I talked about it becoming convention season in the last post and that means it is back to setting up and tearing down your exhibit booth space.  If you are a small business it means probably getting the most bang for your buck in the area of a display that is easy to set up can be done with only one person and can be checked in as luggage when you travel.  I have been looking around recently at some of the display companies because I too will be needing to get a display booth that is for people on the move.

I spend about one week a month in the first six month of the season going to a couple of large shows and then a few small events and then a final large one before going in to work mode.  I am always looking for ease of use.  There are many companies out there that offer a portable display that is easy to set up and can make your company look professional and certainly won’t break the bank.  In today’s economy, the latter part of that equation is a must.  You can’t spend a whole bank account of your marketing budget only to not be able to recover that cost on the road.  I am actually in the market for a portable display that will fit nicely and look professional in the 10 x 10 booth space or in the corner of a small event.  Portable displays are a great asset and if you find a company that provide this service let me know I would love to speak to them.

I am not sure if that is the case for all of you, but when my kids head back to school, it means I need to gear up for my own convention season.  Many of my conventions in the social media world begin in the fall and run through to the beginning of summer again.  I am not sure if this is a trend in all of the convention world, but it seems to make sense that while we parents are freed from our kids being under foot during summer we get back into the swing of conventions.  My kids finally go back to school today and I for one am looking forward to freedom of herding them, keeping them entertained, and trying to make sure they are not playing in traffic.

My first convention I will be attending this year is in Vegas and in fact I will be an exhibitor and a speaker, and I am actually helping run a track about non-profits and causes in the social media world.  Stay tuned as I get ready for that to kick off and you will be hearing more about what I have in store for that show in Las Vegas in October.  I have some smaller events that I am going to be attending and some I will be speaking at and will report my progress as we get back into the swing of convention season.  In the meantime, parents be happy those kids are headed back to school!

Photo via Avolore

What is co-location of conferences?  We know that co-location is defined as:  “to locate together; especially : to place (two or more units) close together so as to share common facilities.”  This is provided by Merriam-Webster, but what does it actually mean to us in the conference world?  To me it has a few messages.

Spreading out costs: I think one of the main points in today’s economy is that it allows a conference to partner with another conference to share in the costs of the facility or other costs.  If you have two companies that might have somewhat differing agendas but might share the same attendees, they can both share in the cost of the rental of the facility or the other costs that might be associated with putting on the event.  This also means of course that you would have to also share in the revenue of the attendees tickets and perhaps some of the sponsors but that is to be expected when dealing with partners.

Markets Join Forces: Many companies join together for a common purpose.  This is not much different from conferences joining together for a common purpose.  It may be that a single conference does not have the amount of content to support a full conference but if they joined with another conference that might also be too small to support a full conference, together they could make a full conference agenda of speakers and exhibitors for a better conference experience.

Management is Distributed: In some cases the companies that are putting on the events are too small but if they joined forces they could spread out the amount of work necessary.  perhaps Company A wil be in charge of the front facing marketing promotion and sales, while company B is responsible to the back end management of registrations, exhibit booth set up, housing and speakers.  With two companies each taking on all of the responsibilities necessary it spreads out the work load making it easier to accomplish all that needs done.

These are just a few of the simple ideas behind why conferences are co-located.  I know that we are beginning to see more and more of this as economic factors make it necessary to join forces and allow for more people to participate in attending conferences as well as managing them.  Are you a co-located conference manager?  Why are you co-locating?  What are some of the downfalls of co-locating conferences?  Would love to hear your thoughts.

The catch to the title of this post is ironic.  I am attending some interviews of some key figures and players in the industry at the TS2 conference but I am not actually in Boston.  I am in the comfort of my own office from Colorado.  I did the same thing yesterday as the crew in the Boston Convention Center put together an online stream of the convention floor called #InZone.  That is the hashtag that is being used on Twitter and across the online world.  You can follow along with what is happening on Twitter and online if you choose.  The link for that may change and be inoperable but if you see it today you may still have time.

