Benefiting From a Regular Exhibiting Workout Written by Susan Freidmann
How often do you exercise your exhibiting muscles? Do you have a regular workout designed to increase your tradeshow dexterity and boost your results? Whether you’re looking for strength training to increase your competitive edge, flexibility to improve your marketing strategy, or just general overall fitness, a regular conditioning workout program is a must. Before beginning an exercise program, take time to think about results you’d like to achieve, so that you can gear your workout strategy toward attaining your desired outcome. Take time to assess why you participate in tradeshows. If you go because you’ve always gone, because competition is going, or because you’d be conspicuous by your absence, a fitness program will propel you to new heights and increase your marketing longevity. The purpose of a regular exhibiting workout program is to revitalize, invigorate and rejuvenate your exhibit marketing strategy. However, realize that toughest part of this program is usually getting started, and having discipline to make your exercise routine a regular part of your exhibit marketing strategy. The following is a general fitness level guide to help you determine what type of exercise you should do and intensity level. Whether you want to build marketing muscle, or just firm up/tone determine intensity that’s right for you. Each level incorporates a strength, an aerobic, and a flexibility component. All three will help you achieve your desired results. Fitness Level 1 - You never or rarely stretch This first level is geared for low risk-taker who is in habit of always doing same thing at industry shows. To increase your level of flexibility in marketplace, try stretching your exhibiting muscles prior to your next tradeshow. Be willing to take a risk and differentiate a little from your regular routine. Schedule a warm-up session with your exhibit marketing team several months prior to your next show. Strength component: Define exactly why you are exhibiting and what it is that you want to achieve through your tradeshow participation. Aerobic component: Brainstorm possible ideas and generally get your major muscle groups working in a rhythmic fashion. Consider giving your booth a facelift, with some new and exciting graphics. If you don’t have a new product or service to display, emphasize and/or educate your target audience about a benefit that normally gets forgotten. Flexibility component: Try using a theme to add some new blood to your tradeshow muscles to help attract more activity into your exhibit. Using this gentle routine regularly before each show will help increase a sense of accomplishment and well-being, as well as decrease risk of painful unproductive results.
| | Exhibiting WizardryWritten by Susan Freidmann
The world is suffering from a severe dose of Pottermania. Even if you don’t have kids, it’s impossible not to have heard about Harry Potter. In a relatively short time, he has cast his magical spell and become a veritable household name. His creator, J.K. Rowling has managed to pull off a feat that hasn’t been seen in decades — motivating kids to read because they want to and not because they have to. In wonderful world of exhibiting don’t you yearn for that magic wand to give a quick magical fix to your tradeshow trials and tribulations. Wouldn’t it be nice to have attendees motivated to flock to our booths because they wanted to and not because they had to? So what lessons can exhibitors learn from Harry Potter and his creator’s miraculous success? I’ve come up with following thirteen (auspicious for some) for starters: Use boundless imaginationWithout a shadow of a doubt, imagination and creativity need to permeate from every pore of your exhibit marketing program. How can you tap into creativity and imagination that exists in your organization to cast prizewinning spells to enhance your exhibiting program? Stop being an adult - be childlike At core of every attendee is a little child yearning to escape. What can you do to help them do that? What can you do that incorporates what we all loved as children — fairy tales, story-telling and make-believe games? Disney managed it very successfully, and now, so did J.K. Rowling. What would a five-year old do to add some magical power to your exhibit marketing program? Break and bend rules To get what you want, you often have to break and bend rules, especially when it suits your purpose. Most advances in science, medicine, music, art and design came as a result of someone being prepared to challenge norm and try a different approach. What scary rules could you secretly break? Do what you know Take something you know and do well and add a little something else to it, and then add something else. Very soon you will take on mark of a wizard and transform what you have into something new. What creative things can you do with what you know, and what resources and solutions are right in front of you? Think outside box It’s easy to only look at exhibiting from one perspective especially when you exhibit within one particular industry. Often, best ideas come from cutting across different boundaries, for example, how could you integrate weird and wonderful potions, charms, giants, dragons, cauldrons, crystal balls and like into a scientific or machine tool setting? Make a point of looking outside your particular situation for enchanting ideas. Plot out what you want to do before you begin What’s your exhibiting objective, what are you trying to achieve, and what planning do you need to do? Draw a picture and make a map of where you need to go and things you need to do. Using pictures instead of words can add bewitching power and put a very different perspective on your planning process. It also helps make it fun! Expect unexpected
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