I recently read through Rachel Wimberly’s blog post A Show Floor With Style and Flavor and had an idea or two myself. Wimberly states:

I’ve been to shows where I thought it didn’t work. For example, at ASAE & The Center for Assn. Leadership’s meeting last year at Chicago’s McCormick Place, the showfloor was only open for a few short hours, and lunch was served at exactly the same time.

Obviously, the planners at these conventions were not thinking or planning with the exhibitors in mind. I think that a separate planning stage needs to be planned for the exhibitor and show floor in mind. How can we get the attendees to funnel through the exhibitors so they can garner more leads? This should be part of every planners agenda. In the above instance, the main time period for the exhibitors to show their wares was during the lunch hour. When lunch is served people are not looking forward to hitting the booths, at least I’m not I would rather listen to my stomach.

Rachel goes on to give a better example:

Secondly, Richard Harper, Mandalay’s vice president of sales and marketing, said they made a distinct choice to go with a higher-end food product that was served in stands dotted here and there right on the showfloor. People ate and mingled and raved about the food, which included gourmet sandwiches and exotic salad selections. I, for one, happily ate my way though the exhibits.

This is an example of thinking through what was necessary to get the 4300 attendees to pay attention to the exhibit booths and reward them for so doing. Planners must make these types of adjustments to make sure their exhibitors can justify the huge expenses laid out for the booths. This will also help you sale return exhibitors for the next show you host.

I think that if you make the exhibition floor rewarding to the attendees it would be a benefit. In fact I recently attended a convention where they played bingo for prizes. if attendees would get stamped from each vendor they had a chance to win prizes. Some of the prizes were awesome, think 50″ plasma TV. I also like the idea of food and mingling. Why not had food stations next to the exhibitor or perhaps even better the beer! What is your idea for getting people to participate in the show floor? I would love to share your ideas on Convention Insider.

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I am about to make my way out to the Las Vegas Convention Center again for an annual blogging conference I am a sponsor of and will be speaking at in September. I was interested to read over at Tradeshow Week that the Las Vegas Convention Center is not getting the changes that were slated in its growth. They state:

Citing current economic conditions, a Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority spokesman said some renovations of the Las Vegas Convention Center have been put on hold. The previously planned renovations that involved the North and Central halls and meeting rooms will continue with a projected 2011 completion date and a cost of $395 million, according to LVCVA spokesman Jeremy Handel. The second and third phases of the renovations have been postponed.

I have reported here many times about the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Las Vegas Convention Center Authority and how they have captured some of the largest conventions i the world. They have a huge impact on the economy of Las Vegas and it is difficult to image that they would be having difficulty with expansion. This is another indicator that perhaps we are in a slow down in our economy of the trade show and convention business. When powerhouse locations such as this are taking stock and cutting back and tightening their belt, it must be true.

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I get a newsletter from the folks over at Skyline Exhibits and one of their articles caught my eye recently. The article mentions that Tradeshow Week had done a survey about the drayage and labor costs so I went on over to check it out. I won’t recap the findings, but what Skyline indicates is that the labor costs as provided in the survey are not quite as steep a climb as those of 2007.

What was interesting was that the highest gain in costs were audio-visual costs and security. This is an obvious trend with the technology changing the way that it has and how people are using that technology, but I also wonder what the security issues are that warrant those higher costs? I guess people have to guard against theft of that technology!

We hear nothing but gloom and doom in many industries right now and apparently convention and trade shows are not impervious to those reports. The full report* by Skyline can be followed to their site.

*”Used by permission of Skyline Exhibits.”

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I was reading about my friend Aaron Brazell and his thoughts on attending conferences and how we can make them a little more eco-friendly just by changing our habits and what we normally do like taxis, and our linens in our hotels and even so much as not to attend the conference in person and perhaps attend the conference online or in the back channel. It was this last idea that had me thinking about what conference planners and others are doing to help make their conference and trade show easier to attend and more eco-friendly.

I was thinking of the number of conferences I attend each year and the amount of travel I have with all the other things Aaron discusses with leaving that carbon footprint. I would love to see more conventions and trade shows make available online their conventions and meetings and seminars. I have attended conventions through the use of live streaming, where I had a chance to see a speaker that used their laptop to broadcast the presentation.

I know that as a convention center, being more “green” is important as I found out in Portland when speaking to them. many convention centers are trying to find ways to be more eco-friendly. I heard recently that the swag given away at one conference was being “recycled” which is a trend that I have heard from other organizers.

