Blogs

7 Ways to Optimize Your Exhibitor Experience

By Mr. Thomas Hallin posted 05-27-2015
Whether Exhibiting at a Trade Show or EXPO it is very likely that today's event will provide a Mobile App. The question is - are you aware of and taking full advantage of this excellent marketing, communications and engagement tool? Here are some ways in which you can optimize your event experience and benefit as an Exhibitor. COMPLETE YOUR APP PROFILE Add logo, brief company description and links to your social media channels and company web-site. Make sure to include your e-mail address and phone number and that your booth number is listed. HELP KEEPING IT GREEN and FIND OUT WHO's INTERESTED Prepare and provide product ...

How to Save Money on F&B Minimums and Meeting Room Rental

By Mr. Mark Dallman posted 03-05-2015
THEY’RE EQUAL FEES ...Food & Beverage (F&B) minimums and Meeting Room Rental are equal fees and you should not have both in your hotel contract. A hotel has a minimum revenue amount that they expect to get out of their breakout rooms/ballrooms on a certain day/time. As long as you fulfill that with either meeting room rental or an F&B minimum, you are fulfilling the hotel’s revenue needs for that meeting room. DON'T OVERPAY …Make sure that if you fall short of your F&B minimum that you don’t pay F&B operation costs which are typically 35%. For example, if you have a $10,000 F&B minimum and come in at $8,000, you would not pay ...

How to Avoid No Shows at Your Events

By Mr. Mark Dallman posted 03-04-2015
COMMUNICATION IS KEY… you must be a good communicator which includes not only a good RSVP tool but being proactive with a pre-event communication follow up. KNOW WHO’S NOT SHOWING UP… you can’t fix it if you don’t know about it so make sure to track your no-shows and which groups or segments they belong to. SET UP A STANDBY LIST… airlines and hotels have mastered the no-show percentage so never turn away people wanting to attend your event, put them on a standby list and with proper communication you will be able to fill your event. USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR GIVEAWAYS… make sure to communicate your event through all of your social ...

Mark Dallman "A Meeting Planner's Best Friend"

By Mr. Mark Dallman posted 03-02-2015
Negotiate YOUR Master Hotel Contract, Not Theirs IT’S EASIER FOR YOU ...Every hotel contract is different and every hotel company has different verbiage and contractual clauses that they input into their contract. Having your own hotel contract makes it easier for you to negotiate and for you to address YOUR issues in the contract. YES, THEY WILL ACCEPT IT… Hotels will work with your contract 90% of the time as long as it addresses most of the major issues that they need to suffice their ownership and management company. BE AWARE OF CHANGES …Make sure when dealing with the hotels that when you send your contract to ...

TOP 5 WAYS TO MONETIZE YOUR EVENT APP

By Mr. Thomas Hallin posted 11-15-2014
You invested in an App - now what? In addition to marketing it to your participants, filling it with relevant and interesting content, and making sure that it is quick and easy to use - an App can provide positively brilliant ways for you to generate incremental revenue for your event. Here are some ideas that can help you monetize your Exhibition, Trade Show and Event App... IN-APP SHOPPING Provide easy access to ticket purchases; previews of Books authored by presenters; merchandise; exclusive content; and optional functions, products or services and allow participants the convenience of making purchases directly via the app. ...

Registration Recommendations

By Jill Mendoza posted 03-24-2014
Hello! We are looking for recommendations for registration companies for a 6000 person conference. About half of the registrants are either comped or have a zero dollar charge based on their membership, however we still need them to register for the conference. Any suggestions on a cost-effective system that could handle this, especially one that charged a flat fee vs per person? The registration is quite complex and has a variety of pricing structures. TIA!

Ditch the Stamp Card! It's Time for Digital Engagement

By Sean Fields posted 10-23-2013
When the CIC thought about this year’s annual conference in Spokane, they elected to get rid of the stamp cards and step into the digital age. Their decision was to use a web-based application called SCANVenger Hunt that’s known for producing high levels of attendee-to-exhibitor interaction. Through game-play, the SCANVenger Hunt platform creates a unique way for attendees to engage with exhibitors at trade shows and conferences. Karen Kotowsky, CEO of the Convention Industry Council stated, “SCANVenger Hunt added great value to our event by providing a fun way for our attendees to interact with our exhibitors”. She also added, “Our exhibitors loved it! In the ...

Your company rented a trash can, but, did not sign up to have it emptied.

By Mr. Charles King posted 07-01-2013
I was working in a booth with one of my favorite companies at a show in Orlando. There was a cocktail hour after the show closed in the exhibit hall. The next day, I got to the floor early. I wanted to walk the floor to see who else was exhibiting. As I stood in front of our booth, I noticed the trash was over flowing from the night before. I saw a man walking down the aisle with a clip board looking carefully at each booth he passed. I also noticed he had a badge on that told me he worked for the show. I said to him," Excuse me, but, it appears the trash can in the booth was not emptied from the previous nights party." He looked at his clip board, then looked ...

Drug Dealers, Terrorists and Internet Providers

By Mr. Stephen Nold posted 02-12-2013
I get this type of call about 2-3 times a year: “This is Stephen Nold.” “Help me. They just called and said I need to make a decision today.” “What? Who is this? Dave?” (Please note that all names have been redacted in order to protect the innocent.) “Yeah – it’s me. I need help. You remember when we sat down with the hotel Internet team three months ago in Orlando?” “Sure. How could I forget? They started off by bragging about their new Internet systems and how much we would benefit from the dual signal solution that they are installing. It sounded great. Then we were diverted by a discussion on bandwidth. It was funny ...

