Today, some people virtually refuse to be anywhere without a smartphone or other electronic device turned on and at hand. If they’re not texting or calling someone, they’re busy updating their Facebook page or playing an Internet game.  So, how do you get attendees to put away their toys and focus on your presentation?

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When you’re organizing an event, arranging accommodations for attendees is often a must. But with that task comes the risk of room attrition. Most hotels have an attrition clause, but many will waive it. In some cases, getting rid of the clause is a good idea; other times, it can prove disastrous. So, when should you keep the clause in place?

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Sometimes, what you say can be as important as what you do at work. Saying the right things can improve your professional image and help lead to a promotion. But saying the wrong things can damage — or even destroy — your chance for advancement. What are some things you should never, ever say at work — and why?

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The exhibit RFP (request for proposal) process can be detail-heavy and time-consuming. To simplify it, some people reuse an existing document. But they shouldn’t.

With a well-thought-out RFP and evaluation of responses, your odds of finding the right supplier — and getting the exhibit you want — go up exponentially.

Rich Gilligan, VP of marketing at TELUS International, explains how to make the process — from creating an RFP to establishing a relationship with your supplier — work for you.

eConnections: Why do we use RFPs to do business?

Rich Gilligan: Typically, an RFP is necessary because a contract runs out or has ended, and it’s company policy to go to bid. It’s usually not a lack of performance on either side; it’s cyclical.

But if an RFP is required due to lack of performance, there’s often an “out clause” included in the contract, stating that any time either party feels there’s a lack of performance on either side, the contract will end following a 45-day notice.

Another reason is because there’s new business not previously performed at the company, so a new supplier is needed.

eConnections: Should exhibit planners write their own RFPs?

Gilligan: I don’t think they should. It should be a collaborative effort with procurement. Exhibit planners have specific insight and expertise. They understand the details of what they are sourcing. But the procurement group understands terms and conditions, and they manage risk like the supplier’s intellectual property.

eConnections: So, who should lead the RFP team?

Gilligan: That depends on what you’re sourcing. For an exhibit, the exhibit planner is the leader 90 percent of the time. But if company management feels building the exhibit is purely a price decision, procurement takes the lead. Legal comes in further down the line, and insurance people may be involved.

eConnections: Why do some RFPs work while others don’t?

Gilligan: The ones that don’t work aren’t clear as to what you want and fail to articulate what is needed. To prepare an RFP that’s effective, you must understand the goals of the company’s exhibit program, what you’re trying to source and the quantitative information you need to make a decision.

eConnections: What are the elements of a good RFP?

Gilligan: First, find out the goals and what’s most important to the line of business the exhibit will be supporting. For instance, if the marketing people intend to close business deals in the exhibit, a well-thought-out request must include that information.

Also determine how the exhibit is going to be used. Will it be just for a big industry show? Or will it also be going to smaller shows with smaller footprints or serve multiple purposes over time? If it’s going to different venues, you’ll need the exhibit to be durable, light and something that can be set up by someone unfamiliar with setups.

eConnections: How do you structure the questions to get the answers you need?

Gilligan: Ask the groups what they hope to accomplish. Determine how long the exhibit should last, for an entire campaign or one big show. And find out about the decision criteria — price, quality or somewhere in the middle.

Write questions tailored to your industry; never recycle an old RFP for another industry, just to save time. And make sure your questions include the goals and concerns of everyone who touches what you’re sourcing. Since different lines of business may be sharing the booth, consider the needs of all these entities.

For example, procurement’s requirements are more around legalities and risk. They are the guardians of bigger company finances while the exhibit professional is in charge of the exhibit finances, so the final selection must fit into your budget.

eConnections: How many RFPs should you send out?

Gilligan: At most, I would say seven, but it would be better to send out only three or four. Why? It takes a lot of work for you to develop scorecards and review all the responses. If you send out too many RFPs, you won’t have the time to look at them closely.

When you send out the RFPs, include a set period of time for bidders to ask questions. Then, send all the questions and your answers to every bidder in a way that no one will know who asked what. Providing this information to everyone levels the playing field.

eConnections: How should you evaluate an RFP response?

