I recently worked at ISE 2011 in Amsterdam - how fantastic to be involved in a thriving show.  The official figures quote an increase in traffic of 22% which really is quite amazing and so refreshing.  It was great to see some bright innovative stands as well - this blog is my take on the stand designs around the show.

There is still a lot of white, angular walling but white as shown on it’s extensive use in websites is still one of the most versatile colours to go with.  Most brands work well against white and indeed brand guidelines always cover that combination.  However I do feel it is a bit of a safe colour, one that is not going to offend the board and split the red haters from the red lovers.

Most stands seemed to be relatively simple with little excessive catering - no bad thing, given the cost and mess that result!

Carpets seems to have given way to harder flooring.  I’m not sure if this is due to the outrageous wastage that comes from using carpet for 3 days and then throwing it out or if it’s just a fashion thing.  Hard flooring may be easier to re-install at another show but it ultimately depends on planning a series of exhibitions so you get the most use out of your stand components.

Our stand had considerable under-floor padding to make it easier on the feet and legs.  This is an American led item where most stands over there will not build a platform as they’re allowed to run flat power cables underneath a thick pad. Personally I’m not sure if it helped my feet but I know most people who walked on the stand cooed with pleasure at the soft flooring.

Lighting rigs are being used more and more to give a much more gentle light wash to a stand.  They’ve always worked really well to accent particular signs and products but maybe now the price is coming down so the smaller stands can consider using it.

The last thing I noticed was the large number of angles - this is a much more cost effective solution, enabling a stand to be used in different configurations at a variety of tradeshows. However, it did seem quite harsh so maybe a few strategic rounded elements or non 90º corners would help make you stand out.

Do you love tradeshows?  Do you relish the chance to stand on a show floor for up to 10 hours and talk to strangers?  I fear not many do - it’s hard, tiring work and even the thought of a good night out won’t always get you through the day with enthusiasm.  However, if you’re not going to try to talk to the visitors, engage them and find out about their interests what is the point of you being there?

Walking around exhibitions I see stand after stand where their staff are just not performing and it really frustrates me - what a waste of time and money.  I do train people on how to make the most of their attendance but at the end of the day it is hard work and it can be hard to stay engaged and interested.  After all it’s also great to catch up with colleagues that you haven’t seen for a few weeks. However, I bring it back to ROI - what are you there for?  The company has spent a large amount of money on the exhibition presence and it’s now relying on you to fill the hopper with leads or promote the brand as best you can.  So what can you do to make the most of the opportunity?

The biggest thing that needs to happen is a shift in attitude.  Exhibitions aren’t an excuse to party all night and recuperate all day.  They are a chance for you to meet new people, to promote your company and make sales (either now or in the future).

So here’s a few tips on how to make the most of each day:
- Remember that you’re there for the company and you represent them in your every action (particularly if you’re wearing company branded clothing)
- Put a smile on your face and leave it there all day as a signal that you’re interested and ready to talk.
- Be interested in others.  Not everyone on the show floor is there for your company or product but who’s to say that they don’t know someone who is.  Think of exhibitions as a chance to find out more about people but if you’re busy have a company strategy for dealing with the time thieves.
- Think of it as networking.  You never know who you might need to call upon in your job - your current (or future) boss might be looking at you leaning on the counter and being rude to visitors.
- Stay on your feet.  If there are chairs on the stand, don’t use them without good reason.  Sitting down and watching the crowds go buy is a signal that you’re really not interested (plus it’s so much harder to get going again)
- Take two pairs of shoes so you can swap during the day or at least walk home in a different pair.
- Drink lots of water and take scheduled breaks.  It all helps you stay fresh and interested.

Lastly, talk to your boss or your stand manager about how they can help make this more useful to your particular role.  Make it a company issue so that you all agree that exhibitions are useful and then you can make the most of them.

Events are complex entities that require a varied team to pull together and work towards a common goal.  I love that motivation and that level of team work - there can be no shirking, the timeline is flexible but the deadline is not.  However, you can’t do it all yourself so who can you befriend to help you succeed.

Getting to know your suppliers and working with them regularly can help you enormously. We’ve all been at an event and in need of some extra support. It may be that the client has requested a new meeting and needs an extra space to hold this, or it may be that you are shipping in an extra product and it absolutely has to arrive on time.  This is where you need to know who your friends are and who will go the extra mile to work with you.  It’s not about the companies that you’ve spent lots of money with, it’s about the people who care enough to listen and help you think outside the box.In my experience the best people for many situations are the practical, hands-on people and shippers are amongst the best.  I’ve worked with some for many many years and even though I now ship most of my equipment with different suppliers due to client requirements I  know that I can call many members of the team and they will at the very least, listen to my issue and offer some advice.  All of this, even if they won’t make a profit from the solution.  It’s this level of customer service that I value highly as it’s the level of service that I aim to give to my clients.AV teams are more of my favourite people onsite.  From making great travelling companions, to being great eyes and ears onsite and not to forget that they’re practical people who can explain technology clearly to onsite suppliers they have been invaluable.I could continue this role call but the basic premise is get to know your suppliers well.  They can get you out of many a hole and make events so much more fun.  So it’s back to that old adage - it’s who you know, not what you know. 

