It seems to me that social media doesn’t have quite as much buzz any more. My friend who has some Facebook stock now calls the company “faceplant” instead of Facebook. And I can’t help noticing that I seem to hear less now about how trade show marketeers just absolutely MUST incorporate and build their trade show campaign and exhibiting plans around social media. For the last few years it seemed that almost every trade show booth graphic design I saw had a facebook page address and a twitter handle, but now I’m seeing less of that (though fortunately, almost everyone still has a website listed, which I do think is critical). I hear less about social media now, but I still hear a few diehard promoters of social media singing its praise. I was skeptical of social media in the past, and I still am a skeptic today. Yes, I admit I am “old school” and a bit of a trade show curmudgeon (some would even say luddite), but I have yet to see a case study of how social media really improved the outcome for an average-joe trade show exhibitor. I’m not saying social media in general isn’t huge, I’m just not convinced that it is commercially viable when it comes to trade show marketing. I see and hear a lot of personal use of social media. I see people glued to their smart phones texting and watching youtube videos instead of talking to the people around them, but it seems like social media is more used to talk about things like what ones kid did at school, or whether or not Kim Kardashian is really pregnant, and not for learning about some unknown company’s upcoming trade show exhibiting plans. An exhibitor has limited time and resources, so how much time should they put into creating a Facebook page, or tweeting every hour about their latest thought on what they might do at their upcoming show? Is anyone out there really listening, and does anyone care?

Now my rant aside, I’m curious if anyone has read a real-life case study showing that an exhibitor actually had a measurable, positive, and significant return on their social media investment, and how they did it. Are there any “social media trade show marketing” experts with a track record of success who can tell joe-average exhibitor that if they do x-y-z, it will improve their trade show results and by how much?

I admit that I may be missing something. I am a big believer in the importance of having an online presence, which means having a website. But I also think one is better off improving their existing website rather than spending time building a separate Facebook page. I think company blogs can be useful if they contain useful information and are updated regularly. And I believe in pre-show publicity and promotion, but is twitter a viable way to do it? It seems it would only work depending on who is following you, and I’m just not sure how many followers the average-joe exhibitor has.

So feel free to let me know what I am missing and if you know of any real life success stories of trade show exhibitors using social media and being successful at it, especially if others could learn from and implement the “trade show marketing social media” success story. Or let me know if you agree with me and have always wondered what all the fuss was about social media, and have never agreed with the idea that all companies must have a VP of Social Media Development.

Feel free to comment and discuss.

The marketing question I ask is, “Does it matter?” I don’t mean any offense to Sling Baby, and I’m not asking if it matters for the video or the creators of Sling Baby. As I said, it is an awesome, hilarious video, and I am extremely impressed that the video is what I would call national-television-quality. The creators did an amazing job, and could end up winning $1,000,000 and the fame of having had a Super Bowl commercial (if I correctly understand the contest)! But as a marketing method for Doritos to sell more chips, does the video matter? Does it work?

Don’t get me wrong… as I written here before, I love the fact that beer companies (and soda pop, potato chip, and car companies) spend billions on funny TV commercials that entertain me. I love to watch the Super Bowl to see the latest Budweiser commercial (but I drink Sierra Nevada Pale Ale instead of Bud) or to see how over-the-top GoDaddy’s latest commercial will be (but I use 1and1 instead of GoDaddy for domain registration). When it comes to marketing (and trade show marketing), does producing a funny but product-irrelevant ad, commercial, or marketing campaign really result in selling any more product at all, and is it really the best way to spend a marketing budget?

After last year’s Superbowl (when the Green Bay Packers triumphed!) I think I wrote about a funny car commercial that I really liked, but I couldn’t remember what car it was for. Just this month, I’ve seen another TV car commercial (not so funny though) about a guy asking a woman to marry her, and then she thinks about all the things in life she wants to do before she gets married… At the end, I notice they mention the car, and I suppose the car is supposed to help her accomplish these things, but I don’t buy that premise, and in the end the commercial says nothing about why I should pick that particular car instead of a different car.

