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The Source Conference 2012 will introduce the Boston area to the newest trade show technologies on September 13th from 2-5pm.

Held at The Exhibit Source’s newly redesigned show room in Newton MA, guest speakers will regale you with ideas on how to optimize your trade show experience.

Want to know more? We asked our speakers to summarize their presentation, here’s what you will take away.

Steve Robbins:
How to Live an Extraordinary Life - Who wouldn't want that? Technology makes it possible to approach our lives with tools and opportunities we've never had before. Yet the way we map out our lives is largely unchanged.

Steve will expose the cultural myths that form our approach to our careers, goal-setting and how we invest in our future. Challenging each myth, he designed a three-year experiment for living his life in defiance of all of the conventional wisdom. He'll share what's happened so far, and leave you with the provocative questions: what worked? And which aspects can you apply to your own life and career.

David Strand:
Dare to make them think (and engage) at your next trade show. Having been regularly tasked by his client, to come up with traffic-building show promos on a shoestring at microwave engineering shows, David has begun integrating some of today’s more innovative tools to create a buzz. In Baltimore in 2011 and Montreal this year, Strand Marketing integrated Facebook, Twitter, smartphones, e-mail marketing and badge readers in two different viral ideas that had the entire microwave industry talking before, during and after the shows. In this 45-minute presentation he’ll demonstrate how it all came together.

Todd Schenck:  
Are you looking for new ways to add that “WOW” factor to your trade show exhibit or event? Tired of boring PowerPoint presentations for your clients? Monster Media utilizes the latest technologies including: 3D Projection, Motion/Gestural Interaction, Multi-Touch, Social Media Integration, Interactive Games, Surveys, and Augmented Reality, to engage users like never before - and have them walking away with a positive association with your brand!

Todd will present examples of some of the newest and coolest projects that Monster Media has worked on, and will be able to answer any questions about how you can incorporate these technologies into your next event.  With so much new technology out there, you will not want to miss this!

For information on The Source Conference 2012, contact Megan Connor: @ 781. 449. 1600 ext: 210

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Trade shows take a lot of work. There is extensive time spent on planning, preparation and setup and the last thing you want is not getting noticed! But worry not, for there are many techniques to access this targeted traffic of visitors and exhibitors and it is actually quite straightforward to succeed.
 
How do you make sure you stand out and get noticed? Start with the basics with these three tips.

Tip 1:  A Professional Printing Job

You want to look like a professional, your printing needs to look professional. Part of making sure you stand out is making sure everything from your banners to your handouts to your promo materials all look great.

For your banners, posters, and backdrop in your trade show booth, go for high quality large format printing. While almost every exhibitor will be handing out leaflets and brochures, great large format printing can really help you stand out and catch attention, just as a sloppy printing job will leave you blending in with the crowd.

Tip 2:  Don’t Forget Promo Items!

You want to give people extra incentive to visit your trade show booth. You can do this with a raffle or contest where allowed or by giving out promotional items. These promo items are great because they serve more than one purpose. Not only does it help get people coming to your booth where you can engage them in a conversation, but you can also have your giveaways printed with a logo, website, phone number, or whatever else you want. This type of branding is a great way to make sure they remember you even after leaving the show.

Tip 3:  Personality!

This last necessity may be one of the most important aspects of getting noticed at a trade show and that’s an outgoing personality. Get up and start greeting people, invite them in for a conversation, ask questions, and get them interested in what you have to offer! It is very easy to overlook this piece of trade show preparation.

You aren’t going to get many visitors sitting in the background and waiting for people to approach you, you need to be proactive. Once you’ve started the conversation, you have earned the opportunity to acquire their contact information or even make a sale. Even if you don’t, you can give them a brochure and promo item to make sure they walk away remembering your company.

Remembering these trade show basics and contact the Exhibit Source for help designing, planning and creating your trade show exhibit.

Marketing 360

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One of the biggest challenges for retail businesses is getting the word out to customers, something that’s now even more important during a still struggling economy.

Local companies are finding new ways to market their products and services, through trade shows and events.

At shows, many small businesses will say that for independent stores, the hands-on selection process, from a variety of regional and national vendors helps make each trade show booth unique.

You can walk around to find different styles and brands that you like, and you can place really small orders. Trade shows let you choose things for your store that you like and that are the best fit for your atmosphere.

On the other end of the system, hoping that such local shops — and even big-name décor stores like Macy’s or Target - will pick up small designer lines, small designers head to trade shows too.
 
Small designers find that trade shows are a great investment. “Think about how many outlets go to trade shows to find new lines they want in a store. Trade shows are a great investment."

In the coming years, one designer in particular plans to take her products to trade shows throughout the United States.

“For us, right now, trade shows are definitely the way to go because our reputation is growing,” she said. “After opening right at the very wrong time nearly six years ago, we’ve survived and are moving forward. It’s definitely a new chapter.”

