Trade Show Insights

For months, I’ve wished there was something I could do for all my trade show friends who were suddenly thrust into searching for a new career. Then I met career expert Leslie Evans Thorne in an online group, and knew I had to have her as a guest on our weekly Virtual Lunch ! So listen in as she shares insights on how to: Recognize the difference between your skills and talents Convey the benefits...

While the effects of this year on the exhibit industry may be hard to put into words, the team at UFI has been working to quantify the response from exhibitors and attendees, as well as offer perspective for moving forward. Our guest for this week’s Virtual Lunch , Kai Hattendorf, shares findings from the Global Recovery Project and the JMIC Global Manifesto.

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of The Experience Economy by Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore. So you can imagine how delighted I was when Jim agreed to be a guest on our weekly Virtual Lunch ! So listen in as he shares insights on how to: Prepare for the next phase of the Experience Economy Design a multisensory environment in virtual events Inspire more engaging conversations Create an experience eve...

This year has proved to be a challenge for event planners on every level, including those in charge of the Presidential Conventions. Now I don’t know about you, but actually I found this year’s version was more intriguing than previous ones. Perhaps it was because I’m studying all kinds of virtual events anyway, but I think it was more because they were forced to innovate and re-imagine the “we’ve...

Of course we all want to get back to meeting face to face – but until that happens, we can’t stop marketing. So in the rebroadcast of this week’s Virtual Lunch interview with Ruth Stevens you’ll discover how to make the most of this time to: Get to know the person behind your corporate client Create your own virtual events and build community Convert social media followers into leads in your datab...

If you're trying to figure out how to market to your audience appropriately during these confusing times, you're not alone. Today's guest, Juntae DeLane provides perspective in this rebroadcast of our weekly Virtual Lunch. You'll discover how to: Tap into brand storytelling Stand out from the competition (without being negative) Leverage existing assets

This is the time when leaders will emerge. Our industry is being put to the test – we're all being put to the test. But as our guest, Heather Hansen O'Neill says, what happens next depends on how we choose to show up in the world. So listen in to this rebroadcast of this week's Virtual Lunch interview to hear Heather's insights on how to: Collaborate to move forward Become a beacon of light for cl...

This special edition podcast episode is a bit different – I decided to republish this week's Virtual Lunch interview with Kevin Carty from Classic Exhibits . You'll hear his firsthand account of the Together Again Expo in Orlando, which was the trade show industry's example of how events can operate safely. In the interview, you'll hear several resources mentioned. You'll find those links in the s...

I recently heard someone say that 2020 feels like being stuck in a simulation that’s running every possible scenario simultaneously. No wonder we’re all exhausted! That’s why on one of our weekly Virtual Lunches , we focused on ways to take care of yourself throughout all this madness. So in case you missed it, here are some ideas for you, broken down into three basic categories.

While it may still be unclear exactly when face-to-face trade shows will be back up and running again, there's one thing we know for sure: they certainly won't look like what we're used to.

This is the last of a 3-part series on Trade Show Insights to help you do the right things now to be prepared for the future of trade shows. In Part 1, we talked about preparing for a comeback, and in Part 2, we focused on how to keep the lines of communication open. Today, we're addressing how to blend virtual and in-person events.

This is the second of a 3-part series on Trade Show Insights to help you do the right things now to be prepared for the future of trade shows. In Part 1, we talked about preparing for a comeback, and in Part 3, we’ll discuss how to incorporate virtual elements. Today, we're focusing on how to keep the lines of communication open.

This is the first of a 3-part series on Trade Show Insights to help you do the right things now to be prepared for the future of trade shows. In Part 2, we’ll look at how to keep the lines of communication open, and in Part 3, we’ll discuss how to incorporate virtual elements. Today, our focus is on how to prepare for a trade show comeback.

As one of my friends put it, our world has gone "from zero to crazy" nearly overnight, and part of that may involve you working from home for the first time. That may feel very foreign and challenging to you, and that's understandable. Since I've spent most of my adult life working on my own at home, I want to share some of the lessons I've learned (and am still learning). I've also got a number o...

Whether you’re an exhibitor looking for effective sponsorship options or a show organizer wondering how to get more exhibitors to take advantage of your sponsorship offerings, you’ll want to hear what our guest expert has to share! In this episode, Nancy Drapeau discusses findings from the latest CEIR report series, the B2B Exhibition Sponsorship Playbook .

Back in January 2010, I wrote a letter to my TradeShowTips e-zine subscribers from the perspective of 10 years in the future. Now that we’ve arrived at that milestone, it only seems appropriate to pull that letter back out and see how far we’ve come (or not). So for this “back to the future” post ...

I’ve got a little something special for this episode of the podcast … because you just never know who might appear at a trade show! So listen close …

If you ask most any new exhibitor how successful their experience was, you’re likely to hear an exuberant answer about how many business cards they collected. The problem is – that probably hasn’t accomplished very much. That’s because getting the most out of your trade show leads requires so much more than going home with a stack of business cards – which likely won’t even be followed up! In a 20...

This is Part 2 of our interview with Candy Adams, who is the industry expert on the topics of drayage, I&D, and labor. In Part 1, she covered the ins and outs of trade show material handling (also known as drayage). In this episode we shift gears to the topic of installation and dismantle (I&D) where you’ll discover: What the difference is between A, B and C-level labor staff When to hire...

This episode was inspired by what I meant to be a simple conversation-starter post on LinkedIn: “If you could wave a magic wand and make your biggest trade show challenge disappear, what would it be?” The nearly-unanimous answer: Drayage (also known as material handling). So I called on my friend, Candy Adams, who is my go-to resource on the topics of drayage, I&D, and labor. She graciously ag...

Ever feel like no matter how hard you work, nothing ever seems to get done? With the endless amount of tasks it takes to accomplish a trade show, this is a problem that plagues both exhibitors and show organizers. So whenever you find you’re not as productive as you’d like (or need) to be, you probably need to focus on the following four areas: 1 – Set Priorities How do you start working on your d...

From the time we’re children, stories influence us – be it fairy tales, comic books, or literature classics, we all have memories of powerful stories. Even as adults, we seek out stories to educate and entertain us in the form of TV, books, or movies. Stories create a connection, helping us all to relate to common threads of life. The characters and plot lines become familiar and real to us. They...

You know that saying, “Everything old is new again”? We see how true it is in the realm of fashion and design, where colors and styles cycle back around every few years. And yes, that’s a great tip for exhibitors to be aware of when designing an exhibit. But there’s more to it than that. You can craft an emotional response by guiding your audience down memory lane (even if they don’t realize that’...

According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), exhibitor retention across all trade shows is 62%. While that’s not horrible, it does leave a lot of room for improvement. So that’s why for my first time hosting ExpoChat, the weekly industry Twitter conversation, I chose to focus on how shows can satisfy exhibitor expectations and demonstrate how much they are appreciated and value...

Inspiration for this episode came from a recent ExpoChat, the weekly Twitter chat sponsored by TSNN. (You’ll find a transcript of that chat here.) The discussion revolved around how trade shows and events can help attendees continue their wellness routines (or discover new ones) while at events. Lots of great ideas surfaced, and so I invited two ExpoChatters with expertise in the wellness world to...