Gilligan: Look for who’s on target and understands the questions. A supplier may want the work and skew its answers to what it can deliver, not what you’re looking for. Pay attention to these kinds of details.

eConnections: If you’re at the point where you think you’ve found the right supplier, how do you qualify it?

Gilligan: Do a Dunn and Bradstreet search on the supplier to make sure it’s stable. Find out its client base and the spread of business across the client base. How much of its business is with its biggest client? This is important for two reasons. One, if too much of its business relies on one account, you could take a backseat to that customer. And two, if something happens to this big client, the supplier — and consequently your exhibit program — could be in big trouble.

Also, ask the supplier for three accounts it’s lost and then talk to your counterpart at each of these companies about why the relationship ended. Based on the answers you get, you should have a pretty good idea whether this is the supplier for you.

eConnections: Isn’t it polite to contact the losing contenders to explain why they weren’t chosen?

Gilligan: Telling people they didn’t get a job can be uncomfortable, and though you may hesitate to contact them, you should. Your call is valuable to them, a learning experience. If you can’t handle contacting them, at least accept the losing bidders’ calls.

eConnections: How do you use the winning RFP to start or renew an exhibit house partnership?

Gilligan: Take it seriously from the beginning. If you provided accurate information, the supplier should be able to deliver everything you asked for and then some.

But remember, there’s a ramp-up period, and you need to stay involved in the process and be willing to meet in the middle.

Rich Gilligan has over 25 years of industry experience in the marketing and event management fields. His broad-based experience includes senior executive roles in the telecommunications and pharmaceutical industries. He currently holds the position of VP of marketing, TELUS International, a position he began in February 2013. Previously, Gilligan was global commodity expert, events and sponsorships for SAP, where he was responsible for the management of the global supplier base and the execution of contracts on several multi-million dollar event programs, including the largest event for SAP, SapphireNow. Gilligan is also a proven entrepreneur, having launched and managed his own marketing events firm, IDEA.

What do birthdays, promotions and holidays have in common? Food and lots of it. Add to that the occasional hump day celebration and annual cookie sales, and you have a virtual minefield of calories in your office. But you can be sociable without gaining weight at work. How?

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Life is complicated, and it’s stressful. Demands of the job, personal responsibilities and the people you surround yourself with are all vying for your time. You could try the proverbial to-do list, but that can only help so much. To really make the most of every day, you need to organize your life. How?

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Is your conference an expense or an investment?

Many organizations regard their conference as a necessary expense, one that serves to educate customers to be successful in using products or influences employees to do a better job. Having evaluated and measured a variety of conferences, we have found something very different.

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— Lena, exhibits manager

Invest wisely for future returns

Lena, with cash finally in hand, you probably want to start updating your exhibit right away. But don’t jump the gun. Spending your money on the right elements can make your exhibit more successful, and that may help you get additional funds in the future.

With this in mind, our readers say:

• Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.
• Refurbish, then repackage.
• Do some “comparative shopping.”

Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water

Since your funds are limited, keep elements you can inexpensively update, and then you’ll have more money to spend on what needs to be replaced.

An exhibits manager details the steps to take.

“First, ask yourself what your primary objectives are with the exhibit and how you want the exhibit to accomplish them. Second, think of ways you can reconfigure and reuse the stuff you already have. By simply updating graphics, getting new laminate colors or purchasing new flooring, you can update an exhibit without spending a lot of money.”

Refurbish, then repackage

Instead of worrying about updating your entire exhibit, first, concentrate on certain aspects of it. Then, use some cash to make transporting the exhibit easier and cheaper.

Nicci Harrell, events coordinator at Siemens, explains how to do this.

“Refurbish the pieces you use most often and then address packaging and shipping. Sometimes, a new crate or crates designed for your most common shipment can make a huge difference in transportation costs. Keep in mind the safety of your pieces, space for miscellaneous pieces and the ease of packaging, unpacking, transportation and access.”

Do some “comparative shopping”

If you’re completely unsure where to begin your redo, studying other exhibits may give you a starting point.

An events manager subscribes to this philosophy.

