You need to tell people you are going!
For events -> This means twitter. and twitter, and twitter.
For every event there is a @Twitter Handle and #Hashtag. Every Event is hosted by an organization. They have a @Twitter handle and #Hashtag as well. Guess what? If the hall is big enough -> It has a @Twitter handle and #Hashtag as well. The city the event is in? You Bet!
Wow! It's great to write that title!
In January of 2020 it was full speed ahead. The economy was humming along, tradeshows were lined up from January to June. Life at Exhibit Associates was awesome!
The Design Shop was busy. The Fabrication Shop was busy. The Services Team was busy. Even Account Management was busy. (But you know sales - 1/2 days, golf on Friday, 3 Martini lunches....)
Then the 1st cancelation happened. Then the next. Then all of them. By the end of that 1st quarter we in the tradeshow industry were "beat up." The phone was never good news.
Now, we at Exhibit Associates did have some corporate displays (lobbies) and some museum exhibits that we worked on. So we crawled along.
We took the time to improve our processes, add software, buy new equipment and update our branding. But, still, no tradeshows. So no Tradeshow Season in the Fall of 2020, or the 1st Quarter of 2021.
Now our phone is ringing. Now our Design, Fabrication and Services Teams are busy! Even Account Management has had to cut down on their golfing. (The tragedy of it all!)
So as we roll into Fall of 2021 we have only one thing to say: "Welcome to Tradeshow Season!"
Tiktok, YouTube, Instagram Posts, Instagram Reels, LinkedIn Ads.
There isn't much to the word "Hack." It just means a simple way to get something done. People make
Tradeshows are such a thing. It's not complicated. Order services, ship on time, be prepared and watch the details.
"Eat Right & Exercise." is the simple "hack" to a better physical health. But for some reason the majority of people who want better physical health try diet pills, cabbage diets and "unique" machines. But it comes down to eat right and exercise.
Tradeshows are not much different. We've broken it down to 4 hacks. Tell people you are going, Exhibit with a Plan, Stand Out and Follow Up. Four items.
Now execute!
It takes a team.
One with budget, vision and trust.
The fact they will trust you to bring there vision to life under budget.
Design, Fabrication and Services all matter to an exhibit house. At Exhibit Associates we focus on building that trust everyday. If for some reason a booth does not show up, or a graphic is wrong, or the budget is "blown" through then we have not done our job. The client will go elsewhere.
And we do not blame them if we lost their trust.
But every once in a while the team gets noticed. The client has the budget, Exhibit Associates designs something for them, builds it and gets it to a tradeshow on time!
And sometimes it worthy of an award. They don't come that often at tradeshows. So we will take this one without hesitation. The client won the award. But we got the text with the above photo with a "Thanks to you guys!!!" with the text. From the tradeshow floor.
It took the entire team starting with a great client.
In Business it Counts.
Karma.
Of course there is a Wikipedia page on Karma. And that image is of a from a movie that was about Karma - of course the extreme negative aspects of it.
But we at Exhibit Associates focus on positive aspects of Karma.
"What you do when no one is looking" is a common saying about what type of person you are. It's true for the organization as well.
In this time where tradeshows are coming back there is a lot we have done to get better - new software, new equipment and improved processes BUT all that means nothing if the team isn't focused on doing the right thing.
As we move forward, and bring more people on our team - Our focus will be doing the right thing the right way for the right reasons.
A New Day
The pandemic, shut downs, family tragedies. Who has not been impacted? Restaurants changed. Family Zoom Parties happened. 2020 will be a year no one will forget and the stories of it will "grow" as time goes by.
You see after shut downs, mask mandates and the complete shut down of our industry. 100% shut down, door shut, events cancelled and no tradeshows what so ever. But on Friday the light came on. That light at the end of the tunnel came on.
We shipped crates.
Crates for a tradeshow.
Crates for an event.
Nothing "Amazing." Nothing "Miraculous."
Just crates headed to a show.
Just a new beginning.
With the focus on PPE and Show Services, I do not want to take the anything away from what design looks like.
It takes time.
It takes questions.
It takes revolutions.
Also known as iterations.
Show Services is where the rubber meets the road, but it all starts with design.
Find out more at Exhibit Associates!
Wow!
And here we are in 2021 ready to get at it again. Keep in mind that Congress just passed a COVID relief bill ("CARES Act") that has provisions in it to get a Tax Credit for the purchase of PPE for your facility.
Now we here at Exhibit Associates are awesome at designing, building and executing on tradeshow booths, corporate displays and museum exhibits. And the way we have positioned ourselves with this "PPE for your facility" is in our corporate displays lane.
As good as we are at design/build we will leave it to our accountant to tell us what we can buy for our place. But they say Tax Credits are great! What are you buying for your place?
Of course you can contact us at sales@exhibitassociates.com
At Exhibit Associates our goal is to be part of our client's team. To assist them in the execution of the exhibit at a trade show eve...
