Finding the Right Shows
Show selection is probably the most important part of trade show marketing—and it is the part most teams skip. They go back to the same old shows because the booth already fits the crate, the dates are on…
Read article →Before the Show
25 articles
How to Read an Exhibitor Manual Before You’re Hit with Fees
The exhibitor manual is not bedtime reading. It is the price list for mistakes. Read it like a contract—because the surcharges will treat it that way. Deadlines and advance pricing Find the order deadlines for material handling, electrical,…
Read article →What Show Labor and Electrical Really Cost
The booth crate is only part of the bill. Installation labor and electrical are where many 2026 budgets quietly break—especially when advance rates expire and overtime starts. What the national benchmarks say The Exhibitor Advocate’s 2025 Annual Survey…
Read article →Designing for the Attendee: Your Booth Is Not About Your Company
Most exhibit briefs open with what the company wants to say. The better brief opens with what a tired attendee needs in the three seconds they give you from the aisle. Booth design is not a shrine to…
Read article →Rental vs. Purchase: Which Trade Show Booth Makes Sense for You
Clients ask this before almost every build: should we rent or buy? The honest answer depends on your show calendar, not on which option sounds more “serious.” Rent when footprints change show to show, when you are testing…
Read article →Freight and Material Handling Costs Are Out of Control in 2026: How Exhibitors Can Understand and Manage Them
If your 2026 show budget feels like it got hit by a forklift, you are not imagining it. Material handling on the show floor and LTL freight to get there are two of the fastest-growing line items in…
Read article →Confuse or Lose: 3 Keys to Avoid Trade Show Confusion
Posted in Articles, Before the Show, During the Show, Tips & Resources on 30. Sep, 2010 In a recent coaching session, my client started telling me all about the different products he was going to be showing at…
Read article →Exhibiting Magic: 13 Awesome Quick Trade Show Fixes – Part 2
Posted in Articles, Before the Show, During the Show on 16. Sep, 2010 In the wonderful world of exhibiting, and as the trade show season starts up again don’t you yearn for that magic wand to give a…
Read article →Exhibiting Magic: 13 Awesome Quick Trade Show Fixes – Part 1
Posted in Articles, Before the Show, During the Show on 09. Sep, 2010 In the wonderful world of exhibiting, and as the trade show season starts up again don’t you yearn for that magic wand to give a…
Read article →Virtual Trade Shows: Are You on Board Yet?
Posted in Articles, Before the Show on 04. Aug, 2010 During the last decade the virtual world has transformed how we do business. Trade shows, once believed to be a physical realm in which suppliers and customers could…
Read article →How to Use “The Marshmallow Principle” For Your Trade Show Success
Posted in Before the Show on 22. Jul, 2010 I’ve just returned from attending this year’s National Speakers Association convention in Orlando. What I love to do at this event is to listen to the speakers and presenters…
Read article →The Tradeshow “All Star” Team Missed the Show (or at least some of them)
When you attend the tradeshow for the tradeshow industry, you expect to see and experience the best of the best. It hurts to admit it, but however exciting the products and activities on the TS2 trade show floor…
Read article →How to Tune into the Most Popular Tradeshow Radio Station: 3 Steps to Pump Up Your Success Volume
Posted in Before the Show, During the Show on 24. Jun, 2010 WII-fm plays everywhere all the time, but on the tradeshow floor listenership is at its peak. WII-fm, better known as “What’s In It for me,” resonates…
Read article →The Ultimate Trade Show Lead: 4 Keys to Exhibiting Success
Do your booth staffers know what information they need to collect for a quality lead? How do you define a quality lead? Yesterday, in a brilliant webinar, (sponsored by iLeads and Leadature), “Trade Show Follow-up: The Ultimate Competitive…
Read article →Do You "Think Different" on the Trade Show Floor? Part 2
In Part 1 I talked about three of the six senses or “right-brain directed aptitudes,” that Daniel Pink refers to in his best-selling book, “A Whole New Mind” – namely, design, story, and symphony. This week I’ll share…
Read article →Do You “Think Different” on the Trade Show Floor? Part 1
Two weeks ago, I offered you a challenge – “how to avoid being invisible on the trade show floor.” One of the three ways I shared is to “be different.” This week I was re-reading one of my…
Read article →3 Ways to Avoid Being Invisible on the Trade Show Floor
Posted in Articles, Before the Show on 18. May, 2010 I recently read an article in Newsweek about being invisible in different cities around the globe by just fitting in with the locals, in the way you dress…
Read article →Prevent Virtual Event Nightmares: How Producers Prepare Speakers, Exhibitors & Attendees
On February 23rd I’m going to experience another first. Dennis Shiao, Director of Marketing at InXpo, and I will be presenting together at the Virtual Edge Summit, to be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center, February 22-23,…
Read article →7 Steps to Tradeshow Crisis Management
The 21st Winter Olympics are about the start. The buzz of activities and all the arrangements are reaching a crescendo in preparation for the Opening Ceremony. However, all is not exactly as planned. The weather is causing havoc…
Read article →Good News on the (Trade Show) Marketing Budget: Trends for 2010 – Part 2
What’s ahead for trade shows and other marketing efforts in 2010? Last week, I referred you to the StrongMail “2010 Marketing Trends” survey which polled more than 1,000 business leaders across a wide range of industries about their…
Read article →Good News on the (Trade Show) Marketing Budget – Trends 2010 – Part 1
In November the StrongMail “2010 Marketing Trends” survey polled more than 1,000 business leaders across a wide range of industries about their marketing plans for the upcoming year. For the next few weeks, we’ll be discussing those trends…
Read article →Trade Show Training Tips: 3 Ways to Organize Your Trade Show Connections with Twitter Lists
Twitter is a fast way to reach thousands of people, but it has some issues. One is that a single tweet can easily get lost in the flood of new information. (Following Twitter has been likened to trying…
Read article →Tradeshow Tip: Broadcasting from Your Booth to Maximize Tradeshow ROI – Part 1
For years, keynote speeches and major product announcements have been shown live to audiences who cannot attend a trade show. Now you can use cutting-edge technology to create streaming video from your trade show booth—and you don’t need…
Read article →Tradeshow Tip: 3 Ways to Have Virtual Events Work with Physical Events
With the rise of virtual events in the marketplace, many show organizers and meeting planners are wondering how they could work together with their current physical event. Realize that virtual events are here to stay, and you should…
Read article →Tradeshow Tip: 4 Ways to Defend Your Trade Show Budget
When times are hard, most companies trim unnecessary spending. All too often, marketing and advertising go on the chopping block, and trade shows, together with trade show training, are considered an expendable luxury. Wrong! To fight this trend,…
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