The online presence is being sponsored by the folks over at The Expo Group and my friend Dana Freker Doody is helping put that on.  It is how I heard of its existence.  She reached out to her community and told all of us that it existed. The other sponsors to the event include the MCCA, 3DMedia, Emilie Barta, CORT, IEP, and Digitell.  All of them put this together to make it a great experience.  I will talk about this more and perhaps even get an interview after the show is over with Dana Doody about the post show recap.

Canceling an event that never seems to get off the ground can be a difficult decision.  There are many things that go into making that decision, be it sponsorships that are on the fence, and attendees coming on board or speakers that will make or break both of the foregoing.  I was watching around the Internet this weekend and noticed that a recent tech event in Italy was canceled by organizers here in the United States.  It was not a great story to read as I too have been part of a failed conference and it was a difficult time for all.  There are sponsors to answer to and their are attendees to work out issues with and finally making things right for speakers that are making commitments can be a hassle.  All-in-all, I don’t wish a failed event on anyone.

When is it time to call it quits or when is the time for that pass fail grade for your event?  For many it seems to revolve around money.  If an event does not get the number of attendees for their needs to pay hotels and facilities, the answer is simple.  You cancel the event by necessity since the money is no t in the bank to support the event.  Some sponsors want certain criteria to be met before they will provide the check for the vent and if that does not happen, that too is a trigger to call it quits.  In this particular instance it seems that a combination of money and logistics caused the event to fail.  They had to cancel the location of the event as the hotel required a deposit that was not paid and they themselves pulled the rug out for organizers. This is very unfortunate as there are tales now of attendees showing up for an event and not having the event take place.

I am also disturbed by organizers that are putting together events and have no intention of having the event take place.  I have heard of some fraud going on in our industry and that is very disturbing.  Making exhibitors pay for booths and sponsors to pay for sponsorship of events and when the time comes for the convention or conference to take place the organizers are no place to be found.  This is a practice that seems to give us all a black eye.  When is the best time to cancel an event?  My hope is never.

I have been traveling around the state of Colorado for the past week and most of the time has been spent in the high country of places like Vail, Aspen, and Steamboat Springs.  These are normally known here in Colorado as Ski Country USA.  At this time of year however there is no skiing going on when the heat reaches temperatures in the summer of more than 80 degrees.  That may not sound hot but when Denver and Grand Junction on either side of the mountains is in the 100 degree area, the mountains are normally 20 degrees cooler.  This can help you beat the heat when you want to plan an outside event or an event where you can enjoy the out doors.

Vail, Colorado is a relatively new town having only been conceived in 1966 after the ski area opened in 1962.  My grandparents purchased 65 acres f land on the North side of the highway that ran through the valley in the 60′s and I had an opportunity to see the Vail Valley grow into what it has become today, an oasis in the rocky mountains where celebrities come to be seen, where skiers come to learn their craft and where events occur year round for corporate retreats, meetings over every kind and even a trade show or two.

If you are planning a conference in the summer and want to find a way to beat the heat and everyday look and feel of a conference in the big city, try thinking about having your show in the mountains of Colorado.  Vail has everything the big city has, airport access, restaurants, conference centers, and also something the city might not have in the summer, cooler temperatures!

[photo via Wikimedia Commons]

I was reading Rachel Wimberly over at Trade Show Network News about the latest in the meetings industry.  A study was done by the Professional Conventions Management Association, American Express, and the PMCA Education Foundation where they surveyed 505 professional meeting planners.  The results revealed that their was in an increase of 15% more meetings booked in 2010 from 2009 and 24% more meeting booked for 2011 over 2010.  It seems that we are climbing out of the economic hardships that the meeting industry has see over the last few years.  This seems to be a trend in other industries as well.

Deborah Sexton was quoted in the article as stating:

“While it’s been a difficult 18 months for our industry, I’m encouraged to see both actual business, as well as business sentiment improving,” said Deborah Sexton, PCMA’s president and CEO. “There continues to be caution in budgets and cost controls, which is to be expected, but if we can stay on this positive trend path there are certainly brighter days ahead for meetings.”