Any events manager will tell you that being onsite at a large event is great fun and often full of challenges that need solving immediately.  

I love the immoveable deadline of an event - you have to plan from A to B. Even more challenging is the fact that B doesn’t move - you have to be ready. So you have to make sure that you’ve gone into all the possible outcomes and put a strategy in place to make it all go smoothly. Having said that, experienced Event Managers will all be able to tell you of the time they arrived onsite and had to deal with the unexpected.  We can’t always plan for every item but we can always make sure that any issue is dealt with promptly, effectively and with lots of good humour!

We were managing a client’s technical tradeshow presence in Lyon, France and their technician realised he hadn’t packed his specialised screwdriver which was essential to setup.  The show opened on Monday and it was Saturday evening.  Unfortunately, Saturday and Sunday’s were not  good shopping days in France and the screwdriver was not your typical B&Q purchase so buying one wasn’t an option. After a quick review of the exhibition layouts we took a tour of the halls and visited all our partners and competitors to beg and borrow.  Thankfully the exhibition community supported us - we knew many of the people onsite and one of them could loan us the screwdriver.  So with a little bit of logical thinking and some cheek we found the solution  - an event manager should never be afraid of asking for help!

On another large, VIP and Press launch we were in the office for a few hours before travelling up to the event when the venue called and said that they’d realised they couldn’t find the Emergency Exit signs they’d promised.  As a key part of the risk assessment and Health and Safety process we couldn’t compromise - we had to have them. As this event was an evening reception the signs needed to glow or be illuminated.  Much web-searching ensued and we found some at an online stationery store - wonderful!  As were were heading to London we could get a same day delivery.  We requested delivery to the venue and continued on our way.  As we approached London we decided to make sure that they were on their way and called the company.  They had no record of our order!  Mobile phones pulled out the whole team started to look for more suppliers in the area.  Thankfully we found a Travis Perkins who had some in stock so after a short detour we’d solved that problem.  They weren’t the best solution or the most design orientated but they worked and another crisis was averted.  Of course, to top it all - the original supplier did deliver the signs to our client that day so we ended up with twice as many as we needed!

Events always require some tangential thinking - they’re not always straight forward but they are great fun and really get your brain working!

Many office based people spend hours sitting behind a desk and so events can be a shock to the system.  They go from 8 hours of sitting down interspersed with trips to meetings and visit colleagues to 8 hours of being on your feet, having little food or water and quite a bit of stress.  No wonder your staff hate exhibitions and events!

As an in-house marketing manager I could have only 3 events a year.  The rest of the time was spent at my desk.  So I went from a relatively sedentary life to one where I was on my feet all day everyday walking, lifting, unpacking and generally using muscles that had been hiding for the past 4 months.  Thankfully I kept myself quite fit and so it wasn’t too difficult but in later years I did have staff who would put a back out or just get so stressed by events that afterwards they would need considerable time off.

I’ve since made sure that I’m always event-fit and that my staff are aware of the physical challenges.  Even if you’re not doing any manual labour, the sheer stress and pressure of the environment can take it’s toll.

You may not be able to keep up the New Year fitness campaign up all year so do make sure that you do the following:
• wear comfortable shoes, preferably take two pairs.  One set to walk to the event and one set to wear there.
• when at the event keep a bottle of water handy and keep drinking.  It’s amazing how much better you feel when you’re hydrated.
• the after event parties are great but if you have to go back for a second day they can be exhausting.  I love a good party but do keep it in perspective - you’re there to work the exhibition stand and the after event socialising is an added bonus.

One last thing - don’t forget to smile, all the time.  You may be exhausted at the end of a long day but the visitor who’s just walked up still wants to be treated the same as the first one you saw.

Firstly Happy New Year - I’m not sure that on the 20th Jan I really should still be saying that but as we’ve not spoken since December I feel it’s still appropriate.

So how have your first week’s back at work been?  The first week is always a bit surreal as you transition from family-man and/or party animal back into efficient business person.  These can often be my most productive weeks as I’m raring to go and have a great focus to really move forward this year.  I also start every new year with renewed optimism.  It’s like turning the page on last year’s challenges and opening  up a bright new clean sheet.  I do have my moments but generally I'm an optimist.  I really started out this year with the best of hopes - the recession was on it’s way and businesses were starting to hire/source/employ again. With that in mind it felt like a real slap across the face to have all these business pundits telling me that 2011 was going to be a tough year again.  So what do you do?

