Marshall Yard:

For those of you who don’t know Kevin - he is our Exhibit House Mascot - he helped me this weekend with the leaves, and we began our conversations about rakes and outdoor lawn equipment.

Well, after we got all done, we hit the internet and came across Orgill’s Dealer Market Trade Show.  What an interesting trade show this must be.  Anyone in the hardline industry that attended the Orgill Dealer Market Trade Show in the past, had rave reviews. 

Orgill’s Dealer Market Trade Show will be held in Orlando in February of 2008 - 2/21-23rd.  From Farm & Ranch, Workwear, Lawn & Garden and seasonal items.  The possibilities of meeting new vendors and learning from the latest and greatest new programs from Orgill are phenominal.  Some of the heavy hitters that attend are Black & Decker, Dewalt, Valspar and Stanley, just to name a few. 

No matter what it is you are trying to acheive, in any business, you can learn from so many sources.  Educate yourself from the industry proffessionals, and take away what works for you and design your business structure with a solid foundation.  

In the business of exhibiting, we take the key four elements we feel will bring you the most impact and present to you a custom exhibit rental solution.   If you are planning on exhibiting at the Orgill Dealer Market Trade Show, you want to make sure not only your product’s make a statement but your entire exhibit will draw in the attention and the sales you are hoping to acquire in this market arena, following some of the basic trade show tips you can increase your performance on the trade show floor.   I read that the orders written at the last trade show, was up 11% from the previous year.   Defining your marketing objectives in advance, can as well help drive up your return on investment, and you will be well ahead of the competition and well ahead of your goals.

There are several reasons people give away promotional items in the trade show setting, usually at the top of the list is traffic and visitors.  Remember to keep in mind the type of visitors and traffic you are hoping to draw in.

First off, when trying to decide what types of items to “give-away” do some research first and get a reputable company.  You want your promotional item to be remembered, you want it to convey a message of what your company does and who you are in the market place. 

Does your trade show booth follow any sort of theme? Are you trying to give your booth visitor an education? Each one of those could support a different promotional item.   Do not forget your “brand awareness” in this process, and make sure that the item will send that message. 

Promotional items can be costly, make sure you plan well in advance for any given trade show and order early and follow a strategic plan in order to acquire the give-aways at the best cost, often times in bulk if you are planning on exhibiting at more than one trade show. 

In order to capture your prospective clients make it an item of desire, but do not hand them out freely, or just have them displayed somewhere so they are easy for the taking.  You want to be able to engage the prospective client in conversation so that you can establish a relationship and further the process from prospect to client. 

If the convention center offers any sort of pre-show advertising, this may be a great chance to include a stop at our booth with this certificate.  That way you will get them engaged in a more detailed conversation of your product and services.

PMA  ‘08 hits Las Vegas Convention Center on January 31st, 2008 and continues to February 2nd, 2008.  This is an ensemble cast of “memory makers,” from photographers, retailers and even those in the scrapbooking industries.  Gathering together over 20,000 industry professionals and 200 sessions at this convention, there is an abundance of information to be had.

From local merchants to large mutlinational business, you will find sports and event photography, wireless imaging, this is a broad spectrum trade show, housing exhibitors from with an array of products associated with the photography industries.  Attracting top level management teams who are continually trying to stay ahead of the digital imaging industry, and seeking the latest in technology.  Over 95% of the attendees have the buying influence, and are key decision makers. 

Exhibiting in the world our digital era can create your ”memory” on your products and services.  Think of the amount of time we spend in the digital world, emailing photo’s, scanning documents, sending wireless pictures via text messages.  A report from PMA’ 07 states that the average person spends 36 hours a week in the digital world we have created. 

As in any world, what is it we are looking for? Sharp, Better Quality, Ease of Use.  When you are expanding your business in the tradeshow market, these are qualities that your exhibit’s should convey.  

Moving onto and into the depths of exhibit display & design, we find that after the Elements of the display and design are set - we like to move onto Priority:

Whether you are planning on one trade show or several for the upcoming year, begin by focusing on the first trade show you are planning on exhibiting at.

Which products/messages are more important at this show?

Which messages are more and less important?

Which element is more or less important?

What is the “order” in which the story should be told? (It is important to see this before they see all of that.)

