Marshall Yard:

Trade show exhibit trends are, like all trends, always changing. The idea of being on the leading edge of a trend is SCARY to most exhibitors. TREND=EXPENSIVE in their minds. Why?

To many trade show attendees, especially those who rarely visit the conventions and expos that we see month in and month out, most of the exhibit booths that they see are impressive - not just the latest and greatest. A friend of mine attended a show this past October and marveled at the cheap rented trusses on the show floor. Yuck! Those are so 1992. But with a jury of amateurs, why should one have such high standards?

I would argue that trendy exhibits need not be expensive. You can have IMPACT at a reasonable budget [and trusses rarely have an IMPACT on those of us who go to more than 1 tradeshow per decade...]. It has everything to do with the business model of the exhibit company, since the physical components are not the largest cost centers involved. Here’s what I mean:

The components involved in a trade show exhibit are only one of the many costs involved in the process. The beams, the fabric, wall panels, the plexiglass- or whatever your exhibit may be made out of -are not as expensive as the designers, graphic artists, engineers/detailers, account managers, and fabricators required to deliver a high quality exhibit to the tradeshow floor. Consider, then, why you would sacrifice on materials, when the cutting edge in styles is only a minor increase in costs. But trends are more than just materials - it’s the designers, stupid.

A busy design team, paired with an engineering, graphics, and overall operation that is geared towards large scale, cutting edge exhibit booths, actually costs less than a low quality, slow design team, error-prone engineers, wasteful graphics, and a sloppily managed overall operation. If paid based on productivity, the trend-following, top-notch-team earns more. But they produce more. It can even be argued that if the sales team sells/leases enough booths, and if operations are run with an efficiency of scale, employees will produce a higher quality product regardless. Quality improves with the busier the team becomes. Trends are easier to introduce when you do so many exhibits. Trends need not be followed because you heard about them, but because you are experimenting amidst a large scale, custom rental exhibit program - i.e. constantly innovating with existing clients.

Trends aren’t expensive. In prosperous, overheated economic times, an exhibit house will raise its prices if demand merits this. In leaner times, when every nickel and dime is squeezed out of any exhibit budget, the busy company is likely the best. Trends included, they may be working at the same price as the less efficient, wastefully under-utilized company. Which sounds like a better value?

This post has been deemed “salesey” (classic overt, self-serving sales pitch that lacks humor and/or self-defecating), but is approved by the Blog Master.

We, on occassion, are pitted against show contractors - National organizations hired by show management to service exhibitors on site. These organizations, however convenient, don’t often offer the same level of design or service as we do.

Don’t get me wrong; you can certainly get what you need from show contractors (and, as an added bonus, reduce or avoid some service costs like shipping and drayage) but if you’re interested in making an impact on the floor, keep your eyes open to differences such as:

Design Preparation: we’ll discuss your marketing objectives, functional requirements, logistical needs and aesthetic preferences before we create your design. The show contractor will likely have you submit an “I need” form and configure the environment based on that.

Onsite Service: The show contractor will inevitabely service 100+ exhibitors throughout the course of the show, which makes personalized service difficult. We typically service 3-5 exhibitors per show…and assign a dedicated Account Manager to each.

Logistics Management: You will work with the same account team no matter how, when or where you exhibit. The show contractor employs different people in each city. So you’ll most likely have to reiterate your concern to several people before it’s resolved.

I thought I did alright in undergrad Economics. I might not have been the absolute brightest, but I am at a total loss in understanding why trade show service prices are skyrocketing for 2009. Trade Show Services primarily include Installation & Dismantle (I&D) of trade show booths; and “drayage,” or material handling; on top of other things like electrical labor, cleaning, lead retrieval, and catering. Not only are rates going up, but exhibitors are being gouged on top of those rates. Let’s get my anecdotal facts out in the open, before honing in on why.

I&D is the carpentry involved in putting together the exhibit. The installers unload the crates that exhibits arrive in, and piece together the booth. These are union contractors who work in a very compressed time frame to build an exhibit from start to finish. They lay carpet, frame structures, provide the finishing touches of graphics and stretching fabric, they place furniture in denoted locations, with electrical channels built into sub flooring or carpet pads. We’ve seen I & D increase by fully 30% in the past six months. It only seems to be getting worse, amidst a real estate crash that is leaving echelons of builders and remodelers out of work.