Back to Sling Baby… Again, it’s a fantastic video, and I appreciate that Doritoes was responsible for it. And I happen to like to eat Doritos. I prefer to eat corn chips instead of potato chips, and if I’m not having salsa, then I like Doritos with their tasty orange coating (whatever it is). So I would buy Doritos if I wanted some, but NOT BECAUSE OF THE COMMERCIAL! I don’t care for Pringles or Ruffles, and if Sling Baby was backed by either of those chip companies, even though I liked the video, I still wouldn’t buy either of those chips.

So in the end, is it good marketing (and a good use of limited marketing dollars) to make an entertaining, funny, or cool commercial that people like, but doesn’t say ANYTHING about why you should actually buy a product or what the benefits of said product are? Personally, I think it has very limited potential that is almost impossible to qualify, and one is better off for marketing and for trade show marketing in specific to focus on your product and why it is a good product, and how it can help or benefit your prospect. I.E. if you’re a car company, focus on gas mileage, safety, towing capacity, or utility, but don’t talk to me about some woman’s pre-marriage bucket list. That said, I’d love to hear your thoughts on what the industry calls “brand recognition” and whether you agree or disagree with me and why…

But again, back to Sling Baby (oh, what a cute baby and clever idea for a funny video). Let me know what you think…
1. Did you like Sling Baby?
2. Do you like Doritos?
3. And, most importantly, are you ANY MORE LIKELY to buy Doritoes the next time you need chips BECAUSE you saw Sling Baby?

Finally, don’t forget to vote for Sling Baby (if you liked it), and remember the video is called Sling Baby, and not baby sling, baby slings, or Grandma Slings A Baby.

update: I wrote this post before the Green Bay Packers played the New York Giants. Well, the game is history now and it didn’t turn out the way I expected or hoped for. Bummer. Major Bummer. I guess the “glass is half full” way of looking at it is that now that Green Bay has been upset and is out of the play offs, I will be able to focus more attention on the commercials (including, I hope, Sling Baby) during the Super Bowl. Oh well, there’s always next year for the Packers.

Post-SuperBowl-2012 UPDATE: Congratulations to Sling Baby! They won, and won big! Not only were they judged to be the best of the five finalists for the best Doritos commercial, according to all the consumers that voted at the USA Today / FaceBook Super Bowl Ad Meter, Sling Baby was the BEST commercial played during the entire Super Bowl, which means it won the $1,000,000 Doritos contest prize. They could buy a LOT of Doritos with that cool million bucks! Way to go Sling Baby!

I support the concept of thinking outside the box, but not at the expense of the box itself. It’s great to have a trade show booth that is the talk of the show, but the question then is, what are people saying about it? If everyone is talking about your trade show booth and the half naked trade show booth babe juggling kittens, but they have no idea of who your company is or what you do, then you’ve forgotten about your BOX! I’m reminded of how many great TV commercials that I see that I later remember because they were funny or unique, but I can’t remember what product they were for, or if I remember the product vaguely, I still can’t remember which company it was for.

Before you start thinking outside the box on how to promote your trade show booth, you want to make sure you have extremely clear trade show booth graphics that cover the basics, like what your company name is and what you do, and why people would want to do business with you.
I think it’s always good to set your company apart from the competition instead of being a carbon-copy of them, but don’t forget to explain what your box is and what it does. Then you can start thinking outside of the trade show box.

As always, feel free to drop me a comment and let me know if you’ve seen any trade show booths that really nailed the “outside of the box” part of the equation, but forgot about the box part.

trade show perseverance – noun 1. a quality, trait, or attribute required for trade show marketing success. 2. a post by the trade show guru.

I ran across a fascinating story the other day about the Legend of the Leatherman, the dapper gentleman shown on the left [image removed], which is the inspiration for this post. The amazing thing to me was that the “legend” is actually a true story. It took place back east (Connecticut) in the 1800′s.