Flow

Priority is very, very important.  Without this, we are just guessing.

Each and every step in the begining process of trade show marketing is a vital one.  Without concentration on your products or messages, your exhibit booth is just a booth.  Companies begin trade show marketing because:

They want,  a ROI from the Trade Show.

They want,  best exhibit booth.

They want, different and exciting ways to set up a new product launch.

They want, to visually enhance current product lines.

Whether you are exhibiting at trade shows worldwide or locally, starting with the basics seems to be the best approach - Elements, Priority… next up is “Grammar”

Yesterday I took you through Marketing/Communications Strategy & Exhibit Display &  Design - touching on four key terms that are a great breakdown, I am going to break down the first section today, which is Elements, gathering the trade show event goals from a client starts the process of determining Elements.

Is the exhibit display for telling a complicated story to many people at once? (Element=Theatre)

Is the exhibit display for showcasing actual products? (Element=case goods/integrated display cases/walls)

Is media an important part of the exhibit display experience? (Element = integrate A/V and begin media concepts)

Is the exhibit display for promoting a product or brand identification/name? (Element = ID panels/kisoks, monoliths, banners)

Is the exhibit displayfor having meetings, closing deals, signing contracts, etc? (Element = Meeting Rooms/Double Deck/Etc. 

Starting with this breakdown can give the client as well as the exhibit designers & engineers a better foundation to start the exhibit display process. 

Next we will touch on the Priority…..

There was a time when exhibits were designed to “look cool” and any product or message would be pasted on it.  The process started with “style.” Customers picked a style they liked and then made it work somehow.  We believe that good exhibit design ought to begin with some sort of strategy. 

What is it that your clients want to do or say? An exhibit design should strat with a very solid understnading of the event-specific mission.  Take the steps further, break it down into elements, priority, “grammar” and style..in that order.

In the simplest terms, the process goes like this.  Look at the space, for every particular show.  What is the space? In-Line or Island? How big is it? Where is it? Determine Approach Type - Do you want the exhibit to be:

Marketing Type-being all about the product or brand ID?

Architectural Type-all about the structure?

Experience Type - all about what happens in the structure?

After making these educated decisions, then you can go onto the design phase.

By: Sue Kleiner

Satisfied customers as well as a quality product - is the bottom line to any business, when you are researching exhibiting at trade shows, you should be partnering with an exhibit house that handles every aspect of the production of your exhibit- from conception, to the return of the exhibit properties for storage until your next trade show. Product market strategy is an essential part of the entire exhibiting experience.

You do not get a second chance to make a first impression. It only takes that few seconds get the attention of a potential client as they walk past the parade of exhibits on the trade show floor. You want your exhibit to be a visual display of what your company is all about and bring attention to your services and products.

Trade Shows have become a highly competitive market place and the exhibit experience is all about the “wow factor”. Giving an exhibit curb appeal is one of the ways to get your company noticed. With striking graphics, you increase the chance of drawing in visitors to your booth. This is where the “wow factor” comes in. These trade show attendees will saunter by many, many exhibits; you want them to walk past those and enter your exhibit.

Designing exhibits can be thought of as a partnership of objects – combining the key elements within your exhibit space, making sure the striking graphics are properly lit and in a position where they will draw the most attention. It’s about making sure that the lighting is positioned so as to enhance products or services and making sure that the podium or counter of choice is aligned for the best possible traffic flow.

The fluidity of your trade show exhibit space should make it easy for attendees to browse through the new product launches or the improved products display. Whether you are using podiums or counters in your exhibit, they should form a marriage with all the other furniture within your booth space. Do not plan on giving them too much to focus on - this is actually ocular chaos for most people and it can the end of the conversation, but if the exhibit has a pleasant visual display the potential client will feel more comfortable’ entering and staying longer.

Keep conversation simple and informative once you have a potential client in front of you give them reasons why it would best serve them to do business with you. Explain to them about any new product launch and make sure you have a success story to back this up.

Kevin - The Mississippi Map Turtle Mascot, was not real happy I shared his post about being depressed yesterday, so I got him online and we wanted to share some information the  MDM - Medical Design & Manufacturing Trade Show.  Coming to Aneheim California on January 29th-31st, 2008 at the Aneheim Convention Center.  Whether your business is designing of equipment for cardiac care, respitory, or surgery, this is the place that new product previews and launches are anticipated. 

