I was talking about BYOD and the attachment for the audio visual portion of a slide show, and it made me think of "BYOB" or "Bring Your Own Beer."  In the trade show and convention industry a corkage fee represents the fee paid to the facility where your event is held, for the money that they lose by not being able to sell their own goods. In other words, if you have a sponsor that is providing free beer to your attendees, you must pay a fee for each beer given out "free" to the event facility.  They would normally be able to sell that concession to your attendees and because you are giving away something for nothing that they would make money on, you must compensate them.

This can get pretty ridiculous in my opinion as you get a large number of giveaways.  If you have an event that has a number of exhibitors giving away bottled water or refreshments or samples of their products, you can have a very large corkage bill that is paid to the event facility. 

This is not just limited to drinks given away or bottled water, but free samples of food and snacks as well. If you wanted to give a cookie to each of your visitors at the booth you are working, you would have to pay a percentage of the value of that cookie to the facility.  Yes, the house must get their "cut".  I can certainly see both sides of this issue and it may be a controversial payment to the facility, but when you are stopped from bringing doughnuts to your speakers in the speaker ready room because you have not paid your corkage it can get a little crazy.  Be sure you check to see if a corkage fee is charged before you decide to have a cool giveaway.

Tags: corkage fee, BYOB, conventions, trade shows, giveaways, promotional products, free samples

One of the things that I have tried to do this year is to hydrate more.  I know that all the experts tell us to drink 8 ounces of water at a time and that we should drink like a hundred of those an hour, okay I’m kidding, but it’s tough to always be near a watering hole.  I wanted to make sure I got this post up because this is an issue with some conferences, they don’t provide enough ways to stay hydrated.

One thing I certainly noticed at our most recent event in Vegas was the number of parties that took place. Parties mean drinking alcohol and staying up late and that all equals a recipe for needs to hydrate to get over the party flu.  If you have an event, it is important that you give the attendees ways to get back on their feet.  Places like Las Vegas that sit in the middle of the desert are even more at risk for poor hydration.  Put plenty of tables with bottled water, or in our case, we set up portable drinking fountains.  Attendees were able to walk by and grab a water bottle or a cup of water when they had it handy.  It makes for a healthier attendee and that means they come away with a better experience and the chance to attend the next time.

Tags: Conventions, Trade Shows, Water, Concessions

I want to let everyone know why I have been absent for a while from the blog.  I have been in complete trade show and convention mode for the last 6 weeks and it has been quite an experience.  I talk about a lot of things that are part of our industry, such as travel, meeting venues and trade shows that are occurring but never have I given real life experiences that I have had.  That all can change now as I went through that process last week in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  We had a three day conference with a two day full on exhibited trade show at that location and I was in the heart of the show and its inner workings.  I have much to discuss as it relates to the real inside of a trade show and convention.  There were some good, bad and ugly stories and I want to share all of those with you.

I had to deal with vendors, exhibitors, speakers, attendees, location managers, and staff and everyone else involved with the show. From the planning to the inner workings, to the post show analysis debriefing I was involved from start to finish.  The good news is I have been invited back to do it all again next year, and for some that might even be bad news.

I want to thank the folks at Conventions.net for giving me the latitude for some real inside research and participation.  I am hoping to pass on some of that knowledge I learned, some funny stories, and perhaps a nightmare or two.  Stay tuned here as I go through the process.  I am afraid I still have one event left and that will be at the Marriott Waikiki in beautiful Hawaii.  It’s not a bad gig but still it is working on a conference and convention.

Tags: trade shows, conventions, Las Vegas Convention Center, LCVA, BlogWorld Expo, BWE09, Hawaii, Rethink Hawaii

I am now faced with my own trade show where I have an exhibit booth and trying to figure out what is the best branded object to give to those attendees that are interested in my service or product.  As a background, I provide a service to companies and not necessarily a product so I am unable to give away my own products as a try before you buy.  I am one of a few companies in the country that provides the service so it’s not like I am trying real hard to distinguish myself from the competition in that regard.

I am limited on a budget and the number of giveaways should be about half the projected attendees of 4000.  I figure that I won’t give one to every attendee and and certainly will only se about 1/2 at the most pass by my booth.  I am limited on a budget so I am hoping to spend less than about $1000 for the idea.  I have been to a number of branded giveaway sites and we have actually featured on the sites I visited. 