As an optimist and with a New Year I’m ready to take on new challenges, learn new skills and generally make a hugely positive impact on my business this year.  But with the constant barrage of negativity from the media is that so easy?

I do think that to some degree we were talked into this recession.  No doubt there was a lot of underhand activity that caused problems but would we all really have stopped spending if the media hadn’t been repeating over and over again the problems?  Frankly it was depressing, no wonder businesses started to pull budgets and not look forward but look to maintaining the status quo.

As a business we all know that the last things we should cut are marketing and training but they are still often the first things to be cut. It’s easy - they’re seen as costs and the return on investment is often cloaked in mystery.  How can you say that that major sale came as a result of a certain tradeshow?  Yes, you had a great presence and got lots of press material, and yes, your staff showed their team around the stand and did full product demonstrations but when the deal is done 3 months down the line the tradeshow (and hence marketing) will rarely get the glory.

So I’m going to walk the walk and talk the talk this year.  I’m starting off the year with a new marketing programme.  I’m investing in the future of my business by making sure that I contact all my ongoing prospects and clients in as many creative ways as I can come up with.  I’m also going to stop listening to the news radio when I get up and instead bounce out of bed with some great music.  Let’s start the year, and each day on a positive note and prove the pundits wrong!

Here we go again - it’s Christmas time and once again we’re planning for holidays.  The cards are sent (and I do think real cards are essential - a jokey email just doesn’t show your appreciation the way a hand-written card does), the holidays are booked but how is your business going to manage throughout the holidays? I love Christmas but I just can’t get as excited as I used to (I don’t even wake at 5am anymore!)  Running a business suddenly turns Christmas into an excuse to party to another time when I have to plan around an obstacle.

For the past few years I’ve had stands to plan and manage for tradeshows in January and February.  This means that those immoveable event deadlines are even more tricky.  I need to plan around staff, customer and supplier holidays, not just the various European or American bank holidays but also the extra time off taken or offered by companies.  Once again communication is key to this and I make sure that I have all deadlines clearly entered into my calendars and even add in key personnel holidays too.  As ever, I give myself (and my clients) some extra time.  There is no point setting a deadline for myself that gives me no time to negotiate / question / understand.

I recommend that you get as many key decisions made and actioned pre-Christmas so that you’re not left trying to call a supplier on 27th December.  I also suggest that you print out a copy of the show deadlines -highlight key dates but enter financial or contract based ones into your diary and make sure you set an alarm for it.  There is no excuse for a missed deadline and you never want to go back to a client and say the price has gone up because you forgot to send the form in on time.

Once you’ve done all you can, had the Christmas parties and eaten the office mince pies I suggest you take time out of the business.  Real time out.  Relax, enjoy the season and let your brain tick away in the background.  It never ceases to amaze me on how much more efficient I am after a short break, and how many difficult decisions suddenly seem clearer when I get back to the office.

So focus on those deadlines now and have a great Christmas next week!

See you in 2011.

I’ve recently visited two European tradeshows - IBC in Amsterdam and Photokina in Cologne.  Both shows have been running for many years and have a dedicated and wide ranging audience who travel from far and wide to see latest technology in broadcast, content creation and photography.They have both had their lean years where the aisles were quiet and the exhibitors re-considered their attendance.  However, the past few shows have had some great positivity and this year it’s good to see numbers looking so strong. IBC has already published figures that show an 8.7% increase in attendance from 2009.  That brings each exhibitor more chances to engage prospects, customers and dealers but are they all making the most of their investment?


Tradeshows are an investment - they shouldn’t been seen as an expense but as a structured programme to engage, inform and impress your audience.  If you set out your objectives for the tradeshow and plan your costs against those then it becomes much easier to evaluate your success.  So how do you start to evaluate the tradehow?  Is it a gut feeling from your staff or is it a more scientific calculation of the number of leads?

Many exhibitors hire lead capture machines - they’re usually cost effective and allow you to get the details of anyone who visits your stand.  This is a great help but it scares me how many companies gather leads and never actually do anything with them.  I know of one tradeshow where the company collected over 2,000 leads and nothing, yes nothing, was done with them.  Now I’d question if all 2,000 leads were worthwhile.  It’s all very well swiping their badge but do you know if they’re relevant to your business or just a tyre-kicker bored and waiting for another meeting?

So you need a strategy...

Think about what information you want.
Do hire a lead machine but think about the information you want to get out of the tradeshow and what leads you want?
Is the system flexible enough to handle a list of products, a list of territories and a scale of relevance?  
What information is essential to your business?