In a nutshell: In Connecticut, shortly before the Civil War began, an odd vagabond dressed from head-to-toe all in leather appeared out of nowhere and started walking the same 360-mile circuit over and over again for almost 30 years. It was always the same clockwise route — starting in Danbury and heading east through Watertown to Middletown, then south down along the Connecticut River before turning west along the Connecticut coast to New Caanan, then back north into Westchester County, New York, before turning east again to Danbury. In all his travels he never engaged in conversation with anyone beyond monosyllabic phrases like “Eat” or “Yes,” nor did he ever stay inside, always choosing to spend the nights and winters alone in the great outdoors. His possessions included a walking staff, a leather satchel and the leather on his back. He also never worked nor accepted money, and would’ve made a terrific postman as neither rain, nor sleet nor snow nor dark of night could deter him from his self-appointed rounds. People could almost set their calendars by him as it took him exactly 34 days to complete a lap (depending on the weather).
I encourage you to click through and read the whole story here.

I can’t think of a better example of perseverance than the Leatherman (and it’s an amazing story). So what does the Leatherman have to do with trade shows? Well, if you want to be successful at trade show marketing, you need to have trade show perseverance. You shouldn’t dress like the Leatherman at your trade show booth (or smell like he must have), but you’ve got to show the same determination of purpose and have stick-to-it-ness. Your first trade show may not be a smashing success, but you need to keep at it. Learn from your mistakes, and go on. Of course, you need to remember that with trade show marketing, mistakes can add up quickly and cost a lot of money, so it’s important to plan ahead, prepare, have a clear plan and a clear marketing message, and go all out at the show.

Perseverance applies not only to trade show marketing, but to marketing, to business, to life in general, and even to blogging too. Based on the paucity of posts lately, you may have thought the trade show guru walked off into the sunset to join the Leatherman in the neatherworld, but I’m still here. I’m just busy with a lot of other things, but I’ll still pop in to post on occasion. Have no fear, the young lady below won’t be showing up on my home page any time soon.

But back to perseverance, and trade show perseverance in particular. Trade show perseverance is a critical element for trade show success. If your next trade show doesn’t go so well, figure out what went wrong and how you can improve, and then keep going (and maybe take the time to go through and read some posts on this blog!). Think like the Leatherman. Act like the Leatherman. Live like the Leatherman (metaphorically speaking, not literally). Be the Leatherman! Understand the importance of trade show perseverance and practice it, and be a trade show success.

And for you bloggers reading this, you want to succeed at blogging, you need to have blogging perseverance. You don’t necessarily need to be a regular and/or prolific blogger, but be sure to post at least every once and a while. Instead of watching another rerun of Seinfeld for the hundredth time, take the time to write a blog post. Just make sure it is worth writing and that you’re not contributing to the incredible amount of internet sewage out there (the subject of an upcoming post, perhaps). Whatever you do, keep your blog alive and don’t let your blog get taken over by the young lady shown here [image removed]… Speaking of this young lady, does anyone recognize her and know who she is, or what she has in her backpack, and why she is smiling (or is that smirking)? If you spend as much time surfing the internet as I do, I’m sure you’ve seen her before, and probably many times, though again, I have no idea who she is or if she has ever even been compensated for her “fame”.

But back to the inspiration behind this post. If you haven’t yet clicked through on the link above to read more about the Leatherman, let me give you another taste of the legend…

The Old Leather Man was found dead in March of 1889 in one of the many hovels he had built along his route, near Scarborough, New York. According to coroner’s inquest, he died from blood poisoning due to cancer which had ravaged his face and mouth — sounds like a fairly painful and nasty end, but as his whole existence seems to have been some sort of bizarre penitence, suffering terribly and alone may have been how he wanted to die.

Now go back up and click through and read more about the Leatherman. Also, don’t forget to let me know if you recognize the woman above and if you know who she is. And finally, remember, if you’re going to exhibit at a trade show, don’t forget to bring your trade show perseverance!

But one would have to be living under a rock to not know that the economy this past year wasn’t exactly stellar. And the trade show industry seems to have been particularly hard hit this year and last. Part of the hit makes good economic sense. Competition is good and it’s important to weed out inefficiencies and bad products and service. Business and the economy tends to cycle, overheating and then cooling. It’s always reasonable to focus on value, customer service, and return-on-investment (something that is sometimes forgotten during boom times). But the recent downturn has obviously been bigger than “normal”, and many in the trade show industry are wondering when (or if) things will get better. So I was happy to read a news article recently that talked about toilet paper (and trade shows). Perhaps the Herald Toilet Paper Roll is forecasting a better year next year for trade shows?