Drayage is the act of bringing crates that are unloaded at the Marshall Yard to the correct location on the show floor. Drayage is charged at a rate that the show will determine, and you have the option to have the show contractor handle drayage, or perhaps the show contractor can do it instead. To haul 5,100 lbs. of crates with a forklift is going to cost one of my clients $6,344. Last year, their rate for drayage was $95.00 cwt, whereas the 2009 price is quoted at $124.40 cwt - a 31% increase. Since they had a slightly smaller booth in 2009, they have effectively doubled their drayage expense for the show.

Electrical, cleaning, lead retrieval, catering - perhaps exhibitors will catch a break in the ancillary services that they order? Not likely. In fact, electrical labor is starting to be a reliably done on overtime. OT pay is reliably in order in todays trade show environment. Hence, the gouge on top of the the gouge.

So how can trade show services increase in price, while every commodity that is intertwined with providing such services is in decline? Fuel costs have plummetted; unemployment is up, reducing labor costs; and capital expenditures are down, decreasing demand and prices for heavy equipment like fork lifts. In fact, the number and scale of exhibitors is drastically reduced for 2009. So at the most elementary level: DEMAND FOR TRADE SHOW SERVICES IS DOWN.

Any “theories” as to why services aren’t going to be reduced any time soon? They seem to be making up for the decrease in demand by increasing their price, contrary to basic economics. But how can they do that while any other business would go bankrupt in a matter of weeks?

Do words like “Extortion” or “Monopoly” come to mind? This trade show blog is asking.

The Blog Master is a frightening creature known in the trade show blog world for his enthusiasm, his unyielding compassion, and his sharp, unrelenting sword. In fact, my counterpart in Mashall-Yard contributorship-Carney Nacci-has been living in petrified fear of the blog master’s wrath for over five years. She was working in the carnival business, doing unspeakable things for the almightly dollar, before he “liberated” her. In hind sight, her quality of life was superior doing her infamous “candle” trick at whichever county fair. The blog master pushes a cruel bargain, and she only dreams of refusing him.

If I didn’t introduce the Blog Master to our readership, then I don’t think the proletariat would ever understand the tyranical conditions under which our trade show blog is written. This blog has always been, and always will be, the voice of trade show exhibit people speaking out amidst threats of persecution.

Last month I noted that marketing budgets were changing in the economy. Exhibitors needed the flexibility of a rental booth. The Blog Master stormed into my office and chastized me for spreading bad rumors about the economy. Threatened my life, even. He understands now, since he lost precious billions in a recently debunked ponzi scheme.

Just over a week ago, I wrote an article about carpet padding. A commenter dissented. He no longer reads these pages. He no longer READS. The Blog Master is not naive of IP addresses and their utility for destruction.

RSNAs were a popular topic for myself and “Carney” to blog about endlessly. As soon as the show ended, the Blog Master rattled his saber and demanded we cease RSNA topics. Says we need to start talking about other shows. Like NPE, AIIM, CES, AAOS, HIMSS. He possesses a bottomless hunger for trade show acronyms.

The blog master. That is the latest character that I am revealing here on the Marshall Yard. Comment at your own peril. THIS IS NOT A JOKE.

Exhibitor Report published this week (care of Flagg Management) an article about economizing on exhibiting. Interesting - and sad, really - but unfavorable for us.

What’s bothersome is that while they suggest getting the same size space (smart, as something smaller would indicate financial disrupt), they also suggest modular/portable exhibits. These ARE more cost-effective and they DO require less maintenance…but they have very little impact on the show floor. That said, I think going from a custom (or rental) exhibit to a portable would foster the same financial perceptions as would a smaller space. So, perhaps the alternative (lesser of two evils, even) would be to reduce your space and retain your exhibit.

As a mansion with no furniture would be lackluster, so would a huge exhibit space without quality materials to fill it.

Marketing is the first to be sacrificed in a flailing economy. I wonder, though, will making that move perpetuate brand loyalty and advance sales when the economy rights itself? Once upon a time, a certain department store (rhymes with “tears”) stopped marketing and, instead, relied on brand loyalty to maintain sales. The once Largest Retailer in the Nation carried more than 350 brands but most folks didn’t know it…because they stopped marketing.