“Whenever I participate in or go to a show, I take pictures of the exhibits I like and later review them to determine what caught my eye. Then, when I redesign my own exhibit, I have ideas of what I want to do — whether it’s a new fabric, a color that’s trending or something else. If you don’t have pictures like these, go to some event/exhibit websites for inspiration.”

When creativity kicks in

As an event/exhibit professional, you’re expected to be creative. But with a busy work schedule and focusing on the details of your job, you may find yourself neglecting your creative side. Do you know how to get your creative juices flowing again?

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Feel like you’re getting nowhere in your career? Tired of watching other people get all the promotions? You may be tempted to blame your career stall on some factor outside your control. But surprise! You may be sabotaging your career without knowing it. How can you “get out of our own way?”

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These days, it seems everyone is connected to one of the social media sites. But what may be OK on Facebook or Twitter usually isn’t something you’d want to post on LinkedIn. So, how do you use LinkedIn to your best advantage?

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It’s a fact of life in today’s business world: People who have jobs are often asked to take on the responsibilities of people who no longer work at their company. As a result, these employees feel overwhelmed and stressed out. But there are ways to get through everything that has to be done — and get ahead. How?

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Go to any book store, and you’ll find volumes on time management. Everyone seems to have a different system, each promising terrific results. But too often, time management is confused with “time tracking.” What’s the difference, and why does it matter?

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An annual corporate meeting is a staple in American businesses. It can be great to update everyone on organizational changes, to communicate a new direction the company is going in or just to recharge the troops. But too many times, the annual meeting is an event where key executives give speech after speech to a bored audience. How can you avoid this and create an annual meeting with long-lasting, positive results?

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by Ed Jones

You have heard it repeated that your exhibit staff accounts for roughly 80% of  your success as an exhibitor.  But what are the actual accomplishments that result from a well trained staff? These outcomes provide not only a measurement set but also a serve as planning guide for your staff training.

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— James, freelance designer

Maybe just a little effort on your part

James, without a budget, chances are you’ll either incorporate materials and elements that are too expensive, or you’ll be too conservative and leave out elements that are important to your client.

That’s why our readers say you should:

• Understand where your client’s coming from.
• Explain why a budget is essential.
• Play a little hardball.

Understand where your client’s coming from

Sometimes, a client and a designer can seem at cross-purposes: You want to design the best exhibit possible, and the client’s worried about the money.

An exhibits manager gives his insights into a client’s possible mindset and what you may be able to do about it.

“I think exhibitors are scared the cost may either limit the design (you won’t spend as much time with a $2,000 budget vs. a $200,000 budget), or you’ll try to use every single penny. In all honesty, it’s like applying a car-buying strategy to exhibit design. By telling the salesperson how much you have to spend, he’ll give you a car that meets or exceeds that price.

“There’s a level of trust an exhibitor must relinquish to the designer, and some people are scared to let go. Try to build that trust — if you can.”

Explain why a budget is essential

Considering the client’s possible mindset, an analogy or two may help him or her see why you need some numbers.

A designer provides an example.

“Would you expect a real estate agent to show you homes without telling that person your price range? Of course not, and I suspect your client wouldn’t either.

“Share this analogy with your client to clarify why it would be a waste of time for both of you for you to design an exhibit without some idea of what he or she has to spend. It’s as impossible for you to come up with the right kind of exhibit as it would be for a real estate agent to find someone’s dream home without a clue as to his or her budget.”

Play a little hardball

If you can’t use reason to get your client to see your point of view, you may need to be more firm and direct.

An anonymous reader believes you have to stand up for what you know is right.

“If you have a sense of the project’s scope, propose a budget range. If the client balks at it, walk away and spend your time more productively elsewhere. The easiest thing in the world is firing a client, especially if the client has so little faith in your integrity as a professional, he or she won’t share a budget.”

Recently, the economic downturn has caused some businesses to cut back on their exhibit greening efforts. But going green can actually save you money. Not sure how to proceed? Our handy infographic illustrates how to make eco-friendly changes during all stages of exhibiting. Feel free to download it and keep it as a greening reference all year long.