What are the things you are seeing at conventions and trade shows to make them more eco-friendly?

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I had the opportunity to sit down and speak to Renee Jain (pictured left) of ICC Rents to discuss a little about what their company does and what they offer to convention, trade show and event planners.  ICC Rents began as a family owned business as the vision of Ganpat “Jim” Jain, Renee’s father, in Chicago in 1979. The company began as a computer rental company and has exploded into one of the top rental companies in the trade show world.  What was once only servicing the Chicago area and McCormick Place, now is nationwide and services all the major conventions centers from Orlando to Las Vegas to New York and L.A.  Renee can recall the business in her father’s den when they first started and talks about the long hours it took her father, and later her brother  Raj Jain, to build this business to its current state of a 24/7 full on customer service shop servicing the nation with over 100 employees.

ICC Rents is a company that can provide all of your technology needs from a laptop for your tradeshow booth to that 103″ Plasma TV or seamless Video Wall.  They provide all the back end support as well.  Once you rent a component, you can rest assured that it will be at your show, on time, working, and will be backed by support should anything go wrong.  They have touch screen monitors, interactive kiosks and just about anything that will set your tradeshow booth apart from the competition.  They can help get you noticed on the show floor.

I asked the simple question of “why can’t I just buy a television from the local store and use it?”  She was well prepared with a response and raised many questions I had not thought of, like extension chords, cables, set up and delivery, and many other reasons why renting is a smart investment for using a company like ICC Rents to handle your needs.  Technology becomes obsolete, many pieces of equipment break down and many other reason why having a support team is important in renting the proper equipment.  There are many hidden costs that she discussed as well.  They are truly knowledgeable in the industry and have become quite trusted in more areas than just for a tradeshow.  They have corporate clients that use their services as well for onsite training and setting up meeting and events.  I could not begin to cover all the areas where they can help you with your technology needs.

In addition, and because I am serial procrastinator, this statement she said stuck in my mind:

“We are the last minute provider” ~ Renee Jain

What she meant is that many people forget about something like a required hard case for that 50″ plasma TV for their wall, or they forget that they needed a wall mount for that television or of a cable needed to make it work. When this happens they can be there immediately to cure any forgotten item or to make sure your trade show booth comes off without a hitch.  I think am going to put that number in my pocket for my future trip to Vegas in September as chances are I’ll need it.  With 24/7 service such as theirs, I can rest easy because we all know I’ll forget something.  They can help.

ICC Rents handles any type of tradeshow and not just the technical market.  Everyone is needing technology to catch attention of convention attendees and tradeshow attendees.  She mentioned the bridal industry and agricultural industries and many other areas where technology can enhance your tradeshow experience and produce more leads.

Back in March of 2008, ICC Rents was merged with Smart Source Rentals, a powerful partner that has taken their service and their ability to service trade shows and conventions to the next level.  Give ICC Rents a call for your needs, be it a computer laptop to a wall mounted television to an interactive kiosk.  Tell them Convention Insider sent you!

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I’m here in Seattle this week presenting at a conference on business blogging. It seems that I have been doing a large amount of traveling recently. This trend continues as it looks like i will be traveling to Miami in December to present on a panel at the IAEE about using social media to promote your trade show or convention. This is becoming a more popular way of promoting conventions, events and trade shows. People are using applications like blogging, YouTube, and other web applications that are consider social media tools. I’ll be talking with other industry leaders in the social media field on the panel to discuss how you can promote a convention or trade show using the tools available. Lots of convention and event planners are scrambling to get the upper hand in getting attendees and exhibitors to learn more about their event and the facilities where there event will be held. It should be a well attended session.

The event in December is well known to industry people involved in conventions and trade shows. The International Association of Exhibitions and Events Expo Expo is set to be held on December 9-11, 2008 in Miami, Florida at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Registration is set to open August 4, 2008. This is one of the largest events or the convention industry and if you decide to go, look me up! I’ll be looking for you too.

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Last weekend we continued to hear how the Pepsi Center here in Denver was handing over the keys to the facility to the Democratic National Committee to begin preparations on the Democratic National Convention scheduled to begin on August 25, 2008. Stories of 160 miles of new cable to be installed, lights, cameras, and other things being added.  This morning the local news is reporting that the committee has announced that the acceptance speech of Barack Obama for the nomination of the democratic ticket for President will be held at Invesco Field at Mile High .  The officials indicate that those that want to attend the acceptance speech will be given special “community credentials” to attend.  As the time gets closer to the event the details will be provided.