Now they’re walking on economic eggshells. They were acquired by another retailer and have, quite unfortunately, been struggling to re-establish themselves ever since. Fancy logos and hip new slogans won’t mean squat if you don’t have the sales to pay for them. And how do you make sales? By being a certainty in a time of uncertainty.

As a trusted expert in trade shows, and a major contributor to America’s favorite trade show blog, I’d like to offer a special blog topic today:

GREAT TRADE SHOWS FOR 2009
(please comment on any shows I may have left off of the list)

Newspaper & Print Journalists Expo

Polar Bear & Caribou Convention

Chicago Auto Show

The Annual SML (Subprime Mortgage Lenders) Conference and Exhibition

Wahabbi Terrorist Symposium and Exposition*

The Private Jet Show and Client Appreciation Luau (in sunny Maui!)**

The Bipartisan Politicians Luncheon and Bailout Expo (huge exhibits, but don’t expect any substance)

Adam Smith’s Capitalism Exhibition and Wake, visitation begins Wednesday, and continues indefinitely

IDEAS 2010 - Internation Defense Exhibition & Seminar in Pakistan (very real)

*women should be sure to shroud their faces, and men should wear long beards. 

**scheduled one week after, and in conjunction with, Chicago’s auto show

Two of my clients are exhibiting at NPE 2009. One’s a brand new client (yippee!)…one’s an existing who’s fallen off the wagon, so to speak. Though the newbie has a 10×20, you’d think he’s a city planner, for crying out loud. His accountability and attention to detail are refreshing and an immeasureable value to our process. He was ready to pay before we invoiced, his artwork’s pouring in and he’s given us more than enough time to process his paperwork and coordinate logistics. My existing client, however, is no where to be found. They have a darn big space next year, too. And darn big spaces require a lot of preparation. We started designing a few months ago, which was perfect, as they’re shaking things up a bit with regards to products and marketing objectives.

…..that was a few months ago.

They went M.I.A. and resurfaced a month or so later, informing me that the objectives have completely changed and they’re to meet with the big wigs to draw out a plan. THAT was October 20th.

We realize things have to evolve in this fragile economy. So changing objectives is fine. As is modifying the space and reducing the budget. We’re happy to help because your success is our success. The lack of communication isn’t only frustrating, it jeopardizes production and wastes the client’s, the designer’s and the account exec’s time. We’ve had this project (which we’re still really excited about) on the production schedule since August. And to date, we’re no closer to signing a contract than we were then.

My (albeit long-winded) point is: if you’re an exhibitor - heck, if you’re anyone’s customer - please have some regard for the efforts made. Know that your vendor’s sole objective is to help you have an awesome show. But we can’t do that if you’ve fallen of the planet. Let us know what’s up!

RSNA wrapped up this week - Surely you know, since we referenced it here, here and here. The horse is dead, I know.

Siemens‘ booth, sized 110′x220′, was located in the south hall. At McCormick Place, the South Hall is the absolute least-trafficked and smallest hall. Even though we were all excited about the design, you never know how a show will go until it’s all said and done. The verdict is in!

For the first three days of the show, leads were well above 2007 numbers! Spend less, get more. I like the sound of that. They did, too. Happy clients are good clients.

Ok - Enough of this rubbish. It feels very “propogandish.” I forwarded the professional photos to a friend of mine who is in the medical field. I had gushed to her about the Siemens booth over the past few months.

Her reply:

>>WOW! that IS huge!!!
>>
>>
>>
>>p.s. That’s what she said.

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 morning’s blog is not about push-up bras. I’ve had a few people email me asking me to blog about female supportive garments, but this is not the correct forum (the “Bro” or “Manzeer,” on the other hand, can be covered in future posts).

I’m actually going to talk about carpet padding.

Wait!! Don’t leave yet!!! I know that sounds like a ridiculously boring topic, but at the RSNA yesterday I experienced a first in trade show errors - WAY TOO MUCH CARPET PADDING.

I’ve never been in a home that had so much padding, much less an exhibit booth. It was to the extent that it was laborious to walk normally. I never really thought about too much pad being an issue, and I can’t pin down who would have made the error. Was it a client who insisted they wanted the super-upgrade, or was it the exhibit company that suggested they “set their booth apart” and really outdo themselves.

