Convention Insider (Conventions.net)

I have been meaning to write this post up for a while now and I have finally had someone push me over the edge to get it up.  The site Comics Worth Reading popped up in my RSS reader and I want to weigh in my own ideas and perhaps get some of your thoughts.  They ask the question that I am sure many planners or conference and convention organizers wrestle with and that is, "Should Press Get in Free to Conventions?" 

I want to take that a step further than that and make it not just "Press" in the more traditional sense, but how about the all encompassing "new media" as well?  This includes Bloggers, Podcasters, Video people, Photographers and every other "citizen journalist" out there.  I won’t get into the entire debate of whether bloggers and their kin are considered journalists as that is for another place and time, but I will say that I believe this is a new problem that is just being considered.  We saw this same issue being raised in the last Presidential election and the democratic national convention and the republican national convention.  Who is considered press?

Simple.  I believe now that everyone should be considered press.  It is up to each of the organizers to decide on the criteria.  If the person is a blogger in your industry and wants a press pass to your event you have to weigh their "social capital" or their "influence".  That can be more difficult to gauge than some but that is what it comes down to in brass tacks.  How much reach or eyeballs and publicity do they bring to the table.  That can be determined and decided upon.

This is not the end of this debate.  With the emergence of new media, we are about to see more issues raised.  I just read yesterday on a friend’s blog about Conferences Needing To Update Their Policies. Even in our own industry of social media we cannot agree on what is right and wrong.  I like Rick Calvert’s (my friend and boss and CEO at Blog World and New Media Expo) comment on that post.  I don’t have the right answer.  I think we are just beginning to see how this is shaping up.  I do think that if you don’t have a policy you need to make one and stick to it.  In my mind, everyone is now a journalist.  Which ones get a free ride to the show is entirely up to you.

Image via Commons.Wikimedia.org

Tags: Press, Press Pass, Conventions, Trade Shows, New Media, Conferences

I mentioned that I would be helping someone plan an event coming up this fall, and I realized that I am not well versed in a most of the behind the scenes workings of planning a convention or trade show, or even a small event or corporate retreat.  I was then wondering if there was a long list of "convention coaches" out there that can be called upon to give the little advice here and there or people that are veterans in the industry that might be able to help get more information for me on planning the event.  I quickly turned to Google as is the norm for me in any need I have from Chinese food to directions to grandmother’s house, and I found a list of some and a specific Coach that can help me I think.  So how about you?  Are you a coach or advisor? How Can I find you if I had that small question?  If I need just to figure out how to get 400 chairs delivered to a place on Saturday, who do I ask how to get that done?  I can see the "You want it when" comedic cartoons flashing in my head now.  Well, perhaps I need a Convention Superhero.

Actually, if you go to Conventions.net I am sure there is a listing or two of the superhero you are looking for in an event planner or other "coach".

Tags: Convention Assistance, Coaching, Google

Photo via eteamz.com

I have been doing a large amount of traveling to events this year that I have not been doing in the past and one of the things that seems to be high on my list of priorities is the ease of which I can get from the airport in a host city to the hotel and to the vent itself.  I think that one of the best things a hotel can provide is a free shuttle service to events and to major metropolitan cities.

I was in Austin Texas this year for SXSW and one of the best experiences I can remember about that trip was the fact that I did not have to worry about getting to the convention or trade show by Taxi. One of the things that I abhor is trying to carry enough cash to get me from event to event.  I would rent a car actually if I knew I had plenty of parking which is a huge problem for many locations.  If you were at the event in New York City like I was the other day, finding a parking sport for that event was more difficult I am sure than winning the New York State Lottery or the Powerball.

When planning an event, I know this never really enters into the plans of an event or show, but maybe this could be a way to differentiate your self from the crowd.  Make attendees get from point A to B with ease.  I say this and type this as my wife chauffeurs me to Omaha, Nebraska from Denver and I work on my laptop.  Now this is living.

Tags: Taxi, New York, Austin, Denver, Omaha, Conventions, Event Planning, SXSW

I have been on a speaking run here in the first 5 months of 2009 and it looks like that trend may continue.  I sometimes submit myself as a speaker and other times I am asked by event planners to come and speak to their attendees.  As an event organizer myself I know how it is to get a large number of submissions of speaking ideas and proposals and to have to pour through them to make a decision on what speaker might best fit.

I recently received an announcement by for a call for speakers:

Event Technology Expo (ETE), the National Expo and Conference addressing all aspects of Technology for Tradeshows, Meetings/Conventions, and Special Events, has issued its call for speakers for the upcoming national event. The show will be returning to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, September 9-10, 2009, as a co-located event with HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® National.

In order to get the instructions on submission you can go to their site.  The submissions are open until May 25, 2009.  If you are a person that is comfortable speaking in front of an audience, it might be a good idea to submit your own speaking proposal to an event that is in your genre or niche.  It is a good way to help build your own personal brand and get you in front of the people that could help you and your business.

Tags: ETE, Washington DC, Events, Trade Shows, Conventions

No, this is not a test of the emergency broadcast system and no, it is now a pop quiz.  The purpose of this post is to let you know if you have a meeting facility or if you have a place where people are giving presentations or putting on seminars or have other AV needs, you need to test EVERYTHING.  I come from a time when it was cool to be the certified AV kid who was trained to run the film projector.  Yes, I am that old, we had real film projectors instead of VCR tapes. Now of course we have the state of the art in our schools, but I digress.