Graphic design ©2013 Brendan Dooley, MC2

How do you communicate with people coming to your event or potential attendees? Emails? Social media? Well, now there’s another way you can keep these people informed — with a website designed for mobile devices. With the website, there are three types of apps for you to consider — native, web-based and hybrid mobile. How do they work, and how do decide which to use?

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Work hard. Volunteer for projects. Be a team member. For most people, these seem to be the keys to success. But to get ahead, you don’t have to be just exceeding capable and put in the long hours; you must be someone people want to work with. How do you become one of these supremely likeable souls?

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Look into the mirror and tell someone what you see. It’s unnerving and uncomfortable. But that’s metaphorically what you’re asked to do when you must fill out a self-evaluation at work. What can you say that makes you look good without bragging? And how do you deal with your shortcomings?

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No matter how organized you are, how hard you work, or how well you do your job, you probably find yourself pressed for time, at least once in a while. You can’t make a day last longer than 24 hours, but you can make each hour more productive. What are the ways to do this?

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Does this sound like you? By Friday afternoon, you’re exhausted. You’ve worked hard all week, and you don’t seem to be making headway on a major project. And that makes you feel frustrated and ready to give up. So, what should you do? It’s time for some introspection and a new way to approach your job. Where should you begin?

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EXHIBITOR always brings together the best and the brightest subject matter experts in the industry, and this year is no different. At EXHIBITOR2013 in Las Vegas from March 17-21, more than 160 speakers will conduct education sessions on a wide range of topics.

MC² has long participated in the program, providing experts to address important industry issues. This year, representatives from MC² will again hold sessions on event site inspection techniques, the influence of women in business, understanding exhibit and event graphics, and evaluating exhibit partners for program success.

New MC² sessions will explore the burgeoning trend to put attendees first and how to get your exhibit to “speak” to them. The sessions will cover evaluating your exhibit to maximize audience engagement, aligning content in your exhibit with your brand, creating compelling content and the effect of sensory stimulation on your message and your audience.

If you can’t visit EXHIBITOR2013, here are nine takeaways culled from the new MC² sessions.

Marketing & Communications

Tip #1: Reference and expand on your company’s brand messages in your exhibit through a variety of media for a cumulative, positive impact on your target customers.

Content can prove to be the most challenging piece of the trade show puzzle. But key steps can ensure your content is consistent with your company’s brand while improving trade show effectiveness. Tapping into creative agencies can also dramatically increase relevant, on-strategy messaging with robust content.

From the Tap Your Agency to Super-Charge Your Content session

Presented by Matt O’Mara, senior vice president of client services, MC²

Matt O’Mara’s passion for marketing fueled his success during his 14 years at Saatchi & Saatchi, which included the launch of the Lexus Certified Pre-Owned brand (an all-new category) and the development of a new retail model for Saatchi’s US Toyota business. Over the course of his career, Matt ran his own agency and held positions with Doner Advertising and Team One Advertising. Most recently, he served as general manager of the Detroit office of Imagination The Americas, a global full-service creative agency, where he led the Ford Motor Company Auto Shows and Events business.

Exhibits & Experiences 

Tip #2: Think content, not carpentry. Be about the “story,” not the “structure.”

Tip #3: Think activity, not architecture. Focus on enabling attendees to fully engage with your brand story. Drive active engagement, not passive information consumption.

For industry professionals accustomed to simply providing graphic support to trade show programs, developing immersive, experiential content to drive an attendee’s experience can be a challenge. However, by focusing on storytelling and multiple touch points, you can turn visitors into evangelists for your brand.

From the Experiential Storytelling: Where Customer-Centric Content Is King session

Presented by Ken Dec (“Deese”), SVP of client services & strategy at MC²

Ken Dec has more than 25 years of experience helping global businesses including Citi, IBM, Procter & Gamble, GSK, Reebok, Agilent and Vonage build their brands and drive demand. With a rigorous focus on marketing investment ROI, Ken has worked with Fortune 500 executives to drive revenue, share and margin growth through multi-platform brand strategy development, implementation and optimization. Ken leads MC²’s Boston office while cultivating client development opportunities nationwide.