It was one of the biggest exhibits at RSNA, and you felt like you had 5 pound bricks tied to your shoes as you walked through their village of highly unimpressive mini-booths. Has anyone else seen this in practice elsewhere? Or am I the only one who found this so cumbersome and annoying?

Over the next two weekends, my wife and I are invited to 6 Christmas parties. 3 of the 6 have been hilariously, and uniquely, entitled ”Ugly Sweater” Christmas Parties. Somehow we’re trying to go to 4/6ths of them. I am not in charge of the scheduling or logistics, but I am required to make pleasant conversation.

Pleasant conversation is challenging when people want to talk about work. These rare souls, who find that a full time job is not actually full enough, would like you to take everything that you left at the office, and dump it out onto their living room floor. Once my old college roommate gets finished unleashing a liter of bile onto his wife’s brand new wood laminate floor (it looks like real hardwood! ), it will be my turn.

It’s kind of a macho thing - talking about what we do on our telephones and laptops. He travels all over the world, to extravagent places like Minnesota, Iowa, even Ohio, once. And the girls just swoon over his ability to hock insurance policies that noone understands. And what do I get to boast about?

Trade Shows. That’s right, everybody in the general public, especially your school teachers, your nurses, your accountants  - they LOVE to hear about trade shows. In fact, most people know EXACTLY what I do.

Trade shows are, according to most conversational participants, a combination of car shows, baseball card expos, and homegoods bazaars. And the complexity and nuance of my work is, as one would expect, slightly shy of my insurance God friend.

He may get the glory, but I still get the girls. Car shows are AWSOME.

Regardless, I need to find myself a new sweater.

One last note: None of the people at these sweater parties were over the age of 12 during the era of ugly sweaters, circa 1978-1992. What gives? Why is this such a popular theme? I have to buy a sweater, and then tack it up?

Likely the best place (for someone like me) to spot new business is at a trade show. One can see, first hand, what the competition’s doing and which exhibitors need a helping hand. Is it tacky, though, to work the floor during - or even before - the show? I knew someone who would take notes/pictures of crates during the install…thereby noting who was where. He also actively “worked” the exhibitors. Some reacted positively; others were annoyed. The same scenario plays out during the show: exhibitors dotting the list at RSNA, for instance, include Siemens Medical Solutions, Quest Diagnostics, GE and Philips. Big names. The ones you want in your portfolio. Do you contact them after the show or meet n’ greet on the floor…knowing there’s a risk of turning them off? The same can be said for email vs. telephone pitches. Calling a prospect fosters reactive communication and while emailing is contrarily impersonal (and a veritable shot in the dark), it does allow the reader to review at his or her convenience.

This past Wednesday, I had the pleasure of driving down to McCormick Place with some of my favorite co-workers. The cast for the drive included Midnight Michigan, senior designer; Sasha Grove, manager extrordinaire; and Linda Railroad, working the oldest profession, sales. Update: I’ve finally received permission to clarify the origin of my coworkers’ names. These are porn names: Derived by the combination of our first pet’s name with the first street name that we remember living on (I will continue utilizing my McCormick Place psuedonym, since “Lucy Barton” makes for gender-confused blogging). With this crew, it’s always guaranteed to be quite a trip. The RSNA trade show was in day 3 of exhibit set-up, so let’s recap the day’s events:

When we realized that walking would have taken us over 17 hours that we decided to drive. Linda’s directions were denounced as “the long way.” Commute time: 1 hour, 15 minutes. We covered a lot of conversational ground on the way downtown: Trade show exhibit booths, obviously; how-to-drown skunks and other suburban pests; approved alternatives to watching football over the Thanksgiving holiday; and, finally, the potential drayage costs of parking on the convention center floor, versus the parking garage ($8,000 versus $15).

After arriving, we had a very stimulating time previewing the RSNA show. The Siemens rental exhibit booth is, as expected, surreal and impressive. Midnight seemed very pleased at seeing his 3-d renderings put into corporeal existance.

Other highlights from the trade show floor: One of our competitors, expected to fold within months, builds out one of their last exhibits; and our biggest “competitor” freaks out when we walk around their largest client’s booth. Name badges and company insignia can be quite intimidating, it seems. As innovators in the rental exhibit booth business, we were pleased to see them doing a mediocre job of imitating our custom rental system (ours utilizes custom built components that… well, just go to the website). They can try to imitate, but you can’t beat the real thing.

