Marshall Yard:

To those of you who think my recent posts about McCormick Place’s recent woes (losing NPE and HIMSS exhibitions) have been immature, glib, and even counterproductive, I have a refreshing piece of media for you to sample (and if you expect us to avoid such rhetorical tactics, please find a different blog about tradeshows).

Channel 11, being the ever-objective public news medium that it is (sarc.), has a brief expose featuring the challenges faced by McPier (MPEA) and Chicago’s convention industry.

Watch the Carol Marin interview… Is this Truth or Fiction?

I’m struggling to get my brain around NPE and HIMSS making decisions to leave McCormick Place.

Is it the weather? Chicago does get cold in the winter time.

Is it the business world expressing their disagreement with President Obama? I understand that some disagree with some of his policies. I suppose changing the host city for your tradeshow to a non-Obama city could be one way to flex your economic muscles.

Is it Chicago-style cuisine? Perhaps contemporary diets are incompatible with deep dish pizza and Chicago style ‘dogs - and that would upset expo attendees.

I’m at a loss here, people. Please help me pin down the cause for these two significant tradeshows departing from McCormick Place Convention Center. Thus far, it appears these are totally random occurrences, without any specific cause. Is there any way we can prevent this from happening to the other prominent trade shows held in Chicago?

The greatest lessons I received from the elite public school system in suburban Illinois involved understanding the importance of knowing what the rules are, how exceptions are made, and how they are enforced. Knowing the rules helped me out of quite a few binds!

In the tradeshow world, it’s very much the same way (yes, I’m comparing convention centers to public schools - would anyone blame me for the comparison?). Understanding the technicalities that surround your exhibit, where and when to ask for variances, and what variances show management can or cannot accept, can define the success or failure of your tradeshow booth.

I recently had a client call me with a list of 5 shows that they wanted to exhibit at in 2010. They wanted to do a 20×20 exhibit that was 16 ft. tall. Maximizing visibility and utilization of cubic footage that they pay for has always been of utmost importance to them. (more…)

A lot of marketing folks are feeling like they’ll be lucky to post craigslist ads at the current pace of marketing budget reductions. Pretty soon your company will be relying solely on “word of mouth” to sell their product or service, right?

We hear you. And, believe it or not, we talk with a lot of companies whose trade show budgets are getting the ol’ “knife in the back & chased with a chainsaw” treatment.

You’re not alone!

There’s a reality to it all - by marketing during a recession you’re not likely to see exponential growth (gasp!). In fact, sales might continue to contract, depending on what type of business you’re in, or what kind of product/service you offer. But there’s also a secret that most every successful business guru or entrepreneur knows (which makes it a very poorly kept secret, like that book called The Secret, which I always resented for that reason… but I digress):

Companies that continue to strongly market themselves during recessions come out ahead of their competition after the recession. In effect: Recessionary marketing trends decide who wins after the recession.

I even have a graph and a link to prove my point:

& Link

The good thing, believe it or not, is that this recession has also had an effect on the cost of marketing tools. Exhibits, in particular, are being offered for less than ever before, with innovative technologies available to make a greater impact than has ever been possible.

While a price break for exhibitors may not take the sting out of that knife firmly lodged in your back (the recession), it will at least keep you a few steps ahead of that guy with the chainsaw. Scary lookin’ fella, isn’t he? Sheesh.