Convention Insider (Conventions.net)

I say Randy is a surprise, because he has no idea I am making him the Friday Feature this week.  I have been having trouble getting together with some of the people we are hoping to feature here, and I didn’t have a Friday Feature lined up for Convention Insider and when I told Randy of this, he said I would think of something.  That was enough inspiration to now make Randy our featured person here on Convention Insider.

You know when you speak to someone on the phone and have a long conversation with them, you get a sense of the person and can usually figure them out.  Nothing could be more true when I got off the phone with Randy in our first conversation.  I knew Randy had a good head for business, understood this thing we call blogging, and all of the other parts of the online experience.  I know you may be thinking “sure Jim he’s the boss what else would you say?”   Yeah I know my bias may show a little here, but I can assure you if you have a conversation with Randy about Conventions.net, you too will understand that he is the perfect man at the helm. 

Many of the people I speak to about online marketing have a vague idea of what I’m talking about, but then I spoke to Randy.  He is a guy that completely gets “it”.  He knows how to market and promote which makes it doubly important why companies should get on board with the Conventions.net team.  Randy is truly interested in getting your company discovered.  If you are a vendor or supplier for conventions or trade shows, he is making it a priority to seeing that your company is not only discovered, but that it also prospers.  Randy is an entrepreneurial spirit that thrives on seeing a business develop and be successful. 

This has not been a paid endorsement of Randy, actually it should be, but I do feel that Randy and everyone at Conventions.net deserve a hand and my heartfelt thanks for making me a part of this exciting venture.  Sorry Randy, I hope I haven’t embarrassed you, at least I didn’t put up that picture of you and that…[edited ]   

I’m kidding of course!  If you want to be a Friday Feature here at Convention Insider, contact us and let us know.  If you are a vendor or supplier of the trade show industry or are part of the convention or event planning community we want to hear from you. 

I was recently making a list of the things I wanted to get out of a convention my company is sponsoring and attending as an exhibitor.  The regular stuff showed up on my list such as new business, exposure, some advertising benefits, some leads and the rest of the things that we all hope for when we invest in a convention or trade show as an exhibitor.  One of the things I put down on the list that caused me to pause was the fact that I am also looking for market research.

Market research can be an invaluable tool for a business that provides a service.  I first thought of this in the trade show setting when I was interviewing Elaine Curl, the CEO of The Convention Store.  One of the services they provide that I did not get into the piece is market research for their clients and customers and it started me thinking about market research in the larger context.  How can you perform market research at a convention?  This question led me down many paths, and I came up with all kinds of ideas for myself and others, but the one that stuck out most was the market research that can be done by the convention center themselves.

Follow my thinking here if you will.  If the convention center themselves had a booth at each of the shows they hold, they could gather valuable information from attendees and exhibitors on how their experience was from both sides, one as attendee and the other as vendor or exhibitor.  This would also show some faith in the convention organizers that you are backing their trade show or convention as being an exhibitor yourself.  Go through the process of being on the end of having to deal with conference organizers and event planners.  Did the convention center make it easy for the exhibitor, and did the experience go smoothly?  These are only a few questions that would prove as valuable feedback of the convention center themselves.  Perhaps this is accomplished through other means like email surveys and hand out surveys for feedback, but I would think that being in the trenches and being a part of the event itself would be a great way to be a part of the experience.  How can market research play a role in your convention or trade show?  This is a question that I hope spurs some attention to this and other ideas on how to gather intelligence at an event or convention you attend.

Colorado used to be host to The International Golf Tournament every year and it was played at a very exclusive golf course called Castle Pines.  Not only was the course itself very exclusive, the neighborhood was like trying to get into Fort Knox.  It was nearly impossible to drive past the gate of this guarded community.  So what happens when you have to have 50,000 people attend the golf tournament?  I myself had attended the tournament and can remember parking in a horse pasture a few miles away from the gate.  How did we reach that elusive community?  We were moved there by a specialty company that specializes in moving people at events.