We took my way home (2 hour drive). It was a far more scenic route, and the subject matter was far less appropriate. Drowning dogs, Linda Railroad taking the “Midnight train,” and things got worse from there. H.R. will be busy sorting out who said what!

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…

A new Costco opened near my house this past weekend. Imagine how surprised I was that humongous bags of rice are for sale in unlimited quantities. I remember hysterical stories about the famines we should expect due to big box stores rationing such food staples earlier in ‘08. Since popular opinion has it that the sky is falling, I should have piled as many bags as would fit in my sedan, and crawled into my nifty nuclear bunker. Instead I bought socks - shades of olive, green, and brown.

For the past year or so, writing about “marketing in a recession” was all the rage. Everyone agrees that we’re in a recession, except for the rule of thumb on recessions. The rule of thumb guy is still giving me a thumbs up. Not enthusiastically, but still… I don’t know if I trust that guy anymore.

So what are people writing about now? In the ever changing one-upmanship that is online news, the hip search term for your business article is now “marketing in a DEPRESSION.” To be more precise, marketers are strategizing over marketing in a “pre-depression” (this is the beginning of the beginning of a depression). Hopefully, when this depression sets in, your company will be a-ok, and all due to your wise marketing department decisions. Depression becomes a career-advancer, and your true character will shine through (due to your having read a “snarky” blog post about it…). You’ll be the new CEO once this whole mess blows over. Sure you will.

Marketing in a depression seems to be a tough burden to undertake. My guess is, your company either has enough cash reserves, or it doesn’t. If they have the reserves, your job will be intact, and your task of conveying the company’s message in a competitive, rapidly evolving marketplace will continue. The market changes, but the task remains constant. But guessing whether this is a recession or a depression is probably NOT a part of your job. It isn’t mine, I’m pretty sure. What are your real options?

Option A: You guess depression, you advocate that the marketing budget gets gutted, BUT the economy goes all “fast and loose” on us. Then you will play catch up during the coming expansion, as competitors gobbled up your market share. Option B: If you guess depression and it’s a depression, you might be vindicated, but you will essentially be doing what you’re always supposed to do: Making wise decisions with your marketing dollars. What the heck were you doing before this looming recession or depression? 

If you think it’s a prudent time to stock up on rice, while all the fools buy socks and wide-screens, that’s fine. But bursting into your boss’s office telling him or her about the expected course of the business cycle - is that really a good idea? Understanding how to market in a different business cycle is important, but being the first to yell fire is something you’d be well served to avoid.

One of my coworkers (a sales guy) decided to tap into a competitor’s client base because he’d heard - from reliable sources, I might add - that this particular vendor was going down. What better time to swoop than when the nest is falling apart? Anyway, he called one of the largest clients, gave him the pitch and was met not only with disinterest but outright nastiness…”What! That’s not true! Who do you think you are?” Needless to say, the pot had been stirred. The client freaked out (which you can’t really blame him for) and questioned the vendor (obviously). The vendor, like a toddler who’s dropped all his sweets, is now trying to punish our company. Lawsuit this, slander that. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Was my coworker disreputable? Should he have rested on his haunches and waited for the baby birds to flail from the nest before going in for the kill? It’s a dirty game, folks. Yes, it’s unfortunate that the business is suffering. But if you’re not honest with your clients, chances are someone else will be.

AstraZeneca

44th ASCO Annual Meeting
5/31 – 6/2, 2008
Chicago, Illinois 

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is the leading advocate for oncology professionals worldwide. ASCO’s self-titled annual event – held in Chicago, IL – is stomping ground to elite organizations and more than 29,000 attendees dedicated solely to the research and development of superlative cancer care.

The Catalyst team – spearheaded by Deb Pflaster (Account Manager) and Jimmy Bastille (Senior Account Executive) proved themselves, yet again, with 6800 total square feet of exhibit space with AstraZeneca.

AstraZeneca – an International organization at the forefront of medicinal innovation – certainly commanded attention, dominating the show floor. Catalyst’s design objective was to create a striking, strategically-branded environment that allowed for fluent direction of attendees through the space. 

