Some advice worth heeding, and some you might find amusing… Your weekly “fix” of the frugal exhibitor:
Get your Exhibit Program out of a Rut!
Desperate sales people may DESTROY the success of your trade show booth: What to do to PROTECT it!
Anything you can do to please the union labor at a show - DO IT.
Online ads aren’t the only thing that marketers expect to increase over the next year. While an overwhelming 68.7% of marketers expect to increase their Online advertising, 37.6% also expect their Event marketing to increase, with 49.9% seeing no change in that figure. While that isn’t an overwhelming increase in Events, it does reflect an opposing trend to many other forms of marketing. Take a look here. Budgets for radio, broadcast, and outdoor marketing are down significantly, whereas Events, Direct Mail, and Telemarketing are modestly increased.
The trends of modest increases are paired with modest increases for marketing budget through the second half of 2009, and through 2010. Budgets were slashed across many different industries for the first half of 2009. This has greatly affected the trade show exhibit business, with exhibit houses lowering prices and responding with additional services. Even tradeshow organizers and convention halls have responded with stimulai of their own - reduced booth space pricing, and some early indications that services for things like I&D and drayage may be reduced from their inflated levels. Our “The Frugal Exhibitor” segment chronicals online sources keeping tabs on the ebb and flow of tradeshow values.
Consumer savings rates are up in 2009 - do you have any doubt that your company has the very same mindset? Here’s to a leaner budget, and a happier boss!
Stephanie is seeing dead people DISCOUNTS
Deals at Print Expo ‘09 for Drayage
Cut costs on Pre-Tradeshow marketing - boost booth attendance for less money!
Tips for the smaller display exhibitors - make the most of your space
I’ve blogged ad nauseam regarding the effect that union-controlled show services has upon our industry - high prices that fly in the face of underlying costs and economic principles. I am fairly certain that my griping is exactly that - griping about a reality that will not change anytime soon. On that note, will it be getting worse soon?
That question struck me when I noted that the new executive administration ushered in a set of executive orders supporting/strengthening unions in America. The executive orders are aimed at hindering the efforts of non-unionized businesses trying to resist unionization of their labor force. Now when a business is working under federal contract they are no longer required to post a notice informing employees that they may opt-out of financially supporting a union; they will not be reimbursed for expenses associated with dissuading employees from unionizing; and they must offer new jobs to existing employees first.
I don’t proclaim to understand the finer points of how these orders affect practices currently in place for employers. I have gleaned that this clearly does not apply to every employer - just those working under federal contracts. Convention centers like McCormick Place in Chicago are actually funded and owned by the municipalities or states - is that outside of the grasp of the executive order? Is that an extension of executive orders or legislation yet to come?
In any business it’s important to keep ears open for lawmaker actions with effects on the economic environment. In this case, it may appear that my “sounding the alarm” about these orders is a bit of a stretch - but I think this is indirect linkage that will lead us to yet higher costs for show services. Am I sounding off prematurely? Will this have zero effect and I’m just paranoid?
How about a $800,000,000,000 stimulus package invested solely in trade show exhibit spending? Anyone in favor of that? Call your congressmen NOW!
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.