Think about how your staff will, realistically, use the system.
Will your staff use the system or do they prefer paper?  If they like paper then print up some small pocket sized pads which allow the staff to get the information they need to progress the lead.  You can always scan the lead as well as take a business card - in fact business cards often have more relevant details than the lead machines record.  Lead machines depend on the visitor entering the details they want to share but business cards are their every day presentation and so are  much more likely to be accurate.

Think about what you’re going to do after the event.
Do you have staff in place to handle the data?  Who’s going to collate the information from lead machines/business cards and paper pads? Is it essential that you get correspondance out the same day?  If so, make sure you download the data from the lead company daily and assign someone to make contact.  Will your staff remember the leads when they return from the show?  It’s always safer to have a daily stand de-brief where you run through the leads together and make sure every ounce of information is added to your knowledge bank.  Who’s going to evaluate the leads and pass them on to the relevant person?  Who’s going to enter them onto your company database?

By working on the answers to all these questions you can make sure that you chase the right leads, you evaluate them effectively and you fill your salesmen and account managers books with business.

Have you ever tried to get into a tradeshow before the show actually opens?  It can be challenging.  Even if you've been on a site visit before the event, the setup of an exhibition transforms any conference centre from a visitor friendly environment to a world of shut doors and strange noises.After all these years, new exhibitions still mean that I have to take a moment, take a deep breath and then start trying to open doors, many of which will be locked.  

Most exhibition sites have several main entrances and many doors but finding out which doors are open and lead somewhere useful is often a case of trial and error.  That is, of course, assuming that you have the correct pass with you.  This can be a simple as not needing one to being as complex as needing Photo ID and queueing up for a personalised work pass.  I’m always rather surprised that some shows have no passes and I hope that it’s down to a lack of issues rather than a lack of desire to pay for and staff a useful system.

So we make it through security and as ever the place is deserted.  I can hear noises and people in the distance but there is no obvious route.  Having seen this so many times I make sure that I always go onsite with key information printed out (see my earlier blog on technology vs paper to go into why!).  So if I’m heading to a new venue I always have a map of the show grounds showing the entrance nearest to my stand and the road layout around the halls.  I then have a print out of the hall layouts showing how I get from that entrance to my stand.  Lastly, I have a plan of the Hall that my stand is actually in.  Even with all that it’s amazing how different halls look during setup and therefore how confusing it can be.  For a start there is no clear signage up yet, either of the main aisles or on the individual stands.  Furthermore, aisle are often blocked with shipping crates or stand parts so that you have to take many a detour.  Talking of which, do you know how many miles an events person walks onsite? One thing I’ve done recently is wear a Pedometer to exhibitions - it’s fascinating how I can go from a sedentary planning phase to a hyper active, clocking up the miles phase. 

So back from our detour and we’ve found the stand space.  The excellent stand designers have got the basics installed and I can settle into the next phase but more on that later.

It occurred to me recently that being a traveller and an event manager requires a certain amount of detective work.  It's a part of the job that I love - finding solutions to difficult or complex questions. From arriving at a strange airport and trying to work out how to buy a train ticket to finding a specific screwdriver in France on a Sunday - travelling and events give you lots of opportunity to play the detective.

Travelling abroad is something many of us do regularly and yet to get the most out of it I think you need to go beyond the standard Hilton Hotels and the oh, so easy taxi rank.  To use both of these is just to point and press but not to experience.  I urge you to try public transport and look about you as you travel.  It may take more time (but often takes less) but it will not only challenge you in many ways but also give you a new view of a different city.

I'm just back from Photokina in Cologne, Germany and once again I went for the public transport option.  First of all I have to work out what the very trendy but slightly obscure signs mean to find the right direction for the trains.  Then I do have rather a long walk to the end of my terminal and a 3 floor descent to the train station (but don't let any of that put you off!)

I then get to the ticket machine - the deserted ticket machine in an empty hall.  Now unlike many English ticket machines (indeed most English machines) these ones do have a wide range of languages available so providing I can find out how to select English I have an advantage over travellers in the UK.  I use my pigeon German to start the process but am immediately stumped by a system that asks me if I want VRS or DB.  The DB selection asks me if I want to go to Dusseldorf or some other city but doesn't give me the chance to put in the station I need.  OK, back track, let's try VRS.  Hurrah, I can do a station search here and I've selected my ticket. I even get to help another English person select their ticket without the long-winded route I took.  So I'm on the train and getting my next insight into Cologne.  The trains run on time, they're clean and I get some peaceful time to contemplate the job ahead whilst taking in the countryside and the people in the train with me.

Maybe it's something common to event managers or maybe just me but I love a challenge.  Simple as this was I was able to use logic, reasoning and communication to find solutions and give myself a treat at the same time.  So get out of your taxi bubble and come and see the real world.