Two great conferences will be taking place for any VP or Director level medical manufacturing executive.  If you are attending the MDM Expo, you are also invited to the industry related trade shows: Electronics West, Pacific Design & Manufacturing, WestPack, Plastec West and Automation Technology Expo.  With an increasingly competative healthcare market place these trade shows are informative and continue on with great advancements in our medical needs. 

While you are  thinking of your exhibit strategy for MDM West Trade Show, keep in mind the comfort of your exhibit for your prospective clients that will be reviewing the product launches all around you.  Promotional pre-show strategy can also give you an added advantage over your competition. 

So many medical advances have taken place over the years, it is quite amazing, while reading about some of the technology that is present at these shows, I thought of a process called plasmapheresis - a word that I had never heard of until my mother was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease. It is the removal, treatment and the return of blood plasma from the circulatory system.  The medical device that is used for this is called a cell seperator, it is quite amazing, it’s a process that literally washes the blood of the impurities that your system can not eliminate on its own. 

I was astounded at all the new medical devices and instruments that will be present at the MDM Expo, from Sterilization Equipment to computer aided devices. 

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

The SEMA Trade Show is hitting Las Vegas October 30th, 2007 - November 2nd, 2007! The event will be taking place at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the showcase of exhibitors spans over two million square feet.    Las Vegas alone has over 9.5 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space city wide.

SEMA 2006 drew in over 50,000 Domestic and International buyers. 

The demand for performance automotive products has taken on an entire new attitude since the Fast & Furious craze began.  Performance products will not be alone on the trade show floor, among exhibitors are automotive accessories, restoration products and motorsports.  The exhibitors this year will fall into eleven different categories.

Finding educational programs to further enhance your automotive needs will also be part of the SEMA Show, with demonstrations and seminars for any enthusiast, as well as many other opportunities for networking with automotive industrial leaders.

“How to Win & Keep Customers” is among one of the events that will be taking place at the beginning of the show.   Learning to communicate with your potential customers is part of exhibit etiquette and boothmanship.  When you decide exhibiting is the market strategy that is best suited for you;  an exhibit house that helps you portray your company and helps the launch of new products in a dazzling and creative way, will allow you to focus more on the potential client.

Catalyst Exhibits, Inc. - Our core business is divided into two interrelated segments - custom rental solutions and what we refer to as a “program.”  This distinction however is purely internal to our exhibit house, we work with all clients in the same way. 

We aren’t simply looking for more clients; we are looking for clients with whom we can build relationships that foster mutual trade show success.  If you are simply shopping for the cheapest frieght options, we may not be the best choice.  If you are looking for a partner to help you grow your business, we are a better fit.

Our mission is to conceive, create, deliver and manage experiences on and around the exhibit space and the trade show floor, not just within it. 

What does this mean? Depending upon your needs, you might call it an exhibit, an exhibit program, a custom installation in a consumer environment or a VIP experience.  You might need to reach an audience outside of the traditional exhibit venue.  You might want to create an experience elsewhere that drives traffic into the trade show environment.  You might want to get your team fired up. Or you might want to launch a product.

We live where design meets message to most effectively foster success. 

We certainly consider our deliverables solutions to our clients’ challenges-why else would we be in business? Our solutions, though, extend far beyond exhibit design, exhibit engineering, craftmanship and logistics-to experiential trade show marketing, unconventional financial solutions and innovative environments, including custom rentals.  We’d love to learn about your challenges.  By giving us some idea of your marketing strategies and your upcoming trade shows, we can help you develop a plan for success!