Exhibits & Experiences

Tip #4: Exhibits and events are opportunities for visitors to experience something they can’t experience anywhere else, so it’s your obligation to deliver these experiences.

Tip #5: Remember synesthetic thinking — an awareness one type of stimulation can evoke the sensation of another, and thinking joins objects such as letters, shapes, numbers or people’s names with a sensory perception such as smell, color or flavor.

Tip #6: Give your visitors all the dots they need to understand your story —but let them connect the dots.

Combining sensory technology with vivid storytelling can provide an unforgettable impression of your brand. However, developing a successful sensory experience isn’t easy. How do you introduce sensory stimulation effectively into your face-to-face engagements? And why should you do it?

From the Employing Sensory Stimulation in Face-to-Face Marketing session

Presented by Russell Reich, MC² senior vice president of creative strategy

Webmaster magazine called Russell Reich “[one of] the people who could see far enough into the future to create it.” He produced the first-ever prescription drug website (claritin.com) and conceived the HeartFX Pod, a simulator designed to give cardiologists an experience of heart failure from the patient’s point of view.

Exhibits & Experiences

Tip #7: Consider your business goals and objectives as well as the attributes of your exhibit partner before basing your decision solely on design.

Although design and creativity are very important when choosing your trade show partner, most people don’t realize the choice is also very subjective. How do you find the right match?

From the Collaborate, Create, Succeed, Maximize Results Through the Power of Design session

Presented by Shana Carr, Southwest Division president, MC², and Phillip Lauzon, MC² Southwest creative director

Shana Carr has over 18 years’ experience in the trade show and event marketing industry. She began her career with Giltspur (later Exhibitgroup/Giltspur) where she quickly advanced through many different roles including estimating, project management, product management and sales management. Later, she was general manager of the Milwaukee and then Las Vegas divisions at Derse. She joined MC² in 2007 as general manager of the Southwest Division and is now the division president, responsible for the overall management of the group, which includes the Las Vegas, San Francisco and Kingman facilities.

Philip Lauzon is a 20-year veteran of exhibit, event, environmental and strategic design. As owner and principal designer of SpatialArt Studios, Inc., he concentrated on the event and exhibit industries. Among his accomplishments during this time, Philip took first place in the 2008 ExpoDeck Design to Win competition for the Event Design Summit. Now, as creative director for MC² Southwest, he leads a team of designers in effectively communicating clients’ brands.

Corporate Events

Tip #8: Understanding the demographics and the psychographics of your audience lets you make meaningful connections.

Tip #9: Keep in mind that your audience attends events to learn, to network and to experience.

Your sales, marketing and brand teams turn to you for expert advice on how to use events effectively. Consequently, you must know how to align events with your brand, understand objectives and audience profiles, and be able to identify the tools you’ll need to guarantee success.

From the Event Portfolio Alignment session

Presented by Cindy Provencher, MC² Chicago Division President, and Alan Cordial, MC² Sr. Vice President of Account Development

Cindy Provencher has significant experience, with over 20 years in the industry. During that time, she has held various positions from national account sales to sales and marketing management. Her responsibilities have included managing programs, customers and sales forces. In her current position, Cindy ensures that MC² business processes are aligned to client business requirements.

With 35 years of experience, Alan Cordial is a frequent industry speaker and contributes to a variety of exhibit and event industry publications. He has managed an annual client event portfolio in excess of $17 million. An active member of the EDPA Foundation, Alan has served on the board of directors for both EDPA and TSEA. He co-founded calan communications, which created the industry software used by many of the most prominent exhibit suppliers.

If you’re unable to attend EXHIBITOR2013, you can continue your career growth at any of the four EXHIBITOR FastTrak education sessions sponsored by MC² this year — in Boston, Chicago, San Diego and Atlanta. For more information, go to http://www.exhibitorfasttrak.com/.

Attendees have come to expect certain things when they go to an event or trade show, and one of the most important of these is Internet access. But ensuring a venue will meet your attendees’ needs isn’t as simple as ascertaining whether a connection is available. There are a series of questions you need to ask to ensure you don’t disappoint attendees and go over budget. What are they?