My question to myself is given the background of what I have for a budget and the background of what I am trying to accomplish, what is the best product to give away?  I have written before about a lip balm that was given to me and I remembered the company that gave that as I carried it around in my pocket for a few days and it was etched in my memory.  I also like the mint tins that are giveaways.  My kids love when I bring home stress balls, and little flashlights and those types of things so I am stumped.  What is the best selling products, not based on overall sales, but because it is an item that is remembered and is not going to break the bank.  My call to the companies that are selling promotional products, can you help me and the many that are like me?  What do you suggest?

Photo via Marco Promotional Products

Tags: promotional products, trade shows, conventions, giveaways, exhibitors, exhibit booths

Now I am going out on a limb here to make the offer just that much better.  If you sign up for the Annual Premium Listing before the deadline on Friday I will feature you and your company here on Convention Insider!  Shhh, don’t tell the boss, he doesn’t have a clue that I am offering this but if you read it here and sign up for the offer, just drop me a line and I will make sure you get included on the blog as an added bonus. Okay here endeth the pitch. Tags: Conventions.net, Online Marketing, Trade Shows, Conventions, Meetings, Events

The whole world is getting into the social networking business.  Yes, even the trade show and convention industry is not immune from being caught up in the idea.  This week we are featuring a company that makes networking for the convention, conference meeting or trade show and event business easy and affordable for organizers.  I had a chance to sit down with the a founder at Eventscope. Eventscope is a UK based company that has taken the networking we normally get when attending an event to the next level and beyond.  With the companies like Facebook, Twitter, NING and all the other social sites all taking off this company is offering up some groundbreaking technology all of us should be looking into for our next event.

I had a chance to talk a bit about this cool new application with one of its founders, Hetty Browne, (pictured right).  I loved that this concept was started while her and Ewan MacLeod were sitting eating pizza.  This is the perfect application to be born out of a situation such as chatting over pizza which is what the ultimate social experience.  After speaking to Hetty, they are working now to move their online application to the next level by offering it here in the United States as well.

In our industry of trade shows and conventions we always talk about the face to face experience and how we can get the most from the networking opportunities.  This new and exciting application let’s you network both prior to the event, during the event, and long after the event is done.  I always talk about how hard it is to handle all of those business cards I get, that messy pile of contacts I have on my office floor right now as a matter of fact, and this company eliminates that problem.  I could go on about how much more that is environmentally better than business cards.

This application can also take your branding to the next level as they have the ability to be flexible with your setup.  Think about your other marketing efforts when using this application and how it can help.  They can assist in that area as well.  You can sell branded spots in the system which will help you pay for their service which I think I told them was not nearly enough of a charge.  They are quick to get you set up and can make life easier for your networking needs.

I suggest that you check out their live online demo for a better understanding of how their system works.  They have a long list of clients and I recommend that you get added to list soon!  Don’t only take my word for it, others also have chimed in.

Tags: Eventscope, Hetty Browne, Ewan MacLeod, Social Netorking, Trade Shows, Convnetions, Events, Meetings, Meeting Planners, Event Organizers

I have been meaning to talk about this since January.  I travel to Las Vegas on a number of occasions throughout the year.  Las Vegas if you have been there can be a dry climate area.  Same with Arizona’s climate and I was there this last weekend. I always have need for lip balm in these areas.  Where do I always get my lip balm?  I get it from events I attend.

This is just a small example of how a promotional product can play into your marketing plan when setting out a strategy to get the most bang for your buck when talking to attendees at your event.  I have been carrying around a lip balm cartridge for a month or more from when I was at a Las Vegas event in January.  It just ran out and I am at another event right now in San Francisco and I can’t seem to fin anther exhibitor that has this as a give away marketing product.  I think I should talk to one of our sponsors to talk to some of these exhibitors.  What do you give away at your trade show booth.  Does it have your logo on it and is it something I carry around in my pocket a month or two?  That is a great branding tool and should be considered when you decide to give away a cool product that others can use.  Now where is that letter opener I need?