[via Bloomberg] From poker-table salesmen rubbing shoulders with piano makers at the “Cruise Shipping Miami” event to buyers of toilet paper gathering at “Tissue World” in Nice, France, more businesses are hitting the road again.

“We’re expecting a strong cruise shipping show come March, better than the last few years,” Simon Foster, chief executive officer of UBM Live, the events unit of London-based United Business Media Plc, said in an interview. The show drew 10,800 people in March this year, 7 percent more than in 2009.

Reed Elsevier Plc, United Business Media and Informa Plc, all of which recorded double-digit revenue drops last year, are starting to see a rebound in attendance and exhibitors. The hundreds of global tradeshows, events and conferences carry an economic value of about $300 billion a year, and showed growth in the three months ended September after nine quarters of declines, according the International Association of Exhibitions and Events in Dallas, Texas.

Events including “Guns and Hoses” in San Francisco for the police and fire departments; the “New You Expo” in Texas; “Guangzhou Beauty Expo”; the “Cranky & Nasty Live Crocodile Show” in Queensland, Australia; and the “International Conference for Paints and Varnishes” in Moscow may be a barometer of the global economy. As companies ease travel restrictions and revive face-to-face deal-making, event organizers expect to return to pre-recession growth levels.

“Over the past few years the business community collapsed and now the revenue environment is as good as it’s been for three years,” said Alex DeGroote, a media analyst in London at Panmure Gordon & Co. “People are more likely to travel, go on courses or attend exhibitions now.”

Monaco Yacht Show

Informa, which puts on the “Monaco Yacht Show,” “Russian Wood & Timber” and “Salvage & Wreck Removal,” is seeing swelling demand, Chief Executive Officer Peter Rigby said in an interview. Although the Monaco show, catering to the rich and famous, remained largely recession-proof, it drew an even stronger crowd this September, Rigby said.

“Monaco is the main yacht show with 50-meter yachts,” he said. “This year, we even had 100 yachts sitting outside Monaco who couldn’t find berths.”

“Modern Bakery Moscow,” a baked goods tradeshow held every October, recorded a 32 percent increase in attendance with 15,770 visitors, according to organizer OWP Ost-West-Partner GmbH. Visitors at United Business Media’s “Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair” rose by 13 percent to 44,274 in September. UMB said revenue at “Furniture China Fair,” “Black Hat USA” and “All China Leather Exhibition” rose “significantly.”

Buying Spree

The growth prospect for tradeshows and conferences is drawing companies including Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, and The Washington Post into the events market. It is also prompting companies to snap up smaller competitors.

United Business Media, the publisher of InformationWeek, in October completed the purchase of U.S. tradeshow company Canon Communications LLC for $287 million and bought a 65 percent stake in a Turkish operator.

“We see our growth position in live events, face-to-face events,” said Foster. “The events we are looking at now are more bolt-on acquisitions.”

Reed Elsevier, the world’s biggest tradeshow organizer with about 450 shows including “Aqua-Therm,” the “PGA Merchandise Show” and TV industry conference “MIPTV,” this year acquired a golf event in China and is looking to buy more organizers in emerging markets like Brazil, India and Russia, said Nick Forster, group commercial director at Reed Exhibitions.

Informa is also seeking bolt-on acquisitions of mainly smaller country event providers, CEO Rigby said.

“We’ve seen an improved performance, but it’s still hard in southern Europe and sluggish in North America,” he said.

Earnings Bounce

Results at the companies are improving after a grim 2009. United Business Media said in October that bookings for its top 20 tradeshows in the next 12 months are up more than 16 percent. In 2009, UBM’s revenue at constant exchange rates fell 12 percent to about 287.5 million pounds ($450.6 million). Most revenue from UBM shows comes from stand and booth sales to exhibitors, followed by sponsorships. In North America, UBM Live also charges entrance fees, Foster said.

Informa’s events and training business, excluding effects from acquisitions, fell 27 percent in 2009 to 559 million pounds. Rigby said much of that was the result of the scrapping of 2,000 smaller shows.

