If you have ever added a touch-screen, iPad, QR code or any technological “flavor of the month” to your exhibit or event without first knowing why, or what content you were going to play, you may be a red-neck.
But, all jokes aside, we have all been guilty of this at one point or another. Sometimes [...]
Posts under ‘Strategy’
Content vs. Technology: The Real Trade Show Story
Experiential Trade Shows: Redefining the “Box”
We’ve all heard the ubiquitous term “thinking outside the box”. But, even as this stale phrase is finding its way to fossil status in the business vernacular, there is one place where it is more applicable than ever.
In years past, trade shows have been a place to set up a structure, slap on your logo [...]
Evolution of Trade Shows (part 2): “The Hybrid”
In part 1 of this post we explored the increased acceptance of remote collaboration technologies and the ensuing rise of virtual trade shows and events. At first many of us wondered if technology and an ailing economy would conspire to replace the traditional trade show forever. However, today we are beginning to see that something much more exciting and promising [...]
Evolution of Trade Shows (part 1): “Virtually There”
The economic nosedive in late 2008 (and the corporate cut-backs that ensued) spawned a wider acceptance of virtual technologies that had a great effect on the trade show and event world.
As businesses mandated cuts in non-essential travel, web-based meeting providers such as GoToMeeting and WebEx saw a huge increase in users. This shift to adopt [...]
Are You Killing Great Marketing?
As an exhibit and event designer, many of my posts are written from an agency perspective. However, as creative director, a huge part of my job is getting inside clients’ heads and seeing the “big picture” from a multitude of perspectives.
One thing that has puzzled me for years is how, even with great research, planning [...]
Walk a Trade Show in My Shoes
It’s been a while since my last post. When I finally picked up the proverbial pen and began debating what to write about, one topic I’ve wanted to touch on for a long time jumped out. At the risk of being too industry specific, I’ve always wondered: How many designers entering the exhibits & events field have ever [...]
The Tao of “Why”
No, this is not a philosophical discussion. Consider it an approach to successful communication.
More than any other word, “why” has the ability to imply a search for deeper meaning. It is also something that I increasingly find myself asking. Whether in work or life, the need to understand and rationalize the “why”, or in fact, [...]
The Art of Low-Tech Interactive Exhibits
The last few years have seen a huge increase in the use of technology to drive audience interaction in the trade show and event business. The sad part of this trend is that the technologies being employed often have little or no connection to the goals or theme of an event.
In the past, exhibitors might [...]
Enter the Eco-Hall: Convention Centers Grow Green
Recently, while attempting to ignore the gut-wrenching take-off of my DASH8 turboprop bound for Richmond VA, I started leafing through Air Canada’s in-flight magazine, enRoute, and came across an interesting highlight.
The single page feature was focused on the avant-garde architecture of (wait for it) convention centers! Upon reading further, I learned that they were also [...]
Branding and Event Marketing
Here is another great article that I found at experientialmarketing20.com. It talks about the relationship between event marketing and branding. Companies are sometimes hesitant to make the connection between the two, in an effort to justify a specific tactic as it relates to the event, but the audience perceives the opposite: the event is the [...]
