i’d like to say it’s all business related. it’s not. it all started with the rangers. the texas rangers. our long suffering baseball team here in the dallas-fort worth area. our replacement for the cowboys. i heard someone talking about an amusing tweet from a texas rangers’ pitcher. hhhmmmm….in the corporate world of approved messages, i found it refreshing.

i’m more of a letterman person, but liked the whole campaign put forth by conan - loved the orange blimp – so i added him to the list. then came the slurpee unity tour…

but along the way of following it for fun, i’ve discovered a great corporate-consumer connection. gives a face and a personality to a business. guess i’m late to the party. 

i haven’t tweeted yet. i find it amusing when strangers sign up to follow your tweets when you aren’t even tweeting, but another post for another day, as is the whole “@” thing…

- Inc. magazine “Sales Tips from the World’s Toughest Customers“

Boeing’s unmanned aircraft exhibit.

 The Night Stalkers were there from Fort Campbell, KY with their Chinook. I could barely fit the whole aircraft in 1 photo - it can carry 55 troops or 28,000 pounds of cargo.

The Night Stalkers are extremely proud of their aircraft – immediately after landing, they headed to Home Depot for Armor All and party lights so they’d be polished and ready for display!

 EADS exhibit

Event Marketer has an article that addresses this topic (Waste Not) and highlights a little-known piece of legislation: The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. This act eliminates concerns about liability that could keep companies from donating food.

If your event is out of town, take a look at feedingamerica.org to find a local food bank or other non-profit to arrange for your donation.

And I think you should document what you’re doing. Not exploit it, but certainly let your customers know the who, what, when, where and how of your donation. 

So… is your exhibit/brand experience overcrowded with every product, service and message your company offers? Are you having a hard time simplifying what you show at a particular event? Give this article a quick read, then check out the book it’s based on: The Art of Choosing, by Columbia Business School professor Sheena Iyengar. 

Tradeshows are chaotic enough with every exhibitor competing for the limited attention of attendees. Why not offer your guests an oasis from all the confusion with a simplified experience? Does every product/service you’re planning to show truly need to be there – or are they there because of office politics and egos? Is there another way you could communicate some of them while only showing a few?

Read the Brandweek article here: What Choices Do People Really Want? Few of Them

Here’s a previous post on simplicity.

 Read about it in Fast Company: Grand Central Table Folds Like a Subway Map

“…create an event that is worth executing. It’s hard to stay motivated and excited about executing crap. The next step is a no-brainer: Set measurable goals for the event. If you don’t have measurable goals (e.g., event attendance, sales leads, contracts signed), it’s unlikely they’ll be achieved. The adage, “What gets measured gets done” is true. But don’t kid yourself. You can’t measure everything, or you’re likely to lose sight of what you primarily hope — and need — to achieve. Three to five goals per event is probably plenty.”

“During your event, I also recommend going on Twitter. It’s the best thing that ever happened to marketing. You can use it to drive attendance, create a community, spice up presentations, and extend the conference beyond its physical and temporal limitations.”

This webinar “Exhibit Design in an Inline Space” focuses on the smaller exhibit spaces at trade shows. Whether you use 10×10-10×40 for every exhibit or only on occasion, you’ll get great ideas on exhibiting effectively in this space. Here are the topics we’ll cover:

1. Upgrade the look of your pop-up
2. Discover the latest design trends
3. Create a more custom look in your inline space
4. Create a memorable message
5. Distilling your value proposition
6. Learn what stops traffic in the show environment
7. Incorporate new materials and textures

Send me an email to reserve a spot in the webinar.