Reed Exhibitions’s Forster said bookings in 2009 were hit “severely.” The unit’s 2009 revenue fell 21 percent and adjusted operating profit sank 28 percent at constant currencies. He said bookings are now looking up.

Virtual Handshakes

At FT Global Conferences and Events, the conference division of the Financial Times, growth is forecast at 22 percent next year, driven by sponsorships and delegate fees, said Jayne Van Hoen, managing director of the division.

The company, which puts on conferences such as “The Business of Luxury” and “Digital Media & Broadcasting,” charges delegates between 500 pounds and 2,500 pounds. It typically gets 70 percent from sponsors and 30 percent from delegates, she said.

“While the world is changing, there still aren’t any virtual handshakes out there at the moment,” she said. “For a lot of people doing business face-to-face is still the route.”

The Washington Post Live, the conference division of The Washington Post newspaper group, held its first conference this year when “The Business of the Beltway” event hosted Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell, Hilton Worldwide CEO Christopher Nassetta and Pulitzer-prize winner Steven Pearlstein.

More Valuable

The company wants to “extend the reach of the Post’s journalism,” said Jenny Abramson, general manager of Washington Post Live. Its conferences “connect news makers across government, business and academia with audiences.”

Washington Post events have included a Washington, D.C. mayoral debate and a conference with government officials and oil executives on energy. It will host an event on the business of sports early next year.

Bloomberg LINK, the conference arm of Bloomberg LP, began staging invite-only conferences a year ago to strengthen relationships, promote content from its news, product and research departments and develop access to sources, said Robert Bierman, who heads the division. The unit’s target is to be self-funding and profitable, he said.

For long-time event organizers, technology notwithstanding, the demand for conferences and tradeshows can only grow.

“In an electronic environment like we live now, the opportunity to meet your peers or suppliers once a year becomes more valuable,” said Reed’s Forster. “And I think that will only increase.”

[article source: Kristen Schweizer, Bloomberg news]

It may have been a tough year for some people and companies in the trade show industry this year, but I’ve got a feeling that conditions are improving. Trade shows are not obsolete. Face-to-face marketing and human interaction still work and are still an important part of a smart marketing plan. But one must focus on value and customer service, and always be willing to adapt and change. Provide a product or service that has value. Treat the customer like a person, and not a number. Under-promise, and over-deliver. And understand that change is inevitable, and good. You must be willing to adapt, and never stop learning new things.

So join me in having a Merry Christmas this year. Remember on Christmas Eve to put out a plate of cookies for Santa (you still believe, don’t you?) and carrots for his reindeer. Have a glass of eggnog (and add a hint of brandy) before you retire. And string a few strands of toilet paper on your Christmas tree this year (you got a real tree, didn’t you?).

May you have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Let’s start with the question, “What are good memorable trade show displays?” Good memorable trade show displays are those displays that get people saying things like, “Did you see the trade show display for the ACME Fake Vomit Company?” Specifically, if people remember a particular trade show display AND they remember what company it was for AND also they can tell you what the company does and why they would be interested in the company or may choose to use the company, then said company has a good memorable trade show display. The key is that people need to remember the company, what it does, and why they would chose to do business with the company.

On the other hand, if someone says, “Wow, did you see the trade show display booth with the ten-layer velvet chocolate cake with pink champagne shooting out the top?”, and then you ask them what company had that trade show display and they say, “I don’t know, but the cake was delicious…” then that, my friend, is the definition of a bad memorable trade show display. Put another way, you need your trade show display to be remembered for the right reasons!

I think I can make my point the best (at least to myself) by bringing in the sock-puppet monkey. During the last Superbowl, a car company ran what I call the “sock-puppet monkey car commercial”.

Sock Monkey SuperBowl TV Commercial

The funny thing was that after the game when we were talking about which commercials we thought were the best (and most memorable), everyone remembered the sock monkey commercial (the music rocks). But when we tried to come up with the name of the company that it was for… no one could. Most of us assumed it was for a car company, but that’s about as far as we got. The current hip term that comes to mind to me is… epic fail.