The client couldn’t thank us enough for the amazing job Catalyst had done. She said “the team at Catalyst was, by far, the most professional and responsive I’ve ever worked with.” Deb Pflaster, in particular, did an incredible job making this event happen. Immense challenges are inevitable when bringing a client of AstraZeneca’s stature in-house…but the exhibit indeed stood as a testament to all the hard work that was involved.

Anyone with opposable thumbs can build a structure. Catalyst Exhibits creates solutions – using innovative marketing techniques and decades of experience thriving in a sometimes fickle trade.

In fact, we like to think we’re the cat’s pajamas – tangy gourmet preserves atop the exhibit industry’s bread and butter.

Henry Hartman (an acclaimed commercial graphic designer) once noted, “Success always comes when preparation meets opportunity.” We are always prepared. We are always knee-deep in creative frenzy and we are always ready to give challenges a firm embrace. Brand-new clients and brand-new designs get us particularly geeked up. And, because we’re growing like Sea Monkeys under a heat lamp, we’re always blessed with fresh opportunities. Below, some fruits of our labor:

Kraton Polymers’ new International branding strategy evolves from the notion that a brand is not a logo, a product or the driving force behind an ad campaign. Rather, a brand is a promise – to ensure performance, knowledge and innovation. Kraton sought to be the “innovators behind the innovators.” We wanted to be the innovators…cubed.

 The Chinese account for about 65% of the market demand for polymers. They are also responsible for about a third of the world’s polymer production. Needless to say, the region’s need for imported polymers is great.

Kraton had historically struggled with limited floor space, an adverse regional reputation and a marketing campaign that was just shy of reaching across the globe. We helped Kraton enhance them all in preparation for their 2006 unveiling. 

Redefined marketing objectives and a much larger space, along with towering structures, bold graphic design and an inviting ambiance helped Kraton launch forward as industry leaders in polymer design – promoting their International influence on the plastics industry.   

Kraton Polymers’ new International branding strategy evolves from the notion that a brand is not a logo, a product or the driving force behind an ad campaign. Rather, a brand is a promise – to ensure performance, knowledge and innovation. Kraton sought to be the “innovators behind the innovators.” We wanted to be the innovators…cubed.

The Chinese account for about 65% of the market demand for polymers. They are also responsible for about a third of the world’s polymer production. Needless to say, the region’s need for imported polymers is great.

Kraton had historically struggled with limited floor space, an adverse regional reputation and a marketing campaign that was just shy of reaching across the globe. We helped Kraton enhance them all in preparation for their 2006 unveiling.

Redefined marketing objectives and a much larger space, along with towering structures, bold graphic design and an inviting ambiance helped Kraton launch forward as industry leaders in polymer design – promoting their International influence on the plastics industry.

Full-service, global exhibit house Catalyst Exhibits recently welcomed multi-lingual Elke Sujdak to their evolving corporate fleet. Sujdak, born and raised in Switzerland, brings to the collective table years of experience as a broker, field analyst and business partner. Her fluency in German, Swiss-German, English, French and Dutch will help nourish relationships with a bevy of cosmopolitan clientele.

Sujdak will also assist with international client research, event logistics and corporate planning.

SPAM is a salty, canned meat composed of chipped pork shoulder, ham and – for that special zing –  Sodium Nitrate (a compound used in fertilizers, explosives and glass). SPAM, as we know it, is delicious. Spam (and cookies and Spyware), however, can butcher your computer.

What is SPAM?

Spam is an indiscriminate, unsolicited message – usually of a commercial nature – sent to mass mailing lists, computer networks or news groups.  Spam is cheap, irrelevant to our lifestyles and easy to create: according to a research firm in Palo Alto, CA, “spam [was] expected to account for 45% of the 10.9 trillion messages sent around the world in 2003.”  Spammers use specialized software to automatically extract email / IP addresses and screen names from heavy hitters like MySpace and AOL Instant Messenger. An alternative M.O. – known as “dictionary attack” software – allows Spammers access to email addresses by opening a connection to their desired server and extracting millions of email addresses. This software then extracts the “live” (valid) email addresses and adds them to the Spammer’s list. These addresses are then spread like a plague from Spammer to Spammer.

How can I get rid of it?