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What happens on the show floor is crucial to your success. For that reason, most exhibit and event professionals spend a great deal of time planning for those precious hours when visitors will be at a venue. And that’s OK, if you remember what goes on before and after an event helps determine your success as well. What areas should you concentrate on, and why?

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— Bernadette, Events Coordinator

Chart a course for smooth sailing

Bernadette, road trips always carry with them the possibility of obstacles that will throw you off schedule. But you can find ways to minimize delays — and/or their effects.

According to our readers, you should:

• Do your research before going out the door.
• Don’t let delays get you down.
• Take care of your body.

Do your research before going out the door

Since you typically know your destination months in advance, find out how long it should take you to get there — early on and right before you leave.

An account manager cites some resources you can use.

“If you want to make sure you have plenty of time getting to or from an airport in a major city, check out http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/congestion-data/. It has regional maps with files on typical traffic congestion hours, travel delays and more. Also, some cable TV suppliers have a channel dedicated to up-to-the-minute traffic conditions, including delays due to road construction and accidents, so you can change your route if necessary. And, of course, always go to the airline or railroad website to determine whether your flight or train is going to be on schedule.”

Don’t let delays get you down

Despite your best efforts, some delays may prove unavoidable. If that’s the case, don’t stress out; work your way through the snafu constructively.

E. Jane Lorimer, managing director of Lorimer Consulting Group, believes in the “lemons out of lemonade” philosophy.

“You can’t control airlines, and you can’t control traffic. You can, however, control your reactions to these delays. Make this ‘wasted time’ a downtime to listen to a favorite song, call a friend or relative, hone your observation skills by people watching, learn something new from a stranger at the airport, or just ‘do nothing’ — things to rejuvenate you vs. stressing about things you can’t control.

“Also, check out Tony Schwartz’s blog, The Energy Project, for why downtime makes you more productive. ‘Thick Face, Black Heart’ by Chin-Ning Chu is a free e-book download with good tips on how to rethink these business ‘road bumps.’ And remember, with today’s communication tools, you can always be within reach in real time, including visually, so you can ‘be there’ even when stuck somewhere else.”

Take care of your body

Sometimes, you may encounter a lengthy delay while you’re traveling or stuck in a hotel. If this happens, make staying healthy a priority.

Karl Frazier, events marketing manager at EVault, provides suggestions for both scenarios.

“Always pack some healthy snacks or a protein shake in your laptop bag to ensure you get something good to eat before too many hours pass. On site, make time for a daily workout, even if it means just doing push-ups and sit-ups in your hotel room for 10 minutes. Traveling is hard on the body, and this is the way to give it some love. Also, limit your alcohol consumption and late nights. Drink lots of water, and pace yourself!”

by Ed Jones

I have attended too many events where the host could provide little if any detail about who participated. This is quite often the case with trade show and exhibit marketing. So, why is this so important? Attracting an adequate number of targeted participants is the single most important factor in success or failure of a marketing event (or any event for that matter). Read more.

eConnections speaks with Mim Goldberg, President of Marketech360

While exhibits aren’t the be all and end all of marketing, they are an important part of the marketing mix, moving prospects and customers one step nearer to closing. But all too often, company marketing plans, including messages and budgets, are determined without the input of the exhibit marketer. And that oversight can lead to a major disconnect, with an exhibit that doesn’t meet the needs of the brand or salespeople working at a show.

How can exhibit marketers correct this situation? What role do exhibits play in messaging? And how is company marketing messaging different from exhibit messaging?

Recently, eConnections spoke with Mim Goldberg, president of Marketech360, to get the answers to these questions and more. Here’s what she had to say.

eConnections: With jam-packed exhibit programs soaking up all their time, how can exhibit marketers stay in touch with broad-brush marketing planning?

Mim Goldberg: Typically, marketing controls the planning and budgets, and doesn’t consider how exhibits meet the needs of the brand. But an exhibit must be part of the marketing plan because it supplements and enhances all the other elements.

Exhibit marketers must take the lead and become more proactive. Meet with product marketing and sales to ensure the exhibits program is in concert with what the brand should convey and the strategies to achieve it. Talk about messages. Make sure the business segment paying for the exhibit understands the connection with the exhibit and messages as well as the tools to support the staff working at the event.