Now you may be thinking that people will see the TV commercial over and over and over again, and eventually the name of the car company will stick (which I am told is a common TV commercial tactic). But people won’t see your trade show display over and over again… they will most likely see it once. And as far as the sock-puppet monkey car commercial goes, I asked my wife yesterday (who has probably seen the TV commercial at least a dozen times) which car company it was for. She said she really wasn’t sure, but then guessed the right company, but then changed her mind and went with a different car company… which makes me wonder, does the commercial really work for the car company that isn’t even in it?

But enough about retro toys and thumping music… it’s great to have a memorable trade show display, but only if it is the right kind of memorable trade show display… otherwise you might end up helping your competitor more than yourself! Make sure trade show attendees remember who you are, what you do, and how you can help them!

In my humble opinion, for a trade show giveaway to qualify as the “best trade show giveaway idea ever”, it has to be unique, and “best” probably varies from person to person (just like the question “what is the best flavor of ice cream” or “which of the Rocky movies was the best one”).

One of the best trade show giveaway items I ever got was at WESTEC, a huge machinery show in LA that I’ve gone to many a time (and not because of the Makita Tools calendar girls and other booth babes there… not that there’s anything wrong with them though). WestTec is the place to see huge mills, lathes, and machining centers. The HAAS trade show booth had a brand-spankin-new, super-expensive, state-of-the-art multi-axis, computer-controlled, does-everything-including-making-a-kitchen-sink HAAS machining center on demonstration. They were feeding in a 4 inch diameter bar of steel on one end, and 8 inch long parts that had been lathed, machined, and engraved were being spit out the other end. I had no ideas what one could do with these part (it was simply to demonstrate all the machining things that could be done with this machine), but the parts looked cool so I asked it I could have one – and they gave me one. I quickly realized that the part weighed several pounds, but nonetheless lugged it around the show, and in the end, the part ended up being a one-of-a-kind door jamb in my office for many years (until it disappeared in a move).

The door jamb was a great conversation starter – countless people asked me what it was or what it was for, and I’d tell them the story behind it and how it was made by this super-amazing HAAS machining center. No, I never did purchase that HAAS machine – because I had no need for it and wasn’t a trade show prospect. But I spread the word. I’m not sure if it was really the best trade show giveway idea ever, but it certainly was unique. I personally think that the best trade show giveaway items are those that are unique, and that say something about your company.

What do you think? What’s the most amazing, think-outside-of-the-box, best trade show giveaway idea that you have ever seen, gotten, or handed out at a trade show? Leave me a comment and let me know!

~ ~ ~

The Trade Show Guru’s Enigmatic Insight of the Day

Are you stuck in a trade show conundrum, and does everything seem trade show greek to you? If you are searching for trade show enlightenment, or simply the best trade show giveaway idea ever, may you find it and your trade show mojo, and may you conquer your trade show enigma and have your best trade show ever! As for the proceeding insight, if it seems like trade show greek and makes as much sense as a trade show geek singing in the shower, then stay tuned for a future post that will hopefully explain at least a little.

So if you’re going to spend your hard earned marketing budget dollars at a trade show, you want to make sure you pick up enough trade show leads and/or make enough trade show sales to recoup your expenses and actually make money. But if you make the mistake of using a cheap trade show display, and your trade show image is unprofessional (and cheap) there is a good chance that your potential trade show traffic will be turned off and will just pass your trade show booth by. My advice is to you is that you spend the money necessary to have a professional trade show display with a smart trade show design that draws a crowd. Don’t skimp on your trade show image… first impressions are often the only impression, especially if the first impression is that you are cheap.

Now the above said, sometimes “cheap” trade show displays can actually end up being the hit of the show.

[funny image of trade show booth constructed out of cardboard boxes]

The trade show display above obviously didn’t cost a lot of money, yet makes a very clear point, and is effective. So sometimes if you are clever enough, you can actually make “cheap” work to your advantage. But for most of us, it is better to spend the money to get the job done right. You don’t have to spend a fortune, and you don’t need to overpay or spend money on useless features, but make sure you get a professional trade show display that will get you enough trade show traffic and trade show business to justify your exhibiting efforts and make your company a trade show success.

~

Trade Show Guru random thought of the day 4.14.11:
Add some trade show bananas to your fruit salad and achieve trade show nirvana.