Most spam-blocking software works by identifying specific words in the subject line (e.g. “XXX,” “Sex” or “Free”). Sneaky Spammers, however, can easily sidestep this barrier by fumbling words (e.g. “S-E-X”). Unfortunately, most of this basic software prevents valid messages from reaching your inbox: say you want to receive a recipe for fried chicken breasts; Spam blocking software might delete it because “breasts” is in the subject line. Large ISPs created “white lists” to identify legit messages, but Spammers jumped the axiomatic fence by putting bogus characters into their subject lines –  this why you receive emails with subject lines like “Fre*%e Coupons.” The best way to ensure the bulk of Spam never reaches your computer is to install Heuristic or Bayesian filters – software that identifies Spam by recording word patterns or frequencies. You can block Spam sent through Web-based providers (ie. Yahoo! or MSN) by tagging each unwanted message as such. Similar messages – or those sent by the same organization – will be blocked indefinitely.

What are cookies?

Cookies are bits of data sent by an outside server to your Web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer). They authenticate IDs, retain personal information and track browser behavior and are sent, unchanged, back to the server (e.g. Amazon.com) each time you access it. While cookies, by nature, are unable to perform operations, they – especially if “stolen” by malicious sites –  can infringe on your privacy, threaten security and, if not accepted, make some Websites or site features (e.g. virtual shopping carts) unavailable.

How can I get rid of them?

You can easily control cookies by adjusting (or setting) your browser’s privacy level to Medium High. This level blocks 3rd party cookies that don’t have compact security policies and/or use personally identifiable information without your explicit consent. A Medium High setting also chokes 1st party cookies that use personally identifiable information without your implicit consent. Clearing cookies from your hard drive (through Control Panel / Internet Options / General / “delete cookies”) is also helpful.

What is Spyware?

Spyware is a contemptible type of software that companies employ to collect personal information for monetary gain.  Spyware (unlike the Internet, which was invented by Al Gore) was introduced in 1995 by Zone Labs and is synonymous with Ad (vertising) and Mal (icious)-ware. This software gathers your information by logging your keystrokes, Website history and by scanning the documents on your hard drive. Its purpose varies; some organizations use it criminally, while others use it simply to create more targeted advertising. Spyware can enter your system disguised as security software or by “piggybacking” on desirable software (e.g. iTunes). And while Spyware doesn’t open the door for viruses, it does generate unwanted CPU activity, annoying pop-up ads, disk use and network traffic. It can also cause problems logging on to the Internet – all of which will significantly slow your system.

How can I get rid of it?

Programs such as Ad-Aware and Spybot Search & Destroy are free (available on www.downloads.com) programs that scan your hard drive and remove malicious software. Spybot S&D has won numerous awards and is recommended by CNet, MSNBC and the Wall Street Journal. Firewalls and alternative Internet browsers (e.g. Mozilla Firefox – which is known for having fewer security vulnerabilities than Internet Explorer) can also help ward off Spyware.

Marketing professionals unceasingly adhere to the old adage, Think Outside the Box. “I should do it…my clients should do it….their clients should do it. We can’t stifle our creativity!” Etc. Etc. Etc. But did you ever stop to consider what that phrase infers?

Thinking Outside the Box inherently prevents us from achieving our common goal – designing a marketing environment that’s cost-effective, aesthetically engaging and functional.  You wouldn’t ask a realtor to find you a house without sharing with him your budget, schedule, preferred location and cardinal amenities, right? He’d have no idea where to begin – his scope would be too broad and chances are, a long time would pass before he found you the perfect home.

The same philosophy can be applied to marketing. And experiential marketing at that. We have to think INSIDE the Box if we’re to meet your objectives. If your budget is $30,000, your exhibit house is not going to propose a design that costs $80,000. If you love sleek metallics with a European flair, they won’t utilize a stodgy, corporate palette. If your primary objective is to conference with existing clients, your space won’t be filled with shelving and demo pods.

Marketers need to Think Inside the Box in order to give you what you need.  They need a budget, time frame, preferences and marketing objectives.

Largest U.S. Plastics Show puts Catalyst on the International Radar

The National Plastics Expo, truly an international showcase commencing every three years, is the place to be for thousands of contenders representing the global market. The 2006 show (June 19-23 at McCormick Place in Chicago) fostered record international participation and drew an incredible 9% more attendees than did the show prior. Catalyst Exhibits, one of many exhibit houses vying for the opportunity to tout their wares, made quite a mark on the show floor – with 19 clients and a total of 29,815 square feet of exhibit space…three percent of the entire show. Not bad for one exhibit house, hey?