Dan runs the CNC Machine out in the shop, that stands for Computer Numerical Control, Dan said they can run any part on this machine, motion control is a basic function of the CNC Machine, motion is actuated by servo motors, not like before with cranks & hand wheels.   Throwing around words like Interpolation, which is: a mathematical method of creating missing data. An image can be increased from 100 pixels to 200 pixels through interpolation.   Dan came to Catalyst in 2000, 2003, 2006? His stint in the joint this time is going on over a year.  The first time he came to Catalyst, albeit, he enjoyed it and said it was a great place to work. Deciding he needed to finish his internship he went on to green pastures.  (or so he thought)  Dan came back to Catalyst, and once again had to interview with Andy for the position, again he enjoyed it but then got ancy and decided he was going to try his hand at something else, in yet another greener pasture.  Being that he is back, I’d say that pasture was not as green and perhaps he stepped in a pile of something.Originally from Streamwood, and going through the entire Streamwood school system from kindergarten to the end, he said he doesn’t miss it, nor would he ever think of moving back. He still keeps in contact with a friend, Nick, which he grew up with and has known for 25 years.

Moving to Crystal Lake in ’03, with his wife, they will celebrate their 5^th year anniversary in December.  Dan has two children ages, 4 and 2 and spends a lot of his time chasing them around.  His hobbies are keeping up his house and his lawn, enjoying summer way more than winter, he would love to travel to Puerto Rico at some point in his life.  Come Labor Day, you can find Dan down in Southern Illinois visiting relatives; he would like them to meet his wife and kids. 

AHR Expo is coming to New York, for the first time in 17 years, the AHR Expo for HVAC&R Industry Professionals will be at Javits Convention Center.  January 22nd-24th, 2008 will bring forth a wealth of information at AHR Expo, buy, sell, network and learn is what Kevin & I read on the website.  (Kevin is sleeping under his heat lamp right now-ain’t he the cutest) Before his nap, he said he loved the heat lamp, and would I investigate anything related.   Actually, I need a heat lamp, its like the arctic back here!

With the AHR Expo being housed in the Empire State Region, the attendance is supposed to climb.  This is the biggest residential and commercial HVAC&R area in the market in the U.S.   With hopes of drawing in many more attendees and exhibitors who have not had a chance to attend in the past.

With 1500 Exhibitors already signed up, there are many more international companies from over 30 various countries.   According to a survey from AHR 2007, 95% of the visitors said they found products & information to improve their business operations. 

Planning and preparation of your trade show exhibit can improve your effectiveness, and give you a better edge after the show ends.  Involving management shows a deep support team and the process of setting trade show goals can come full circle and your achievements can be astounding.

HVAC equipment is expected to grow to a 14.5 billion dollar buisness by 2019, planning to exhibit at AHR Expo could be of great value in trying to grow your business, with new and exciting features being offered at this years AHR Expo, education in new technologies and networking are among several possibilites.

Kevin dug out some pictures of Catalyst Exhibits, Inc. annual Dog Day from a few years back and wanted to share a few tid bids on Pet Care and the Global Pet Expo Trade Show 2008. This year the trade show will be taking place on February 14th-16th, 2008 at the San Diego Convention Center.   In 2007 there were over 760 Exhibitors that attended and took up over 230,000 square feet of exhibit space. 

If you are attending the expo as an exhibitor, keep in mind that this is over a 41 billion dollar business.  With pet’s becoming part of our families, and being subjected to many more environmental issues, you will want your exhibit to make an impact, you’ll want your exhibit to be what you want your products to be.  Build a better trade show image with a great marketing program, attending trade shows can be time consuming, finding an inspired exhibit company can help make that process a bit more simple.  Allowing you more time to focus on the your prospects, and making them feel comfortable with your knowledge of the products & services you are exhibiting. A innovative exhibit company helps you intertwine the details of your product, services & knowledge blending them together for you in an eye catching, creatively cool trade show display.

Kevin wanted me to share with you his excitement from the other day.. WORMS! He loves eating worms, trust me, we have no shortage of rain so the pickings in the parking lot are great.  The more plump the better in his book.  He asked that I share with you some things not to feed your pets;

Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pet
- Alcoholic beverages (Stanley my cat would be very upset at this one - he finds open beer delightful)
- Avocado
- Chocolate (all forms)
- Coffee (all forms)
- Fatty foods
- Macadamia nuts
- Moldy or spoiled foods
- Onions, onion powder
- Raisins and grapes
- Salt
- Yeast dough
- Garlic
- Products sweetened with xylitol

Kevin took a little trip into my office yesterday while his 40 gallon habitat was cleaned of turtle dookie, a chore that the girls need to do about every two weeks.  Yeah..yeah.., I will get to CES Trade Show 2008  in a moment, but for all you turtle surfers, I’ve gotta give you a little tip; I thought you needed to completely empty the tank, but one of the ladies..(haha) if you could hear her mouth..you’d understand, told me that you actually don’t empty it completely, it does need to have some level of bacteria left in it.  