I, your friendly neighborhood trade show guru, thought I knew everything there was to know about trade shows… well, at least I thought I was familiar with everything about trade shows. After all, I even know about trade show zombies! But last week I came across a trade show term I’d never heard of before, trade show outboarding.

Trade show outboarding does not mean strapping an outboard motor to your trade show boat, er… booth, nor does the phrase have anything at all to do with outboard motors or engines. Rather, trade show outboarding is done by trade show outboarders (also referred to as trade show parasites and not to be confused with the previously mentioned trade show zombies) and refers to companies that don’t pay for a trade show exhibit booth space, but instead rent a room in a nearby hotel and set up their “offsite” or “outboard” trade show booth in their hotel room or suite. I’m not sure how they manage to get traffic to their hotel room (do they wander around the trade show and hand out trade show giveaway pens with their hotel room number on the pens?), but apparently the “problem” (at least it is a problem to the trade show promoters that aren’t collecting the trade show exhibit space fees) is growing, and trade show organizers are asking the hotels to crack down on these trade show outboards.

As I said, I just don’t understand how the trade show outboarders would get much traffic to their hotel rooms, but apparently they do, or I don’t see why this would be an issue. I’m not sure where I stand on whether or not this tactic is “legitimate”… I support “guerilla marketing” but I also believe in “playing by the rules”. I’ve included a portion of the New York Times article below in which I first read about the practice of trade show outboarding. So what do you think? Would it work? Is it legitimate?

—

Convention industry insiders disdainfully call them “outboarders” — those vendors who set up shop in a hotel suite near a trade show site to promote their products. Unsanctioned exhibitors were an issue last month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a large trade show.

The industry sees the vendors as parasites who latch onto the host convention and reap the advantages of the often-considerable resources spent on organizing the show and drawing a crowd — without paying their share of the costs.

The vendors, on the other hand, argue that they are suffering in the weak economy and that the rock-bottom rates offered by some hotels help them stretch their marketing budgets.

Caught in the middle of this tug of war are the hotels, which are increasingly being asked to keep out the interlopers.

While unsanctioned exhibits are not new, they appear to be on the rise. They became an issue at the annual Consumer Electronics Show last month in Las Vegas, one of the largest trade shows in the United States. According to technology bloggers and others attending the show, hotel security people forced some vendors to vacate suites in which they were demonstrating products.

“Outboarding is wrong,” said Jason Oxman, the senior vice president of industry affairs for the Consumer Electronics Association, which produces the Consumer Electronics Show each January. “An outboarder takes advantage of the significant investment a trade show makes.”

But Mr. Oxman denied that the association had stepped up enforcement against the vendors, suggesting that the crackdown was instituted by the hotels themselves. “Our antennas are raised for people that try and circumvent the show process,” said Ron Reese, vice president of communications for Las Vegas Sands, the parent company of two official show hotels, the Palazzo Las Vegas and the Venetian Las Vegas. He said the association spent tens of millions each year promoting and producing the show, which draws 120,000 participants. Professional exhibit managers who play by the rules and pay to exhibit also resent vendors who come to town but do not exhibit on the trade show floor, he said.

Nor is the electronics association alone in its sentiments about the outside vendors. “This instance with the C.E.S. is going to raise some awareness,” said John Foster, a convention industry lawyer. Although the show took place only last month, Mr. Foster said he had already been approached by several organizers of smaller events eager to learn how they could thwart the outside exhibitors. “Whenever you get a big show that goes through an incident like this, that publicity generates a lot of interest in how to stop the problem,” he added.

The electronics association pointed to a long-standing policy prohibiting any type of consumer electronics-related events taking place in Las Vegas over the show dates. Mr. Oxman acknowledged, though, that this rule was almost impossible to enforce if vendors choose from among the many hotels in Las Vegas that do not have a contract with the association.

“Everybody does it,” said one hardware vendor who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid speaking out publicly against the electronics association, which retaliates against vendors who run unsanctioned events by stripping them of the points a vendor can earn by exhibiting legitimately. More points translate to a better selection of show floor space for future shows. Those with no points to forfeit can be kicked out of the association.

The vendor said her company chose the Palazzo because it was inexpensive, and received a verbal assurance that its exhibit would be permitted.

