exhibitors, don’t miss your chance to gain exposure and line up your booth space.  Registration is open, starting your exhibiting plans and trade show strategy early can help produce more satisfactory results.

With a highly anticipated growth in attendee’s, take advantage and get your trade show booth featuring your products and services lined up to be seen on the exhibit floor at McCormick place Lakeside Center, North, South & West Buildings. 

A stunning 3D exhibit display can set apart your companies products and services and attract the needed attention to launch your business into an ever growing marketplace.  With an array of over 15,000 products being viewed at IMTS, showcase your product and score big on the trade show floor.

Thank you Brad Trnasvsky of Sales Management 2.0 for hosting this weeks carnival

Several of the pieces that were included I have to strongly agree with.   Jim Logan of Accelerate Business Group, LLC   discusses Customer Loyalty.

With the following statement:

 ”I believe the foundation of customer loyalty is trust, predictability, and dependable quality”

Adding to those, I believe with innovation, efficicency, growth & quality, customer loyalty can become the solid foundation of any business plan. 

If you are planning on a business venture there is some smart advice about the marketing scheme of your business name that can be found over at Yes to Me.  I enjoyed this article because of the fact that we are in an “instant” society, with everything right in front of us for quick action. 

This made alot of sense in planning and strategy for marketing.  The best laid out plans seem to have the largest impact when it comes to exhibiting, we feel the time line for a successful exhibit as well should be well thought out so this article struck a cord with me. 

I have to agree with the post from Changeologists as well, being ready and being prepared for change.  That falls into my growth part of a business plan, if you have ever been in a company that is stagnent, you will agree with this article as well.  Change is inevitable, the only constant in life.  Being able to hurdle over several of the obstacles to expand, is a business challenge, and does need to have attention to detail. 

Thinking back about ten years ago, I recall doing mass mailings and postcard campaigns to prospective clients.  Running to the post office and trying to get everything out by your deadline.  Marketing has taken a completely different turn in the last few years, by way of social networking.  Where do we go to look for information? How many times a day do we tend to run to our computers to look something up? Even when we are interested in finding the best trade shows for our product and services, we head to the internet. 

I recently spent several days reading and catching up on all the events that happened at CES 2008, the largest consumer electronic trade shows. Spending several hours reading and keeping in touch with the upcoming trends can be a time consuming task.  With all of the new sites that pop up each and every day online that can give you an avenue for your marketing strategies, it is something that we should all be considering, and that manpower is needed for all the facets of social marketing.

Viral Marketing is defined as marketing that propagates itself, this type of marketing is at full throttle around all of us, it is quite an interesting but simple concept and trying to explain it to anyone that is not familiar with it becomes a rough and often times lonely road.  When you begin the process of this type of marketing, you will feel as if you are beginning to swim all over again.  There are several groups and forums to join and read, and this is where the masses of the internet marketers, search engine marketing & search engine optimization experts all hang out. 

Some take this to extremes and solely rely on cyberspace campaigns for marketing these days, is that smart, if you are in that business it is, if you know a lot of the heavy hitters among the forums and boards and top social sites, you can reach far more people than anyone that has just ventured into this type of marketing.  I believe that with most marketing campaigns a bit of balance is needed – continue with your print advertisement, exhibiting at trade shows, mass mailings and viral marketing.  All of these elements can get exposure and introduce you to prospects that may have been overlooked.

Viral Marketing is a tough campaign to sell to anyone that is from the old school, and relying solely on what they are familiar with.  Start out small, show the effects, keep logs of your success and failures, if this becomes a passion and you are enthralled at the outcome and the social contacts that are to be had, continue to push forward.  

Looking for the most stunning exhibit for CEDIA Expo 2008? If you are looking for variety, a custom rental exhibit is a great place to begin.  With successful exhibits at CES 2008, Catalyst Exhibits can help. 

Whether you are a first time exhibitor or a seasoned veteran on the trade show circuit, The Catalyst process is to create a noticably different and inviting enviornment for trade show attendee’s to flock to.

Knitting together the elements of your products and services in a display that will dazzle and will drive traffic into your exhibit space.  CEDIA Events  happen year round and the calendar is full, if you are planning on exhibiting at the CEDIA Expo - September 3-7th, 2008 in Colorado, a custom exhibit rental solution could be the best solution.  With several other events throughout the year with the CEDIA Organization, instead of an exhibit purchase, why not invest the time and effort into an exhibit rental that will give flexibility and variety?

If you purchase an exhibit, you are completely stuck with that entire look and feel for all of the trade shows that you have on your upcoming trade show calendar.

When it comes to exhibiting, there are many questions as well as varying right & wrong answers, customized rental exhibit properities give you flexibility to change things up and reach out to different audiences with different messages.  Attending several trade shows a year, as many corporations do, you want to excite and create an impact with the trade show attendee’s, if they see the same booth year in and year out, they may not see beyond that.

Change it up - Customized Rental Exhibits & Displays.

It must be that time of year, there have been several employees talking about these events.   Because of my complete lack of knowledge on the activity of a Pine Wood Derby, I really thought these participants were going to be standing out in the icy arctic freeze,  a little bit crazy I thought.   Alas, it is the miniature event that happens during the artic freeze in Chicago and it happens inside.  Who would have known!Catalyst Exhibits, Inc, recently sponsored a car for Dave’s son Craig, he is enrolled in the Cary, IL Cub Scouts Pack 857 - Den 1.  They recently participated in the 2008 Pinewood Derby on January 26th.  This was very exciting for the both of  them since this was their first year participating.The top 10 best times of the 50 cars which were entered in the Derby went ahead and advanced to the finals which will be taking place in Rockford, IL.  later this year. Unfortunately, they did not qualify for Rockford but they did win something else.