Tags: Promotional Products, Exhibitors, Trade Show Booths

I was just reading through Trade Show Week about the difficulty had by a trade show in Alberta, Canada called Rig Expo 2008. Apparently this show did not adhere to the build it and they will come idea. Approximately 60 exhibitors signed up to be a part of the expo that concentrates on the oil field industry. There were plenty of exhibitors but someone forgot to tell the attendees to show up. There were a number of reasons given for the lack of attendance at the show, but that does not take the sting out of the lost investment. The head of the show had anticipated 3,000 to 4,000 attendees and apparently that number shrunk to about 22 attendees in a four hour period. Ouch.

Unfortunately not a lot can be done for the people that paid that $2,500 price tag for a 10′ x 10′ booth. There really are no guarantees. Show organizer Paul Pearson said just this as his answer to the issue of paying back exhibitors:

“We rented the building, we advertised the show, we did everything we could,” he added. “You pay your money and take your chances.”

I’m trying to wrap my mind around the idea that the show organizers did not have a better idea of attendance. They apparently had no pre-sold tickets and had no idea if anyone would show up for the event. Something tells me that many exhibitors won’t be taking chances on this show in the future. I’m sure many of the exhibitors are now calling this the Rigged Expo.

How do you protect your investment? Go with an established show and if the show is not an established trade show, make sure that the people behind it have some good credentials. In this instance it looks as though many of the exhibitors believed the show to be a good one for them invest in and attend.

Michael Hart, Editor-in-Chief at Trade Show Week also touched upon this same problem in his blog post titled “Living With Green Fatigue” as he describes:

The show manager of this launch, designed to market – and stop me if you’ve heard this one before – eco-friendly products and services, had optimistically projected 250 exhibitors and 2,000 attendees.

Our contributing editor Lisa Plummer counted 40 booths and, while the show’s manager claimed he had 350 pre-registered attendees, Lisa said there may have been 15 at the most on the showfloor during the time she was there.

Another example of a show that had some lofty numbers projected and came nowhere near those projections. Those exhibitors also must have felt the sting of not having attendees to show their wares. Hart seems to imply that the reason for the poor attendance is the fact that there are far too many “green” type trade shows on the market. If that is the case, then I suppose it is the fault of the exhibitor for making a bad choice of shows. That can be a hard pill to swallow, and makes it tough for new trade shows to get the establishment they need to get sponsors and exhibitors.

A friend of mine in the trade show industry helps manage the AWFS or better known as the Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers and their trade show that is scheduled to take place July 15-18, 2009 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  I went over to see their web site, and noticed something I had never seen before, Belt Sander Racing.

Yes BSRA, the NASCAR of woodworking apparently and according to the information given on the site:

AWFS^®Fair, Accuride and the Belt Sander Racing Association present “BSRA’s Big Event.” Racing enthusiasts compete on a 75-foot long wooden track with their “customized belt sander racing machines.” All AWFS^® Vegas participants will receive complimentary tickets, but SEATING IS LIMITED, and this exciting event promises to draw a crowd, so you’ll want to get to the track early!

Now that is a trade show I could get into attending.  Nothing like a room full of power tools and some sawdust to get your machismo rate up.  They even had Richard Karns who played Al Borland the sidekick to Tim “The Toolman” Taylor as a host last year. The show took place last year for the first time in Las Vegas, which is another feather in the cap of the LVCVA.  The show only takes place every other year but I wonder if they will have the Belt Sander races again? 

I have been spending a lot of time lately speaking to and interviewing some of the leaders in our industry of conventions and trade shows and I will be doing a series of posts to reveal the results of those interviews and discussions.  One of the things that seems to occur to me after speaking to these industry leaders is that there seems to be a shift in what is the norm in trade shows and conventions and how they are being handled.  I have heard tell of new technologies being used, new players in the old world of how things were done and show managers that are seeking new ways to plan events and shows.  One thing is certain, there will be some benefit to the show exhibitors and attendees based on the changes I have seen in little areas.  Stay tuned for more information as I get all my notes together and get my posts completed.

If you would like to be featured as a thought leader in the industry or if you are doing things in the convention or trade show industry that you feel is revolutionizing the way we do business, please feel free to drop us a line or use the contact section to let us know about you.  I’ll be contacting many others to find ways to reveal what is happening in the world we live in.