This special type of company is what we are featuring in this week’s Friday Feature.  I had a chance to speak to the CEO of The Convention Store, Inc., Elaine Curl and I learned a number of very interesting facts about the ability to move lots of people from point A to point B in the area of conventions, trade shows and other events.  Other events to the people at The Convention Store include very important gatherings such as Presidential Inaugurations and of course my favorite events, sports gatherings, such as the Ryder Cup!

It was clear after speaking to Elaine Curl of The Convention Store that she is truly and expert in her field of Transportation Logistics and Design Management, or in other words she can do a great job of moving lots of people and doing it securely and safely and with little hassle to the passengers as possible. Elaine tells me that transporting people is like”

“Creation of a beautiful dance, or like choreographing a wonderful production of a dance in a Broadway show.”

Truly this is the case since they can choreograph moving 10,000 people in 45 minutes!  Try to wrap your mind around the logistics of that and you will understand why it is imperative to have experts such as those as Elaine and her company The Convention Store.  Thinking just about the issues of safety and security alone can make my head spin, but The Convention Store is equipped with the expertise to make this a very easy proposition for your convention or trade show or other events as I spoke about above.  I asked about their experience, and it is clear they are an industry leader with 24 years of experience. 

Showing a bit of her human side Elaine quipped that she has gone as far as printing up T-shirts that had on the front:

“We Have Told A Million People Where to Get Off!”

We had a good laugh and then she also showed her professional side  when she revealed a very impressive list of clients and people they have served all over the country and in Canada, including of course, the Clinton Administration with its inauguration, The PGA, Baltimore Airport, Dulles International Airport, and National Education Association to name just a small list.  

After speaking to Elaine I got a feel for her hands on approach to every contract they fulfill, down to her inspecting every driver roster, vehicle maintenance logs, and visits to every bus maintenance facility they use for fulfilling the needs of their customers.  She has a huge responsibility with her choreography , but after 24 years, they are not only on top of the game, they love to play it.  I for one know where to find my next vendor for convention transportation.  You might check out The Convention Store yourself and find out if they can dazzle you as they have me.  Just take a moment to read about the people they have served and the opinions of that service. Good luck Elaine with your future and if ever I need to move 10,000 people in 45 minutes, I’ll definitely look you up!

I have been to many conferences and trade shows and walked through many aisles of events that featured company in their booths and wondered where they had there displays done.  Many of them are elaborate some are just simple banners with a company logo and a person standing in the middle of a booth behind a small podium.

Mike Weimer, pictured left, the owner of Impact Displays commented here on Convention Insider in a previous post, and through that comment I was able to locate his company and see what his services included.  Mike understands the power of the Internet, as his company is one of the first to appear on the market for conventions displays.  Working as a marketing manager in the valley has its rewards.  Something Mike did before he was in the display business.   Mike’s company is Impact Displays.  Mike’s company began in the silicon valley back in the late 80′s as a sign company and then the idea was born to be a display company for trade shows and conventions.  They have never looked back since that time and have become a large supplier of trade show and conventions displays all over the company. 

I asked Mike about how a company based in Santa Clara, California could handle the demand for displays and such all over the country. He taught me a new concept that is a standard for convention centers which is “advanced warehousing”.  This idea allows for companies to drop ship a display booth at a convention center and have it ready to set up in a matter of minutes making it easy for companies to handle the time constraints and demands of a trade show or convention schedule.  This allows companies like FedEx and UPS to deliver the booth right to the show and no worries on the part of the event planner.

Mike’s company is an excellent resource and he was able to show me some links on his site that can help educate the event planners and conference planners out there that might be needing this type of service for the first time.  In fact the picture at right is part of a image that shows how easy pop up displays really are.  For those that want to look for displays and don;t know what is available, you can check out their link to Trade Show Buyers Guide, which can help walk you through what might be the best display for you and for your company.