It appears that their is still caution going forward with the meeting industry and companies are not booking at places such as resorts and cruise ships like they once did in previous years.  This is not surprising as the industry begins to creep out of its shell.  Hotels saw the most increase of bookings in the meeting industry as they are a safe investment for any companies out there.  They tend to see the benefits first when a change occurs.

I have been wanting to get to Comic-Con out in San Diego for a number of years now and I was thinking that this would be my year, but alas it appears that the show has once again sold out.  A month away from the ever popular event in San Diego, and I was thinking I could perhaps get in as press to cover the event and that is almost tougher to accomplish than to buy a regular ticket. The event is now closed to any press requests as well.

This from their press room:

The 41st Annual Comic-Con International event will be held at the San Diego Convention Center from July 22 – 25 with a preview night on July 21. The event is SOLD OUT. Comic-Con International 2010 Press Registration is NOW CLOSED. There will be NO on-site press registration.

While I would love to go to the event it would probably prove impossible to find a place to stay or a place to hang my hat for the event.  As I have written in the past about Comic-Con and San Diego, it is the toughest ticket in town to get as far as the San Diego Conventions Center is concerned!  I wonder if my friends and clients over at Graphic.ly could get me in?  They would probably just make me work!  Maybe if I found my costume and showed up as my superhero self…

Tradition – Webster’s tells us it is:

1 a : an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom) b : a belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable 2 : the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction 3 : cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions.  It’s something we all look forward to and can count on.

This is exactly how you want people to look at your next trade show or convention.  You want people to count on it year after year so that they make their reservation early and make them every year.  Yours needs to be the first thing they tell their peers that they should attend.  These three tips should make it a convention that is a tradition every year.

• Location – The location of your event is crucial to it being a tradition.  If you have an event every year at a different location it cannot become the go to event everyone looks forward to attending.  I love to hear “I will see you this year in Vegas?” That means they are already thinking of your event and when they give the location where they will see you next it means they are locked in to attending.
• Timing – Having your event every year at the same time makes it a tradition that everyone will remember. I go every year to SXSW in Austin, Texas in the Spring.  I know it is in the Spring because they call it “Spring Break For Geeks”.  I also know that every year they have it in Austin and I can count on making arrangements a year in advance.  I know I will be doing that event in the springtime.
• Program – Having the same type of program year after year allows you to make it a tradition for your speakers and exhibitors and your sponsors.  They love things that they can plan on and love it even more when you make it easy for them to stay in a groove so they can see what works best for them.  Stay with a program of breakout sessions and other typical actions of your event.

These tips will allow your event to become a tradition in your industry.  Becoming a tradition is crucial to making your event a success both financially and in the eyes of attendees, exhibitors and sponsors.  In a sense that makes it cyclical which is also somewhat of a tradition.

[photo via acameronhuff]

I spent most of yesterday out in the beauty of the wild, and some of it was even outdoors and not in the minivan with the kids as we celebrated Father’s Day in Estes Park, Colorado.  I took the shot here as we headed home from a day in the sun and fun.  As we drove along Colorado Highway 7 and at the base of Rocky Mountain National Park and the ever omniscient Long’s Peak I noticed a few conference centers on the route. The highway we were traveling on goes right through the heart of Roosevelt National Park and has breathtaking views.

There are many great locations for corporate retreats and places to get away from the normal grind of convention centers and hotels and regular meeting venues in big cities.  Places like Estes Park, Colorado thrive on summer vacation tourism and the shops and restaurants have their busy season and down time.  They are also finding a way to bring people in to have meetings and corporate retreats.

The Estes Park Conference Center we drove by had a sign out front for a quilting convention and I was not as quick on the draw for getting that picture but you can go to their site and see all they have to offer.  If you have an opportunity to help out a small mountain town like those in and around Estes Park, tell them Jim sent you.  In any case, try to have your next meeting in a place of beauty!