Technology Disruption in The Events and Trade Show Industry

By Mr. Stephen Nold posted 02-07-2013
When asked by Francis Friedman, chair of the Future Trends Task Force to provide thoughts on emerging trends, it seemed relevant to remember some of the historical mistakes that other industries have made. Technology can disrupt a competitive landscape and have a significant impact on the direction of a marketplace. For example, railroad companies missed the opportunity to adopt and produce new innovations such as automobiles and airplanes. They considered their industry to be the railroad industry not the transportation industry. This shortsighted definition of their mission prevented expansion into new markets. Are we repeating ...

Farewell and God Bless You, Joyce McKee

By Mr. Steven Hacker CAE, FASAE, CEM posted 11-21-2012
The exhibition industry and the IAEE family lost a dear friend and champion this week with the passing of Joyce McKee. Joyce was one of the first NAEM members whom I met in 1991 when she and her sister Jane Stidham were principals of a very successful media marketing company. Through the years Joyce transitioned almost entirely into the events and exhibition space as she came to realize what a dynamic and powerful media it is. She became a passionate spokes person for CEIR and the International Center for Exhibitor and Event Marketing. The fact is that through the years Joyce and I spent as much time talking about our succession of poodles, standards for her, ...

Associations: Are You Changing Your Membership Dues Model?

By Mr. Steven Hacker CAE, FASAE, CEM posted 11-15-2012
There is lots of noise out there about the need for associations to change their traditional membership models --- i.e., member pays dues gets services from the association. The Internet and now social media are rapidly eroding two of the bedrocks of the traditional dues model --- providing relevant information and providing community. I am researching the question and would like to hear from any members whose associations are considering a change in membership dues structures or who have already done so. The research will result in an article in the January issue of Association News. Please call if that is more convenient (972) 886-3026. Thanks!

Am I the only one who thinks lanyards for name badge holders are the dumbest industry idea ever?

By Mr. Steven Hacker CAE, FASAE, CEM posted 11-10-2012
The only dumber idea is pinning your name badge to your belt. If the principal objective of providing attendees and exhibitors with name badges is to facilitate easy identification by both, what sense does it make to furnish lanyards that typically hang two to three inches above belt level making it awkward/difficult or impossible to quickly id the individual? One of the universal and fundamental discussions between organizers and registration companies is always the proper size and composition of the elements of the name badge. The nickname/first name must be twice as large as the subordinate data. Why? Again, to facilitate the easy identification by both ...

Just Returned from GIE + EXPO at Kentucky Exposition Center --- Wow!

By Mr. Steven Hacker CAE, FASAE, CEM posted 10-30-2012
For three days I observed close up the non-stop interaction between manufacturers, wholesalers and dealers of outdoor equipment, landscape industry implements, heavy equipment and all kinds of paving and stone work. 500,000+ net square feet indoors and out. The event dominated Louisville with clear evidence of the enormous economic impact on the local community all around. The show floor buzz was relentless and thousands of exhibitors and attendees spent hours together 'belly-to-belly' . It was exciting to see and it is clear evidence of the awesome power of the face to face experience and the vital role that exhibitions play in the global economy.

What's With Manual and Not Computer Generated Lead Retrieval?

By Mr. Steven Hacker CAE, FASAE, CEM posted 10-22-2012
Doesn't it seem counter intuitive that, if the lastest CEIR research report is accurate, and I have no reason to doubt it, that exhibiting companies and their personnel continue to rely upon pencil and paper generated leads at trade shows? If exhibitors and organizers spend thousands of dollars to generate digitally driven attendee demographic data from a variety of technology tools, why the continued reliance on 19th century technology? Does any one have a theory to share?

Federal Government Slams the Events Industry Again

By Mr. Steven Hacker CAE, FASAE, CEM posted 10-11-2012
This time it was the annual conference of the National Weather Association meeting in Madison, WI last week. At the 11th hour conference organizers were advised that 80 employees of the National Weather Service did not secure authorization to attend the event from the Department of Commerce. Last year 131 NWS employees attended. Many of the technical sessions for this year's conference were scheduled to be presented by NWS employees. So the net result of this idiotic decision --- the conference revenue was immediately sliced by 20% and half the presenters were unable to attend. Is there rationale for employees of the National Weather Service to attend the ...

What Are You Doing To Jazz Up Your Events?

By Mr. Steven Hacker CAE, FASAE, CEM posted 10-08-2012
Sometimes it's the simple things that make an experience really memorable. Touches like the restaurant server who provides you with a black napkin when a white one just won't due, the valet parking attendance who cleans your windshield before returning your car, or the flight attendant who has a special smile and greeting just for you. So what is it that you are doing to make your attendees event experience special and distinctive. I've talked with one organizer this week who has actually replaced her volunteer education planning committee with a group of content specialists, both members and non members, who are being paid for their planning services to ...

Save the Date SE Chapter!

By Mrs. Kristin Barranger CEM posted 08-31-2012
We are heading to sunny Hilton Head Island. Mark you calendar to attend the Thursday STRATEGIC PLANNING CEM course, then the SE Classic through Satur day and stay still for the Krakoff Leadership program. Save the date for the 2013 IAEESE Chapter Summer Classic - August 22-24. We will be going to............ HAH - You will know soon...SMILE