For information on how to take advantage of trade show marketing and making a big impression for your small business, contact The Exhibit Source.

Business Examiner

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For many business owners, exhibiting at trade shows is considered a competitive sport. If you want to be the one who wins the game, now is the time to start planning how you’ll innovate –and integrate –the trade show. You should be working on ways to:

Customize your message. Your customers are different from your prospects, so design different conversations for each. Use insights to individualize your messages and bolster your appeal. Remember: Customization is essential to effective follow-up, as well.

Listen. When you’re at a trade show, don’t just sell. One of the most important things you can do at any event is listen. Engage with our audiences and get their input.

Connect before, during and after. The B2B buyer’s journey has changed. It’s no longer linear; it’s circular; and digital technology allows you to maintain contact as buyers move around this new path. Use social media networks, email and apps to help you discreetly fit in, providing information that’s relevant before, during and after the trade show and before, during and after the sale, as well.

Measure value. Carefully assess your trade show strategy's strengths and weaknesses. Consider all trade show exhibiting expenses as you calculate cost-per-contact, cost-per-lead and ultimately, overall ROI. With the longer B2B selling cycle, it may take months for you to reach that final number, but even so, you’re still responsible for thorough records, data and analysis.

B2B marketers must adopt a customer-centric approach that’s compelling, customized and consistent –whether they’re at a trade show or back at the office, designing campaigns. Success at trade shows today depends on a well-oiled strategy and you’ll need systems in place for data collection, automated analysis and targeted distribution.

Start planning now.

For information on your trade show exhibit, contact The Exhibit Source.

B2C

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Given that we live in an age where social media and digital marketing techniques are dominant, it is all too easy to lose touch with traditional marketing. But these traditional marketing methods are a pivotal part of any integrated marketing strategy because they help you to reach the widest possible target audience.

A fusion of contemporary and traditional marketing techniques proves that face to face promotion remains a valuable commercial tool in 2012.

Trade Show Exhibits: The Art of Face to Face Sales
With this in mind, which traditional marketing methods should you be embracing to move your business forward? The prevailing trend is for real time and face to face communication, which marks trade shows and trade show exhibits as genuinely viable marketing opportunities in 2012.

Meeting Consumers in Person: Operating a trade show booth and addressing the consumer face to face negates allows you to have a conversation with your customers. It provides a far more natural environment for real time communication. The effect of this is often a far more memorable and enjoyable customer experience.

Getting Better Understanding of Competition: When you choose to set up a trade show booth, you are embracing a unique opportunity to interact with competing brands.

The Bottom Line
These benefits highlight just how important the traditional methods of networking and communication are to contemporary businesses, especially when used as part of an integrated marketing strategy. While a trade show exhibit may require some initial investment, this provides good value when you consider the advantages of meeting consumers and competing brands within a single space.

Attending trade shows and showcasing your goods at an exhibition stand are becoming increasingly popular, especially among product driven brands that are keen to engage their customers.

B2C

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Your trade show displays are not just a back drop or a statue, it should be a marketing tool that communicates a message and helps support you booth employees. It is important that your  trade show exhibit captures its marketing potential and does not simply fill the role of back drop.
 
The trade show booth needs to communicate a valid and real reason for potential customers to stop and speak with you.  The booth graphics, image and text, need to clearly state the what products and services you offer, or the special product you are promoting along with why your company does it better than the competition.
 
If you are exhibiting at a multitude of shows be sure that the message that your trade show exhibit sends can be quickly changed and modified to capture the attention of the various customers at the different shows.

For information or a consultation on a clear message and captivating trade show booth, contact The Exhibit Source.

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More and more businesses are seeing the benefits of trade show marketing for their bottom line. However, creating a captivating and creative trade show exhibit that concisely conveys your message is just the beginning of how to meet your trade show marketing goals.
 
Some other things that you and your staff need to consider:

Be Funny, Not Offensive – Humor done well is engaging and memorable. Humor done poorly is boring and potentially distasteful.

Be Economical, Not Cheap – Guerilla marketing should never be expensive and trade show guerilla marketing is no exception. Draw upon your guile, not your bank account when devising creative stunts that attract mindshare. However, do not confuse frugal with cut rate. Be sure that your hand outs and marketing materials work with your trade show booth.

Be On Message, Not Too Clever By Half – When devising guerilla marketing campaigns, marketers can become enamored with their own cheekiness and create attention-grabbing stunts that do not support the company’s underlying marketing messages.

A barometer of whether your guerilla marketing properly communicated your corporate messaging is how it is covered by the media.
 
Be Bold, Not Stupid – Bold stupidity is not a good combination. Be unafraid but use sound judgment.
 
Be Authentic, Not Synthetic – Just be you. A company has a personality. That personality is of the Founders, it can’t be manufactured and it shouldn’t be.

Your guerilla marketing should be congruent with your company’s culture. Your goal is not only to capture people’s attention, but to also communicate who you are and why they should care.
 