Provide and show value. Explain the strategies and tactics you’ve used, how effective they were and what issues were encountered, so changes can be made. Promote each show to other segments of your company to increase awareness of the benefits that trade shows bring. Tout your success whenever you can.

eConnections: How do exhibits tie into company-wide marketing messaging?

Goldberg: Messaging is critical and needs continuity. Often, marketing or an agency creates an overall message and works on ways to communicate it. Exhibit messaging must be clear and concise. Otherwise, it doesn’t communicate the essence of your company in a way that’s appropriate for the environment and the audience. You can always tell if an agency has done the graphics for a show because they look like blown-up ads.

eConnections: What does successful messaging give to an exhibit program?

Goldberg: It creates memorability and validity to follow up after the event. Attendees might see several hundred exhibits, so messaging needs to be top of mind and easily remembered. “Oh, yes. That company does this, and I need help with it. I should give that company a call.”

eConnections: How can key messages developed for the company as a whole be best applied to an exhibit program that has, by its very nature, very targeted audiences?

Goldberg: Modify the messages for each audience while keeping the essence of the overall message. Make sure they resonate with your target group. The graphics can be the same at multiple shows if the audiences for them are similar, or they might need some tweaking depending on how diverse the audiences are.

But to succeed, you can’t rely solely on graphics. Verbal messaging and some form of interaction are necessary. For example, if your company’s message is saving money, have graphics, discuss how your company can do this and, if possible, have a product that can demonstrate how this may occur.

eConnections: What about the demands of business units to bend messaging to their specific purposes?

Goldberg: It’s OK to bend if you maintain consistency overall so it doesn’t disconnect from the overall message. Include brand, marketing and sales in your initial meeting. Make sure what you’re planning to do resonates with the sales staff since they know what their clients want.

Also, find out what each segment of your company expects from the show. For example, one may want to concentrate on selling to current customers while another wants prospects to fill the pipeline. Herding cats is tough. But with a planning meeting, you can see how to integrate everyone’s needs and meet them.

At each show, take pictures. Show others at the meeting these visuals — good and bad — and discuss why this one worked and that one didn’t. Make it a learning opportunity.

eConnections: How is marketing messaging different from exhibit messaging? Or is it?

Goldberg: Exhibit messaging is more targeted and focused on the attendees and their needs. Consequently, knowing and understanding your target audience is necessary. Will the message connect with them? What will draw them in?

eConnections: What if there are no top-level messages for you to work with?

Goldberg: Focus on product marketing messages. What will draw in visitors? Less downtime? Saving time? Saving money?

eConnections: How would you differentiate a key message from a tag line or slogan?

Goldberg: A key message is the major selling point. A tag line or slogan is a differentiator, a specific niche in the market. For instance, it could convey stability or breadth of experience.

The key message is placed at the highest point in an exhibit since it’s something you want every visitor to remember. The tag line increases memorability and may support the major message, so it goes at a lower level.

eConnections: What would you recommend exhibit marketers do to enhance their exhibit messaging?

Goldberg: Often, we design exhibits for ourselves (the exhibiting company), but they should be customer focused. What do visitors want to see, hear and do?

Also remember too many messages can confuse visitors; they don’t know what to focus on.

Use short, focused, memorable messages consistent with your overall marketing message, something that will stick with attendees after they visit 30 or 40 or more exhibits at a single show.

Nationally recognized as one of the most effective trade show staff trainers, Mim Goldberg, CME, is president of Marketech360, a company that specializes in strategic exhibit market planning, trade show and event staff training, and performance metrics. She has combined over 20 years of teaching with her exhibit marketing knowledge to bring innovative, motivating seminars and workshops to her clients. Goldberg co-authored the Exhibit Manager’s Companion series of training materials. Consistently rated highest among seminar leaders, she conducts programs at The Exhibitor Show, HCEA and international conferences and exhibitions. Goldberg received her CME certification from TSEA in 1999. She can be contacted at 508-398-5547 or mim@marketech360.com.