Mike Weimar has had a number of really large companies that have used his service and he also says he caters the the mom and pop small business as well.  I like their own copy to end our post here. if you want use them, they “look forward to having an “Impact” on your next trade show.”

With the ever popular reality television and the huge following of game shows out there in prime time television, it only stands to reason that a convention would benefit from the same type of excitement, hype and fun.  I’m talking about The Ultimate Game Show founded by Bryan Quinn.  Bryan Quinn  and his company are located in  Sacramento, California and they cater to all types of conventions, trade shows, corporate retreats and conferences across the country.  They have worked with a small groups of as many as 25 people up to huge conferences or trade shows and even Fortune 500 companies.  They inspire groups to be a part of your convention or trade show and make it an experience to remember.   The biggest inspiration to me is when he says they can help give away lots cash!

Bryan Quinn, pictured right,  has been doing game shows for conventions, trade shows and even corporate meetings for a number of years now and has literally hundreds of events under his belt.  Bryan provided this information about his company and himself:

They have presented game shows in twenty states and now have equipment stored in strategic locations across the U.S., allowing them to access any city within a 14 hour drive. They have game show productions that range from very small to TV-studio quality, and offer game formats inspired by popular TV game shows as well as completely original games. The founder and President Bryan Quinn has been performing and organizing corporate events for more than 20 years, as a Disc Jockey, team-building facilitator and for the past 8 years as a game show host. He is one of the most experienced corporate game show hosts available, but for clients looking for celebrity talent, The Ultimate Game Show also works with a variety of TV game show hosts and comedians. The Ultimate Game Show has helped its clients create award winning booths and become the most popular place on the trade show floor. Their games can be used as a high-energy method to give away promotional items, but more importantly to highlight the benefits and features of their products and services.

Earlier this year, a second division of the company has come to fruition and they call it “The Ultimate Audience Response”.

Ultimate Audience Response, which offers clients the greatest return on their meeting investment through total audience participation. Their audience response services allow every attendee to participate by responding to questions utilizing a wireless keypad. The results are then displayed instantly in a variety of graphic formats that are easy to understand. In addition to the benefits of a game show, Ultimate Audience Response?s clients can also gather attendee contact and demographic information as well as conducting market research.

The service provided by Bryan and his group is meant to enhance the experience of attendees to your trade show, or convention.  As I said above they can handle any size group and can provide all the necessary equipment.  Bryan and I joked about the fact that they could provide as little as a small podium for a speaker to the 18′ x 18′ Tic Tac Toe stage setup as pictured on their site.   They have even filmed the event for companies that want to use the show later.   Being a bit pessimistic about the cost of such a service I asked Bryan about what it would cost to provide such a service and I was very shocked at how affordable this service was and what they provide. 

Bryan said that they not only do the convention scene but they are also very busy during the holiday months doing holiday parties and corporate, non-public gatherings.   Bryan Quinn and his group has appeared all over the country including, many events in the California area, Las Vegas, Orlando, Chicago and other venues.  He stated that they can handle your plans from start to finish with as little hassle as possible.  Something that any event planner can be thankful to have.

When talking to Bryan for some reason I couldn’t get Richard Dawson out of my head and I told him about my problem.  He said that is normal and even indicated that his company works with many comics and retired game show hosts and can provide a variety of choices for your event.  Thanks for talking to us here at Convention Insider Bryan, I really enjoyed learning about your business.

[To receive additional information or to book The Ultimate Game Show? for your event, please call our office toll-free: 1-866-4-GAM-SHO (1-866-442-6746) or complete the contact form at their site.]

*** To find other vendors and suppliers such as the above featured company, please go to Conventions.net and search the resources.  If you want to have your company or your service featured here on Convention Insider’s Friday Feature, contact us and tell us about you and your service or product I would be happy to visit with you and feature you on Friday!***