What happened instead, she said, was that hotel security forced the company to dismantle its demonstrations and remove all product-marketing materials. The vendor referred to the eviction as the result of a “miscommunication.” Mr. Reese of the Sands said all guests were presented with criteria for their stay upon check-in; a prohibition on in-room exhibiting is among the rules.

Bob Buskirk, who attended the electronics show and owns a Web site, ThinkComputers, that reviews hardware and software products, said he had “never been kicked out of a hotel room or even heard of companies being kicked out.” But this January, he said, two of his meetings were disrupted when the vendors were ejected by hotel security. “From what I’ve heard anecdotally, the amount of unlicensed vendors was certainly the most it’s been in recent memory,” said Mr. Reese of the Sands.

Mr. Buskirk, who has been attending the show for five years, said that the show’s exhibits seemed to take up much less space this year. A spokeswoman for the association confirmed that the show’s size dropped to 1.4 million square feet of exhibit space.

Steven Rudner, a hospitality industry lawyer who represents hotels, countered that stipulations like those from the electronics association restrict a hotel’s ability to do business. “To switch the burden of enforcing this on a hotel seems to be completely unreasonable,” Mr. Rudner said. Some groups, he said, go so far as to try and make the hotel responsible for screening all guests to insure that no competitors book suites or meeting space that could be used for private events.

Lawyers who represent trade show producers said this kind of strong language is necessary to protect the investments made by hosts and exhibitors, especially in an economy where hotels might be tempted to turn a blind eye to unsanctioned exhibits to book needed business. “They want to play both sides of it,” said Barbara Dunn, a partner at the convention industry law firm, Howe & Hutton Ltd. “There’s no question that the hotel industry is hurting.”

In some cases, she said, vendors who want to skirt a trade show’s policies will deliberately obscure their affiliation or their plans to run an exhibit in a suite, making enforcement even harder.

Some other trade shows have used less confrontational methods, which they say are just as effective. Megan Tanel, vice president of exhibitions and events for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, said violations of exhibitor rules at her shows go to a committee made up of other industry members.

“It comes down to your peers, customers and competitors to decide your fate,” she said. This usually works, but when it does not, she says she tries to convince vendors it is in their best interests to be an official part of the show.

source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/business/16shows.html

I know some readers will click through to this post just to see the pictures… and you’re expecting to see barely dressed, sexy women. Well, I don’t want to disappoint, so here is one…

[hot hooters girl]And I don’t want to descriminate against my female readers, so here’s a male “booth babe”…

[hot guy showing off his ads]

OK, now that the obligatory eye-candy “tradeshow booth babe” pictures are out of the way, let me get to the point.

Tradeshow booth babes are a bad idea.

I’m familiar with the saying “sex sells” and maybe if you’re selling Miami-Vice-style cigarette jet boats to middle aged men or cheap beer to college kids, then having a skimpily clad blonde bimbo isn’t an entirely bad idea. But for most tradeshow exhibitors, booth babes are a bad idea. There are much better ways to attract qualified prospects to your tradeshow booth (even handing out trade show giveaways pens is a better idea than having a booth babe).

Having booth babes at your tradeshow booth will probably draw a crowd… but it will be a crowd of people clogging up your tradeshow booth wanting to see the pretty girl and probably having absolutely no interest in your product, service, or company. And for those people who are interested in your company, they will probably wonder if your product is any good at all if you have to resort to booth babes to try to sell it.

So let your competitors employ the booth babes at their tradeshow booths. Trust me and make your tradeshow booth a “booth-babe-free-zone”. If you are thinking about hiring a booth babe, look at this picture…

[pucker face image]

This is what a tradeshow booth babe will most likely do for your tradeshow marketing efforts, and is the mental image you should get if you seriously a booth babe for your own trade show booth… To repeat, tradeshow booth babes are a bad idea!

But just in case you didn’t get my point, let me show you another mental image to store away in the back of your head in the event you are ever, ever tempted to go the route of hiring a tradeshow booth babe to hawk your tradeshow wares…

[fat ugly guys in speedos image]

Don’t do it. While “tradeshow booth babes” may be ok for a blog post, they are not ok for your tradeshow booth.

Care to disagree?