I wanted to let companies out there know, and if you are a meeting planner, event planner or otherwise, you need to pay attention as well, you need to test your equipment.  I was recently at an event as a featured speaker and due to my experience in that area I was able to lend a hand when it came to the equipment that was being used by the facility and the speakers.  I should not have had to take the time to do this as any well respected meeting location should have all of your audio visual needs well in hand.  As speakers, it is your responsibility as well to be familiar with your own equipment and be prepared for any glitches that may occur.  if you are using Mac vs. PC you should be prepared with the proper adapters.  If you put your slide deck on a thumb drive make sure it is the most updated etc.  Be prepared as a speaker and if you own a facility, make sure your familiar with the equipment.  It makes a better experience for the people that are attending, the speakers that need to use your facility and will result in repeat business.  My best advice for you and your equipment?  Test.

Tags: technology, conventions, trade shows, meetings, meeting planners, event planners, conference planners, seminars

I was just sent an unsolicited email from a group called Scan IT which is a company that sells software for a business card scanner.  The software is nothing really new and many companies offer this as a service.  My friend Allen Stern has a company like that called Cloud Contacts.  In addition we have featured a company here that eliminates business cards in a sense at a trade show or conventions or any other meeting.  All-in-all, we need to get in touch with each other which is the focus behind this post.  The email I refer to had this statement:

According to a 2008 study by the Aberdeen Group, a global technology research firm, 28% of tradeshow leads NEVER GET A FOLLOW-UP. Without that follow-up, you are leaving a lot of business on the table.

This means that nearly one of three business cards that are given to someone at a trade show as a business lead are actually used later.  I think that this is a bad business practice if you are attending something that is going to give your business.  I am also thinking that this is not a very "green" way of handling the number of business cards that are handed out.  I am looking at a box I have of cards that are not entered into a database or any other database.

In today’s economy, leads are the gold standard of any business.  A single business card from the right person could generate a year’s worth of sales for some businesses.  That is a scary thought if you throw away one in three of those cards.  It’s like playing the lottery and throwing away one in three tickets.  Is that the way you do business?  I would suggest that everyone have a way to get that information on a business card into a database of some sort.  It could be that sale or that customer, or better yet that perfect job you were looking for in the world.

Tags: Business Cards, Contacts, Trade Shows, Conventions, Green Practices, Databases

I was doing quite a bit of travel over the last 10 days, in fact, I think I have done about 5 cities in about 10 days. One of the things that seems to weighing heavily on the minds of those that are traveling is the swine flu.  I have seen many with hand sanitizer and some with masks on as they go from city to city.  This is also a concern for the trade show and convention industry.  Whenever you get people coming from all walks of life and gathering in a room, you get a much larger chance of contracting the illnesses we all seem to bring to the table.

I guess I am sort of used to the idea that I live in a virus farm like I do having four kids all with sniffling and sneezing and nose running. To illustrate I get back today for the first time after traveling and I end up in the doctor’s office with my oldest daughter and lo and behold, we now have a case of strep throat in our household.  That alone makes me want to get back on the road.  My next trip is going to be a great one and I am not really wanting to do it while being sick.  More to come on that later but I must say my request seems to have been answered with someone wanting me to go to Hawaii with them!

Be careful out there and don’t forget to wash your hands, use hand sanitizer and stay away from pigs with the flu!

Tags: swine flu, travel, conventions, trade shows, meetings, events, conferences, conventions

I continue to hear more and more doom and gloom from the trade show and convention people.  Exhibit space is not being bought, companies are pulling back their participation and it doesn’t stop there.  Attendance is continuing to slide.  Trade Show Week provides a few numbers from Las Vegas:

Convention attendance in Las Vegas dove 35 percent in February, compared with the same month a year ago. Figures released by the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority indicate about 300,000 fewer people attended tradeshows, conventions and business meetings in February, compared with a year ago. For the month, total visitor volume to Las Vegas was down 8 percent and the average room rate was down 23 percent, to $99.25.

Ouch.  The numbers continue to drop, but the good news is, at some point it has to go back up.  We continue to hear about the bad news on the traditional and mainstream media, but I am also hearing that numbers are not quite as bad as people think.  Companies are continuing to drop their budgets, but the economy is staying mostly flat.  I think once we begin to find out that it is not quite as bad as it seemed, we will see people gearing up again for the next season.  Unfortunately for some it may be already too late.  We here are keeping fingers crossed and we are continuing to keep our eye on the prize.

I have been trying to put up with the fact that it is like the North Pole here in Denver today and all the world has come to a screeching halt due to the blizzard we are dealing with here. 

It is not a normal storm we are getting but the one that we call the Blizzard of [add year here].  I can remember the 32 or so inches we received in 1982, and the march storm we received in as close to now as 2006, and today we have 2009.  I yearn for a convention that I must attend in Orlando or perhaps Miami, or even Mexico.  Any takers out there?  Feel like meeting me at your venue for a quick interview?  No really you want to?

Tags: Denver, Blizzard, Conventions, Trade Shows, Miami, Orlando

I wrestled for a while about how to write that title, but I picked the best one I could muster given the fact that I wanted to get the info out as soon as I could. Reading through my news in the convention and trade show arena, I found out that Shelly Justice was named in the top 25 entrepreneurs in Catalyst Magazine!  A well deserved award I have no doubt. 

The reason I was most interested in Justice and her group at Convention Models and Talent (CMT) for their role in the social media world.  Justice has a company blog and you can even follow her and some of her talent on Twitter!  Many companies are adopting this type of marketing and of course Conventions.net has made blogging and other forms of social media a part of their own mission for its customers. 

Congratulations to Shelly and her award from the magazine, but I also want to personally thank them for using some of the tools available to them online. I am now following Shelly on Twitter and I hope to perhaps get a chance to chat with her about her business.  Perhaps I can give her a tip or two about this world of blogging and how they can use this blog to its best benefit.  My only advice now is to see what they have to offer!