Catalyst’s exhibit solutions – designed to embody a colorful affluence of marketing objectives, aesthetic preferences and functionalities, ranged from a 10×10 to a whopping 75×85 space. Managing this type of event is not for the weak of spirit. Catalyst Account Managers, Production Supervisors and Sales Executives swiftly navigated NPE’s near million-foot floor plan from set-up to tear-down, ensuring each exhibit (regardless of size) was erected seamlessly and that each client was given undivided attention. Cutting-edge design and extraordinary attention to detail helped make NPE 2006 quite an experience for all involved. Quite an experience indeed. 

NPE 2009 has some big shoes to fill and Catalyst is on deck to hit a home run. With enhanced rental inventory, polished branding and streamlined service, Catalyst is no doubt cultivating yet another competitive edge.

“Would I recommend Catalyst to others? Of course, because the service and support during both this torturous and fun experience is second to none.”  

— Bob Hawkins, President, Kiefel, Inc. 

The design, level of attention and superb service – that is why we chose Catalyst.” 

— John Moyer, President, Asahi KASEI

It’s September 2006. It’s hot, business is hopping and I’ve gotta get to McCormick Place  to deliver graphics and visit what we’ll call a “spicy” client. I look cute today, which makes me feel chipper…crisp, white, button-down shirt, chic black pants and high-heeled boots. I’m going to impress this client with my vast industry knowledge and top-notch customer service. I anticipate her spending a million dollars at the next trade show. It’s gonna be a good day. 

I pack my car with large boxes full of fabric graphics, paperwork and a steaming cup of coffee from 7-Eleven. An exhausting, two-hour drive from Catalyst Exhibits later, I’m swirling around the basement of Lakeside Center’s parking garage(instead of the North Hall, because traffic made me nervous so I pulled into the first Public Parking slot I could find). I’m not panicked because though it’s only my second time at this venue, I have plenty of time to navigate to the hall. I unload my boxes of graphics onto a hand truck (thanks creepy garage guy!), haul the drayage, electrical and Internet forms over my shoulder and make my way toward an exit. I soon find myself at the base of an escalator, leading to the Lakeside Center. Climbing aboard – cuteness intact – I realize that the boxes of graphics are slowly slipping from my arms and off the dolly. I try to reposition myself but the boxes are coated in Vaseline and cascade down the escalator. Hey, at least no one saw me (I think, as a bead of moisture forms above my brow) but as the thought forms, about 100 doctors pour out of a conference down the corridor. They all watch as I fumble around like a blind juggler, trying to salvage the boxes. I get to the top (humiliated, by the way, because my shirt got caught in the railing, so I look indecent), call the Account Exec for I&D and beg him to pick me up. I don’t know where I am in relation to the booth space, so it takes him 40 minutes to find me. When he does, I flop myself on the back of his cart and, sweating profusely now, drag the mangled boxes of graphics all the way to the North Hall. 

I get there, survey the area and am confident that – despite this morning’s inconveniences – the rest of the day will be swell. The booth looks lovely and the client’s no where to be found (in this case…that’s kind of a good thing). Out of nowhere, like a vulture to the carcass, the client barrels into me, screaming Spanish about missing graphics. “I have them,” I say. She storms off. Crisis averted. Sulking toward me, though, is the foreman…with eyes like someone killed his puppy. This man, who embodies lumber-jack masculinity in all it’s glory, is crying. Is he really crying? Bottom lip quivering, he mutters, “I can’t take this anymore.” 

Spicy McSpicerson has gotten to him. 

It was all down hill from the point. Mass chaos. The client screams until her nose bleeds, the foreman sobs, I’m so drenched in sweat that my hair looks like Benicio Del Toro’s, the booth “¡Es nada en absolute lo que ha supuesto ser!” and my boss (and HIS boss) are on the phone with a Spanish CFO about our pending lawsuit. 

These are trade shows in their rarest form. These are doppelgangers, of sorts…a parellel universe. Though I love the industry and – more importantly – Catalyst, I am exhausted. I wonder if Starbucks is hiring…

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.