Invesco Field is a relatively new stadium replacing the old Mile High Stadium where the Denver Broncos played for many years.  They have many of the latest features that are available to the newest of stadiums.  You can get some information for your event if you want to book a space at the facility including the visitors locker room, and other places in the stadium.  They have weddings, proms and other events held here throughout the year when they are not hosting the sports teams that use the field.  This is turning out to be quite a big deal for the people here in Colorado and the Denver Metro area.  Apparently, Barack Obama really wants to win Colorado as a swing state and is pulling out all of the stops.  To give some equal billing, John McCain is stopping in Denver today as well, but the big news is Obama is looking for some Mile High magic.

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I have been following along with the news of what is happening in the Democratic National Convention and a story that is catching a few links is a story by Leslie Wayne of the New York Times. Apparently, the Coors Brewing Company here in the Golden, Colorado has been brewing beer and changing the unsatisfactory stuff and that not fit to sell into ethanol. This ethanol is used in GM cars that operate on E85 fuel. I am not saying that Coors makes bad beer, heck I was brought up on the beer living here in the Denver area. Coors is an icon business here in rockies. Leslie explains more about what will be going on with the beer and how it will be used:

The happy cars getting an injection of beer in their tanks are to be provided by General Motors, designated as the convention’s “Official Vehicle Provider.” G.M., a major sponsor at both conventions, will be showing off its fleet of cars with biofuel capabilities and hybrid technologies to lawmakers often been dubious about Detroit. A fleet of 400 G.M. cars will chauffeur around members of Congress, Democratic officials, state party leaders and other Democratic V.I.P.’s during the four-day extravaganza.

Coors has been a big part of the Denver area and is the title sponsor of the Colorado Rockies field in lower downtown. They are sponsoring the DNC as well. Apparently they are a large contributing sponsor of over $1 Million and are also providing beer for some of the hosted events throughout the 4 day period. I’m looking forward to covering the news that happens here in Denver for the Democratic national Convention. I’ll make sure you can read about the local scene here on Convention Insider.

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I apologize for the scarcity of posts last week as I had a really bad bug that had me wishing that I might be at an end for this world. Luckily, the antibiotics have now kicked in and my lungs are back in my chest and the golf balls I swallowed are no longer cutting off my air supply. In case you haven’t figured it out I had strep and bronchitis and was my whimpering self.

Now that I have had a chance to get back in the saddle, I found a cool blog that is offering to give a code for all of you travel enthusiasts that want to attend a free pass at the Adventure Travel Expo. All you have to do is leave a link of your travel website or of your travel blog and you can get a pass for the expo.

The expo is going to take place at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center on September 13-14, 2008. The web site explains the overview of the event:

The event gathers hundreds of captivating destinations from exotic India to captivating Cayman and exciting, activities: a huge scuba pool, kayak demonstrations, an aerial zip line, a rope adventure course, cultural performers and much more. ATE is THE place to kick off the winter blahs and plan that ultimate vacation.

Sounds like a great event and some dynamite speakers are slated to talk about their trade. This from the press release:

Sponsored by the area’s leading newspapers, The Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, organizers will leverage the very lucrative Seattle-Tacoma DMA. ”Seattle is one of the largest media markets in the country with a high income population that is very involved with outdoor and leisure activities,” stated John Golicz, Unicomm’s CEO. “This is a great opportunity for travel marketers to expand market share in Seattle which increasingly serves as a main gateway to the Asia/Pacific region and Canada as well as an emerging market for the Caribbean and Latin America.“

I’ll be in Seattle next week myself giving a presentation and I’ll hopefully get to report from the area and see if I can get an interview with someone perhaps at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center.

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I am an avid BBQ fanatic. In fact the title of this post is a bit misleading given the fact that I often barbecue here in Colorado while it is snowing. I actually had them make sure I had a gas line in the perfect spot when I had

my home built so that I could get to my grill quickly and use it often. Grilling is a part of our everyday life. As we made dinner I was inspired to check out the National BBQ Association and find out where they

would be holding their annual convention. Turns out they are headed to Texas!

The trade show is scheduled to take place in Austin, Texas on February 17-21, 2009. The theme for the event is awesome:

“BBQ, Brews and Blues in the Heart of Texas”

The theme makes me want to register today!

The City of Austin is the perfect place for the event, not only because of the fact that when you think Texas you think BBQ and in fact Austin is the Capital of Texas BBQ, but the City of Austin is known for its music scene and its famous night life. I just spent a few days in Austin in the Spring this year and I think it is the perfect location for the event.

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