Don’t Try Too Hard

Guerilla marketing often goes awry when a company tries too hard and fails to balance unforgettable with crass. Compelling, entertaining and memorable guerilla marketing antics that do not offend your intended audience should be a natural extension of your mainstream marketing efforts. If the nuances are too subtle and your prospects cannot connect the dots between your campaign and your company’s purpose, it will be ignored at best or damage your brand at worst.

For information on creating the perfect trade show display to convey your marketing message and capture the attention of attendee, contact The Exhibit Source.

Forbes

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Industry trade shows, conferences, and exhibitions remain popular. In fact, a recent Center for Exhibition Industry Research report reveals an increase in trade show activity. As a participating business, you need to do trade shows right and make the most of your time there. Here are 10 tips to get the most out of your trade show:

As summer begins, this is a particularly good time to start planning for the fall events. So here are some insider tips for getting the most of a trade show appearance.

1. Map out your objectives for the event and create a plan. Show attendance is more than an opportunity to collect leads and engage with prospects. It is also an opportunity to meet with partners, press, potential employees, even competitors.

Consider announcing a new product, implementing an incentive plan for recruiting partners, or arranging meetings with industry analysts. Understanding who will be attending the event and other activities that will take place at the show should play a role in your decisions.

2. Apply early for a meaningful speaking opportunity. Presenting at a conference or trade show brings credibility to your company and amplifies your message. Getting a customer to speak on your behalf is even better.

3. Reach out to the people you want to meet before the show. A good place to start is your prospect database. Use social media like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to see who is talking about the show. Reach out to these folks via targeted emails. Get personal and be specific about why people should meet with you.

4. Bring the right staff. Pick staff who like engaging with strangers, even if they are not in sales. Product developers are sometimes your best advocates. If you hire local staff to augment your company presence, make sure they know the basics about the company/product. Be sure the best prospects get preferential treatment and the time-wasters don’t clog up booth operations.

5. Choose a good trade show booth location. At a small show, location is not important, so don’t spend extra money on it, but at the larger shows, it pays to get a location that is:

• On a busy aisle or near the hall entrance
• Near an anchor booth (a big company in a related market).
• On a corner. This gives you more effective space than you paid for, since you can encroach on more aisle space without running afoul of the show managers.

6. Booth graphics and messaging need to be simple. Typically, you have about two seconds to capture attention with your booth display. So focus on the top keywords and great graphics on your trade show exhibit. White space is a huge plus.

7. Create an engaging way to interact with visitors. Contests and challenges are good ways to create meaningful interaction, but make sure they are connected to your company’s value proposition. People love to play hands-on games and win a chance to get something substantial, like an iPad. Photographing or videoing participants and uploading the content to the company Facebook page is a great way to keep the buzz going even after show is over.

8. Prepare packaged demos, so people can understand your product within two minutes. If someone wants more information, pass them on to a qualified person to go more in depth.

9. Don’t waste the time and money participating in "Speaker’s Corners"-type demos.

10. Use giveaways judiciously. If there is a way to tie the giveaway into your company's value proposition, then giving something away makes sense, because it reinforces engagement and brand equity.

Also, do all the obvious stuff like wear clearly branded company attire, make sure you have ample literature on hand, follow up with leads quickly after the show.

Contact The Exhibit Source for more information on a captivating and engaging trade show exhibit.

Fast Company Magazine

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A great way to increase brand awareness and make new connections is attending industry trade shows . Of course, your competition is there too, and so are a lot of other companies. And everyone is battling for brand awareness and competing for the same clientele. You need your company to stand out from the pack.

You only have about 3 seconds to make an impression when someone is walking by your trade show display. A surefire way to draw attention is to think outside the box with your trade show booth. Do something unconventional, surprising, or out of the ordinary, and bigger is better. Your trade show exhibit needs to grab qualified prospects and draw them in.

Your salespeople or employees who are working your trade show booth should be having fun too. Having fun stands out. Let them know they can have fun with the passersby. All of them are potential customers, and some of them are customers. Give them a reason to stop at your booth.

The Exhibit Source understands the importance of your trade show exhibit, we offer numerous options of display styles, contact us.

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Think of the statement you could make at a trade show with a “green” trade show exhibit.  The whole objective of trade show displays is to attract the right clients by projecting the right marketing message. With a green trade show display, your marketing message could be twofold. “This is what we do, and we do it responsibly”.

Is your company going green and promoting sustainability with its marketing efforts?

The Exhibit Source has a full line of environmentally-friendly trade show display products: modular exhibits, graphics, and booth accessories. With the visual impact and durability you need, they are made exclusively with materials that are renewable, recycled, and recyclable from bamboo plywood and fabric made of recycled soda bottles.
 
Green trade show exhibits demonstrate your company's mission, marketing proposition and commitment to responsibility.  Contact The Exhibit Source, New England's exclusive distributor of high impact “green” trade show exhibits.

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