CES Trade Show 2008 will be held January 7th-10th, in Las Vegas with Bill Gates kicking off as the keynote speaker.   While Kevin was in my office, he took a liking to the keyboard, and the questions about technology started flying out his little muppet mouth.

Catalyst Exhibits, Inc. represented four clients at CES last year, the custom exhibits that were designed for CES ranged from 30′ x 30′, 55′ x 60′ and a meeting room that was 4200 square feet.   Exhibitors at CES range from Home Networking, Gaming, Audio Visual and Wireless Technologies, just to name a few.  Emerging technolgies are coming forth at lighting speed, and as we sit at our computers its not surprising in the least that they are outdated, and considered dinasours.  Actually, the moment they shipped from the factory, they have been put on the endangered list.

Don’t look at “creative” to be a garnish on the rim of a cocktail, creative approach should extend to everything you do when it comes to the exhibit solution and experience.  Finding financial solutions, overcoming logistical hurdles, and yes, even the innovative materials that go into the end result of an exhibit. 

We believe that everything communicates..not just the design of the exhibit, but the execution thereof, the manner in which the exhibit is managed and what happens with it.  Learning about your needs,  we want to maximize your investment dollars to meet real business goals.  

Creating experiences is a big part of what should be done for clients when they are attending and exhibiting at trade shows.  Focusing on customer objectives and how to achieve them, flawless engineering, production, fabrication, facilitation and program management are vital.  This is where some companies struggle, mediocre execution in these areas can begin the downhill spiral.  Providing good to great execution of the above, is not providing enough.  Great execution is fundamental.  When evaluating prospective exhibit partner, pay close attention to execution, if the execution is not there, nothing is there.  

This past year was very full of interesting booth designs at the KBIS Trade Show - it was quite amazing to see the entire bathroom exhibit go up in the back of Catalyst.

When you first enter into the trade show circuit, there are several reasons to choose an exhibit house that will best help you display your new product.  Launching a new product - as Siemens Medical did at the recent SNM Trade Show, will have a profound impact on your future growth & success. 

When partnering with an exhibit house, you are getting into the arena of event marketing as well.  A well rounded team is needed for graphics and imagery which will help give you the visual effect desired, leading to an exhibit that is pleasing to the eye and welcoming to prospective clients.  New Product Launches and a well designed, powerful exhibit will generate leads and increase sales.

Kevin was digging through some old files and found this amazing.  The funky trade show display that went up at RSNA 2006 for Siemens Medical, (Kevin was watching old time tv, hence “funky” he thought he could start a trend and bring back some of the old phrases) anyhow,  he couldnt belive the transformation before the doors open at the trade show.  Siemens Medical ups leads by 32%!

Giving you a before and after - it is amazing the hours of preparation that go into the exhibit building and the process.  Not only do trade show displays need to go up at the convention center - but they also need to be built in the exhibit house to make sure everything is exactly where it is supposed to be.  Just don’t give Kevin any power tools, he may end up putting holes where they shouldnt be.

Intersting stories on: exhibit booth

Going to a trade show should be a successful.
Why am I going to a trade show? (define your marketing strategy)

Introduce new or improved product
Gain new clients
Enhance client relationships
Position within your market or a new market
Tell your story
All of the above!

What will I need in my exhibit space? (address your functional and aesthetic needs)

High identification
Seating
Product display
Video / audio
Conferencing areas
Lighting
Demonstration areas

How much am I willing to spend? (determine your budget)
Exhibit Booth space
Renting or purchasing an exhibit graphics
Services (installing & dismantling, transportation, drayage, etc.)
Is my paperwork completed and communicated? (plan and prepare)
Deadlines (EAC forms, exhibit badges, registration, etc.)
Exhibit/Show Regulations
Employee training
Exhibit staffing

How can I assess my return on investment? (track your leads and sales)
Define goals for value management / tracking
Track lead response
Thank you / acknowledge (existing clients and new prospects)
Advertise and report internally – share your successes!